Miracle Grass

Recently, there has been large discussion and experimentation with specific grasses that can both cut carbon dioxide in the air and provide an alternative fuel. Minnesota researchers are study a diverse species of grass that submit a significant amount of carbon dioxide in to the ground, provoking crop and plant growth. The grass could be cut annually and used to make ethanol fuel , which would be burned for electricity. The grass is “carbon negative”, meaning it would remove more carbon dioxide than it would produce. There are over 1.5 billion acres of degraded farmland in the world, and Minnesota researchers hope to plant various crops of this “miracle grass”.

 

 

 

 

nothing cool about global warming . . .

harborside helps save the world

2007 – the Hottest Year Ever Recorded?

 

Scientists predict that 2007 will be the hottest year on record! The British climatologists’ prediction is based upon a resurgent El Nino, a reoccurring warming trend happening in the Pacific Ocean, and consistently high levels of greenhouse gases.  Although El Nino is predicted to not be as powerful as it has in 1997 and 1998, when it joins forces with the increasing temperature rise, it is sure to pack a punch.  While El Nino can cause milder temperatures in the northeastern United States and the Atlantic Ocean, it also increases the severity of typhoons and droughts in the Eastern part of the world.

 

Polar Bear Predicament

 

We are not the only ones being affected by global warming. One of the most current and pressing issues now is the increase in animal extinction. Perhaps the most troubled animal would be the polar bear. Their arctic habitat has been diminished to scattered glaciers and slush. In fact, the area covered by summer sea ice in the arctic has been continuously decreasing by an average of 9.2 percent per decade. If this continues, it “will disappear by the end of the century,” according to the Global Environmental Conservation Organization. As a result, the sea level will rise between 9cm and 88cm by 2100 as stated by the IPPC. If we don’t act soon, coastal areas could be faced with serious floods, causing many deaths.

Environmentalists  in Texas

 

Environmental groups helped to keep the TXU Corp. from building a total of eleven new coal power plants. These would have a major impact on us, putting an additional 78 million tons of carbon dioxide into our already troubled atmosphere. After a series of discussions and a court case against TXU, the environmentalists haggled the corporation's plans of eleven coal power plants down to just three. You might ask how they will now supply the rest of this energy? Well, with the help of aggressive advertisement and campaigning, TXU has agreed to now harvest the rest of the power through wind. When asked whether these steps have helped lower greenhouse gas emissions, the president of Environmental Defense stated, “I think they’re going to go a long way. There will be other steps as well the company needs to take. And we’ll be working with them on an advisory board. But there’s probably no one silver bullet.”

Current Events!

Can grass really cut carbon dioxide in the air and provide an alternative fuel?

Legislation in Global Warming

 

Due to the Clean Air Act, the Supreme Court made sure President Bush got the message: he can no longer ignore the law that protects our air. Bush had prevented the Environmental Protection Agency from abiding the law and cleaning up the atmosphere. Ever since 2001, industrial polluters have been sided by Bush in an attempt to repeal or change the Clean Air Act. This law would direct the EPA to set milestones in an attempt to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and limit the amount of emissions produced by vehicles by 2016.

 

The federal government may not be taking charge, but that won’t stop California. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently enacted a law that requires serious cutbacks from greenhouse gases, primarily from cars and power plants. While California may not be able to enforce the law strictly for another 15 years, this is one giant leap to stop global warming.