Debate around climate change is based on the idea that Earth is a purely physical and chemical entity, writes Lee Klinger. But what if Earth is a living system? Then things could turn out very differently - and we understand how, we need to develop a new Gaian science of planetary physiology.
… 2015 Comment Science Climate Change mars_earth-cut.jpg Debate around climate change is based on the idea that Earth is a purely physical and chemical … entity, writes Lee Klinger. But what if Earth is a living system? Then things could …
The world is warming up. We face ecological, social and economic meltdown, famine, drought, disease and turf wars. For real?
… today ranging from +58°C to -89°C, Earth’s regional climates are highly variable … fall of the Sun’s parallel rays across the Earth’s curved surface, which heat it more at … and icy wilds at the poles themselves. Yet Earth’s global climate – the average of all …
Building on a talk prepared for the Resurgence 'One Earth, One Humanity, One Future' conference, (although not presented at that event) Fritjof Capra explains new scientific evidence supporting the long-held supposition of Buddhists and others that humans are interconnected and part of nature.
… on a talk prepared for the Resurgence 'One Earth, One Humanity, One Future' conference, … are interconnected and part of nature. One Earth, One Humanity, One Future, the theme of … unites one family... Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons and daughters of the …
'Window into the past provides context for the ongoing anthropogenic change and how exceptional it is.'
… and how exceptional it is.' Changes in the Earth’s climate over the last 66 million years … million- and thousand-year variability that Earth’s climate has experienced. The new … to continually and accurately trace how the Earth’s climate has changed since the great …
As a society, we are strangely disconnected from the Earth, writes Stephan Harding. It's as if we were aliens placed here to prod and poke with our scientific instruments whilst feeling no sense of meaning, belonging or closeness to her ancient crumpled surface or rich, teeming biodiversity - a state of mind that a forthcoming course at Schumacher College aims to reverse.
… Educating for Gaia: a wholistic approach to Earth science Dr Stephen Harding | 28th April … we are strangely disconnected from the Earth, writes Stephan Harding. It's as if we … for material growth that is so disturbing the Earth, and they will need to use these ideas …
Deep space missions have previously run on nuclear power, writes Karl Grossman - and have twice showered Earth with radioactive debris. But the ESA's Rosetta probe, about to reach its destination, is 100% solar-powered - showing that space can be nuclear-free.
… Karl Grossman - and have twice showered Earth with radioactive debris. But the ESA's … A demonstration that in space as on Earth, solar power is an alternative to … begin making observations, relaying back to Earth high-resolution images and information …
Isn't three trillion trees enough to keep our planet healthy? It sounds like a lot, writes James Dyke, but they are under threat as never before, from deliberate deforestation and climate change. Many of the 1.5 billion trees we are losing a year are in the last great rainforests - key ecosystems under threat of drying out forever under our escalating double onslaught.
… Three trillion trees live on Earth - and we need every one of them James … journal Nature . The study also estimates the Earth is home to more than three trillion … has reduced the numbers of trees on Earth by 46%. In many areas we can't see the …
Last time the Earth was this warm, 130,000 years ago, England's Thames Valley was home to hippos and elephants, write Emma Stone & Alex Farnsworth. But the closest climate analogue is actually the Miocene Climate Optimum, 11 million years ago, when CO2 levels were similar to today's. As for the ice age that's due, scientists believe it will be postponed for at least 100,000 years.
… The last time Earth was this hot, Britain was a land of … elephants-bully-hippos-cut.jpg Last time the Earth was this warm, 130,000 years ago, … rings, ice cores or rocks. So when was the Earth last warmer than the present? The …
The just as policemen keep on getting younger, epochs keep on getting shorter, writes James Scourse. The Cretaceous endured for 80 million years, but our latest invention, the 'Anthropocene', will be lucky to last out the century. And humanity's vain preoccupation with the idea may, ironically, only bring forward its termination.
… nearly all biogeochemical cycling within the Earth system, but to attribute all the changes … by the sun, the astronomical position of the Earth, or the internal processes that drive … that humans are now profoundly altering the Earth's climate system and environment. So …
'We are going to see 1.5ºC. We haven’t even seen everything that 1.1ºC has thrown at us yet.'
… the Met Office, talks to The Ecologist about Earth system modelling in a time of worsening … So, this is very much a model of the whole Earth system including the atmosphere, and it … generate what would be a digital frame of the Earth as it is at the moment and then project …
Golden rice was once hailed as the wonder crop that 'could save a million kids year', writes Glenn Stone. But in the 15 years since that bold prediction, the carotene enhanced GMO has been held back by persistent 'yield drag' and inconclusive nutrition outcomes. It now appears unlikely ever to fulfill its early promise.
… Golden rice: the 'GM superfood' that fell to Earth Glenn Stone | 2nd September 2015 Comment … began trying to bring Golden Rice down to earth in the Philippines, the best varieties … the problem comes from bringing it down to earth. Glenn Stone is Professor of …
Long after we go extinct the human presence on Earth will be marked by a geological stratum rich in plastic garbage, according to a new study. Long-lived plastics are already widespread over the ocean floor, and there's a lot more on its way. Forget the 'Anthropocene' - the human era should rightly be called the Plasticene.
