OMG measurements of Greenland give us a glimpse of future sea rise.

If you meet a group of climate scientists, and ask them how much sea levels will rise by say the year 2100, you will get a wide range of answers. But, those with most expertise in sea level rise will tell you perhaps 1 meter (a little over three feet). Then, they will immediately say, “but there is a lot of uncertainty on this estimate.” It doesn’t mean they aren’t certain there will be sea level rise – that is guaranteed as we add more heat in the oceans. Here, uncertainty means it could be a lot more or a little less.  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2017/feb/24/omg-measurements-of-greenland-give-us-a-glimpse-of-future-sea-rise
Article courtesy of The Guardian by John Abraham

EPA Removes Mentions of 'Climate Change' in Water Utilities Program

The division once known as Climate Ready Water Utilities was rebranded as the Creating Resilient Water Utilities in late December, according to archived webpages. https://insideclimatenews.org/news/27022017/epa-climate-change-donald-trump
Article courtesy of Inside Climate News by Georgina Gustin

For Some Arctic Plants, Spring Arrives Almost a Month Earlier

In a new paper published in Biology Letters, researchers detail findings from a 12-year study of when plant species in the low Arctic region of Greenland first bud in the spring. Timing varied from plant to plant, but one speedy sedge species — a flowering, grasslike herb — stirred a full 26 days earlier than it did a decade ago.  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/27/science/arctic-plants-spring-global-warming.html?_r=0
Article courtesy of The New York Times by Steph Yin

Great potential for reverse photosynthesis!

It might seem complicated but reverse photosynthesis is pretty basic. You take the carbohydrates that plants and bacteria normally produce in photosynthesis and use light energy to convert them enzymatically into smaller products. These substances could be the most useful substances that we need in industry such as biofuels and the monomers for plastics production. It does seem that the oil industry could finally be displaced by mere enzymes.
Read more at http://www.earthtimes.org/going-green/great-potential-reverse-photosynthesis/2928/#lMsdUTzHijpGiAzP.99 

Article courtesy of Earth Times by Dave Armstrong

A tree that generates wind power

ll phone towers masquerading as trees are a pretty common sight. Iowa State University scientists have now similarly disguised wind turbines. They have made a device that mimics the branches and leaves of a cottonwood tree and generates electricity when its plastic leaves flutter in the wind. Larger, much-improved versions of the electricity-generating plant carrying thousands of leaves—could generate enough electricity for small appliances.  http://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2017/02/a-tree-that-generates-wind-power/
Article courtesy of Anthropocene Magazine by Prachi Patel

Coming soon to Dubai: A flying passenger-carrying drone

The Dubai government says it hopes to have a passenger-carrying drone buzzing through the skyline of this futuristic city-state by July.  http://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2017/0214/Coming-soon-to-Dubai-A-flying-passenger-carrying-drone?cmpid=ema:nws:Daily%2520Newsletter%2520%2802-14-2017%29&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20170214_Newsletter:%20Daily&utm_term=Daily
Article courtesy of the Christian Science Monitor by Mengqi Sun

Costa Rican researchers develop new climate change-resistant beans

Researchers from the University of Costa Rica (UCR) and the Agriculture and Livestock Ministry have begun distributing the seeds of a new variety of heat- and drought-resistant black beans — part of a broader effort to help address the impact of climate change, as well as recent droughts, on the essential crop.  http://www.ticotimes.net/2017/02/13/climate-resistant-beans
Article courtesy of the Tico Times News by L. Arias

How Did the Oroville Dam Crisis Get So Dire?

Drought, climate change, and aging infrastructure combined to create a looming catastrophe that forced 188,000 Californians to evacuate.  https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2017/02/how-did-the-oroville-dam-get-so-bad/516429/
Article courtesy of The Atlantic by David A. Graham

At Oroville Dam, a break in the storms gives engineers hope

Friday afternoon the sun peaked through the clouds above Lake Oroville and a rainbow arched over the Feather River.
It was a welcome sight for state engineers who were battling the lake’s worrisome rise with torrential releases down the reservoir’s broken concrete spillway.  http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-oroville-spillway-20170210-story.html
Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by Chris Megerian, Bettina Boxall and Joseph Serna

NASA launched an unprecedented study of Greenland’s melting. Now, the data are coming in

In 2015, in a moment of science communication genius, NASA created a mission called “OMG.” The acronym basically ensured that a new scientific mission — measuring how quickly the Oceans are Melting Greenland — would get maximum press attention.
The subject is actually extremely serious. OMG amounts to a comprehensive attempt, using ships, planes, and other research tools, to understand what’s happening as warm seas creep into large numbers of fjords that serve as avenues into the vast ice sheet — many of which contain large and partly submerged glaciers that are already melting and contributing to sea-level rise. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/02/10/nasa-took-on-an-unprecedented-study-of-greenlands-melting-now-the-data-are-coming-in/?tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.780ce2105d08
Article courtesy of The Washington Post by Chris Mooney

After 16 attempts, a cheaper method for carbon capture at work in India

At the plant, carbon dioxide is captured from a coal-fired boiler and converted into soda ash, which is used in glass manufacturing, sweeteners and detergents.
The process is projected to save 60,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year, a world first.
The cost of capture is about $30 per ton - about half the cost of other technologies in the market.
"The next wave of innovation will reduce the cost further, perhaps even by half, to the point where it's almost equivalent to or less than the emissions tax"
Article courtesy of Thomson Reuters Foundation News by Rina Chandran

FEATURE-In India, ice towers could turn deadly lake into water bank

The government of Sikkim in India's northeast is lowering the risk of a devastating flood by draining water from a dangerously overfull glacial lake - with plans to turn the excess water into towers of ice for farmers to use in the warmer months.  http://news.trust.org/item/20170206090845-rgnnd/
Article courtesy of Thomson Reuters Foundation News by Athar Parvaiz

Why are British supermarkets rationing vegetables?

Bad weather in southern Europe has led major supermarket chains in Britain to ration vegetables, frustrating shoppers and sparking commentary on social media.  http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2017/0203/Why-are-British-supermarkets-rationing-vegetables?cmpid=ema:nws:Daily%2520Newsletter%2520%2802-03-2017%29&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2017023_Newsletter:%20Daily&utm_term=Daily
Article courtesy of The Christian Science Monitor by David Iaconangelo

Miami Beach to begin new $100 million flood prevention project in face of sea level rise

The city will embark on a $100 million project to raise roads, install pumps and water mains and redo sewer connections during the next two years across a swath of single-family homes in the La Gorce and Lakeview neighborhoods of Mid-Beach. A sizable chunk of a citywide effort estimated to cost $400 to $500 million, the work is meant to keep streets dry in the face of sea level rise.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article129284119.html
Article courtesy of Miami Herald by Joey Flechas

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article129284119.html#storylink=cpy