New Ozone Standards could contribute to warming

The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to tighten the ozone standard for smog will have an unfortunate side effect: Because of a quirk of atmospheric chemistry, those measures will hasten global warming. There’s no question that smog is a hazard that deserves attention. Lydia Wegman of the EPA says the new ozone limits would have significant health benefits.

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New Ozone Standards could contribute to warming

Will it be possible to feed nine billion people sustainably?

Sometime around 2050 researchers estimate that the global population will level-out at nine billion people, adding over two billion more people to the planet. Since, one billion of the world’s population (more than one in seven) are currently going hungry—the largest number in all of history—scientists are struggling with how, not only to feed those who are hungry today, but also the additional two billion that will soon grace our planet. In a new paper, published in Science, researchers make recommendations on how the world may one day feed nine billion people—sustainably.

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Will it be possible to feed nine billion people sustainably?

Save our Planet!

Climate change is hard to imagine since it is dealing with small changes over a long period of time. A new NASA Web site can help younger children understand how and why their planet is changing and what they can do to help keep it habitable

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Save our Planet!

Global Warming Slowed by Decline in Atmospheric Water Vapor

A sudden and unexplained drop in the amount of water vapor present high in the atmosphere almost a decade ago has substantially slowed the rate of warming at Earth’s surface in recent years, scientists say. In late 2000 and early 2001, concentrations of water vapor in a narrow slice of the lower stratosphere dropped by 0.5 parts per million, or about 10 percent, and have remained relatively stable since then. Because the decline was noted by several types of instruments, including some on satellites and others lofted on balloons, the sharp decrease is presumed to be real, says Karen Rosenlof, a meteorologist at NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colo

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Global Warming Slowed by Decline in Atmospheric Water Vapor

El Nino to boost 2010 U.S. crops

U.S. farmers grew record-large corn and soy crops in 2009 but production in 2010 could be even bigger, aided by an El Nino weather pattern that is typically a boon to the Midwest but less so for growers in Australia and southeast Asia, a forecaster said on Thursday.

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El Nino to boost 2010 U.S. crops

Humans Over Apes

The same evolutionary genetic advantages that have helped increase human lifespans also make humans susceptible to diseases of aging such as cancer, heart disease and dementia says a study published in a special Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences collection on “Evolution in Health and Medicine”.

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Humans Over Apes

Shrimp, their environmental impact not shrimpy

Why America’s Favorite Seafood Is a Health and Environmental Nightmare The environmental impact of shrimp can be horrific. But most Americans don’t know where their shrimp comes from or what’s in it.

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Shrimp, their environmental impact not shrimpy

Concern About Global Warming Continues to Drop in the U.S

Concern about global warming among U.S. adults has dropped significantly, a new poll says, with fewer than 50 percent of Americans saying they are “somewhat” or “very worried” — a 13 percent decrease from a poll taken in October 2008.

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Concern About Global Warming Continues to Drop in the U.S

China’s pollution situation still serious

China still faces a serious threat from pollution despite recent government efforts to clean up, the Cabinet said on Wednesday, adding the country would step up investment in environmentally friendly industries.

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China’s pollution situation still serious

Fire and Smoke Can Be Good and Bad

Recent ecological research has shown that forest fire is an integral component to the function and biodiversity of many ecological communities, and that the organisms within those communities have adapted to withstand and even exploit it. A fire may destroy one ecological community but allow greater long term diversity

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Fire and Smoke Can Be Good and Bad

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