… after we go extinct the human presence on Earth will be marked by a geological stratum … While humans like to call our era on planet Earth the 'Anthropocene', a more fitting name … "Plastics are also pretty well everywhere on Earth, from mountain tops to the deep ocean …
Internal Glasgow University emails show that it terminated geophysics professor David Smythe's email account and access to scientific papers because his concerns about the impacts of fracking were upsetting its 'industrial research partners', writes Kyla Mandel - not as part of a 'routine review' as previously stated.
… accounts in the School of Geographical & Earth Sciences." Smythe argues this goes … carried out by the School of Geographical and Earth Sciences which covered a number of … a professor in the School of Geographical and Earth Sciences. The email, titled …
We may be on the verge of a massive, non-linear social transformation to a decarbonised economy. The question is which will tip first - us or the planet?
… are humanity, striding into a warming future Earth - the mines are tipping points in the Earth’s climate system. But what do scientists … was even aware the waterfall was approaching. Earth’s climate system also displays such …
Increased atmospheric CO2 is doing much more than warming the Earth, writes Tony Juniper - it's also acidifying oceans, something that is already having major impacts on ocean ecology in the Southern Ocean and the North Atlantic. Likely effects: more CO2 in the atmosphere, more jellyfish.
… CO2 is doing much more than warming the Earth, writes Tony Juniper - it's also … have probably not been not experienced on Earth for million of years, and perhaps not … Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Earth System Laboratory in Boulder Colorado, …
Nanotechnology has the power to affect every aspect of life on the planet. Here, the Ecologist presents the many claims of its promoters and outlines some of the major developments taking place now or in the near future. In response, some of it’s leading critics analyse the risks that nanotechnology poses in their various fields of expertise.
… Promising the World, or Costing the Earth? The Ecologist | 1st May 2003 News … activity but from natural disasters such as earthquakes, asteroids and tsunamis. He argues … damge take their toll on the victims and the Earth. Nanotech will only serve to make the …
After a succession of the hottest years and months ever recorded, climate is a hot topic, writes Liz Hutchins. But BBC1's 'Big Questions' climate change debate last Sunday completely missed the point. Instead of debating the only real question - how should we respond? - the BBC ran yet another repeat of the so-over 'believers versus deniers' ding-dong. Why do they still not get it?
… we do about it? Liz Hutchins Friends of the Earth | 22nd March 2016 Comment Climate Change … climate change with someone who denies the Earth is warming and someone who denies CO 2 is a greenhouse gas. Today's flat Earthers. The debate was on prime time TV with …
The world must drastically reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, writes Simon Redfern - and we can't do it by cutting emissions alone. But we could we do it 'nature's way', using volcanic rocks and mining wastes that naturally soak up CO2 from the atmosphere and ocean, and turn it into harmless forms like limestone and dissolved bicarbonate.
… same geological processes that have regulated Earth's climate and surface environment over … rocks like granite and basalt, common at Earth's surface, play a key part in regulating … targets. Simon Redfern is Professor in Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge. This …
Evidence stretching back 40,000 years shows that global warming will increase drying in a region of East Africa where drought already causes humanitarian crises, writes Alex Kirby - dashing earlier hopes of increased rainfall.
… Life at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory . "The region is drying, and … is drier when there are warm conditions on Earth, and wetter when it is colder" , says …
The end of the Triassic era 200 million years ago was marked by a surge in CO2 and anoxic oceans saturated with toxic hydrogen sulfide, writes Jessica H. Whiteside - enough to finish off half of all known organisms. Could humans now be embarking on a similar experiment?
… half of the species of organisms living on Earth's land and in the oceans. We are only … gas, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). Although the Earth was very different during the Triassic … Jessica H. Whiteside is Lecturer in Ocean and Earth Science at the University of …
Thousands of protesters have occupied a coal mine near Cologne - the single largest emitter of CO2 in Europe. NICK MEYNEN argues that history is on their side, especially when politicians fail to take heed of climate science
… worst case scenarios in “ The Uninhabitable Earth ”, based on interviews with the world’s … the imagination of most people today. In Earth’s history a rise of 5°C in only 13 years … movement mobilising to the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, the remembrance of 500 years of …
The term 'global warming' has a reassuring, comfortable sound, writes Jim Hansen. But paleoclimate data shows the reality could be anything but, with rapid climate oscillations, large, abrupt rises in sea level, major disruptions to ocean circulation, and massive superstorms. It may already be too late to forestall this dystopian future - but then it may not be. So let's act while we still can!
… climate modeling, paleoclimate data - that's Earth's ancient climate history - and modern … were about 1°C warmer than today because Earth's spin axis was tilted less than today. … slow response. However, we have shown that Earth's measured energy imbalance requires the …
Just as 2014 is looking like going down as the hottest year since records began, motor-mouthed climate change deniers are shrinking into the shadows, writes Richard Heasman.
… - claiming that a recent plateau in global earth surface temperatures is proof that the … the real facts tell us a different story, the Earth is still warming, the 'pause' never … did happen then: "Next year could well bring Earth's hottest year on record , accompanied …
Last month must go down as one of the worst ever in the annals of climate change, writes James Dyke, with parts of the Arctic 16C hotter than usual and the 'safe' warming level of 2C breached across the Northern hemisphere. But even worse is the near-total lack of reaction from business, politicians and media.
… up and notice is that the surface of the Earth north of the equator was 2C warmer than … can't end well We are currently swamping the Earth's ability to absorb greenhouse gases. … since records began - far higher than the Earth has experienced for hundreds of …