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Turning up the heat on biofuels

The production of biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass would benefit on several levels if carried out at temperatures between 65 and 70 degrees Celsius. Researchers with the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI) have employed a promising technique for improving the ability of enzymes that break cellulose down into fermentable sugars to operate in this temperature range.

May 15th, 2013

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Reducing the environmental impacts of fertiliser use

Scientists have demonstrated how improvements in nitrogen fertiliser manufacture and their application could help reduce China's agricultural greenhouse gas emissions by around 60%, by 2030, compared to the current business as usual approach. This emissions reduction represents a 2 to 6% reduction in China's overall greenhouse gas emissions and therefore could be significant in the global battle on climate change.

May 15th, 2013

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Pollution from shipping making ocean more acidic

Shipping pollution along major trade lanes can rival carbon emissions in contributing to the increased acidity of the ocean, according to a new study by an international team, including researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Chalmers University of Technology, the University of Delaware, and the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies. The research is the first global analysis that shows that acidification from shipping can during the summer months equal that from carbon dioxide.

May 15th, 2013

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Innovation in spectroscopy could improve greenhouse gas detection

Detecting greenhouse gases in the atmosphere could soon become far easier with the help of an innovative technique developed by a team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where scientists have overcome an issue preventing the effective use of lasers to rapidly scan samples.

May 15th, 2013

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Could CO2 be injected in sandstone? Would it stay there?

As CO2 levels in Earth's atmosphere top 400 parts per million, options such as storing the greenhouse gas in porous sandstone rock formations found in abundance on the sea floor are of increasing interest. But how do we know if CO2 can be safely injected into spongy sandstone, and that once it is there, that it will stay there?

May 14th, 2013

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Scientists use crowd-sourcing to help map global CO2 emissions (w/video)

Climate science researchers from Arizona State University are launching a first-of-its-kind online 'game' to better understand the sources of global warming gases. By engaging 'citizen scientists', the researchers hope to locate all the power plants around the world and quantify their carbon dioxide emissions.

May 14th, 2013

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As carbon dioxide hits a new high, there's still no Planet B

On May 9, 2013, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the US recorded CO2 levels in the atmosphere at of 400 parts per million. This signifies a return to the atmospheric conditions similar to those of the Pliocene, which ended about 2.6 million years ago.

May 13th, 2013

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