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These itty bitty creatures fight global warming from the bottom of the sea

by JulianGaray Posted on October 14, 2014

These itty bitty creatures fight global warming from the bottom of the sea

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14 Oct 2014 6:40 PM

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What did you have for breakfast? I bet it wasn’t methane, because that would be bizarre for (presumably) a human like yourself — but did you know that some weird lil’ creatures out there actually breathe the stuff on the reg?

Specifically, we’re talking microbes that live deep on the sea floor and in rocky outcroppings, known as seamounts, according to a new study out this week in the journal Nature Communications. The microbes in question are actually two species: bacteria and some other organisms known as “anaerobic methanotrophs,” catchily nicknamed ANME. The tag team breathes methane, by way of sulfate ions found in seawater, instead of oxygen — and while doing so, the organisms also manage to sequester a non-trivial amount of the greenhouse gas:

“Without this biological process, much of that methane would enter the water column, and the escape rates into the atmosphere would probably be quite a bit higher,” says study first author Jeffrey Marlow, a geobiology graduate student in [lead researcher Victoria] Orphan’s lab.

These methane-metabolizers have been studied before, but only in the sediment in seafloor vents, where methane is actively bubbling into the water. If they are also present deep within the rock of these seamounts, that means there’s a lot more habitat for these global-warming-fighting organisms to use.

The downside? The rock-resident microbes were only about one-third as effective at sequestering methane as their mud-dwelling relatives. So while the question of exactly HOW MUCH methane a bunch of germs can really gobble down is still open, at least we can say that, in a world of methane, every bit counts.

Source:
Rock-Dwelling Microbes Remove Methane from Deep Sea

, CalTech.

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These itty bitty creatures fight global warming from the bottom of the sea

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California is No. 1 in prepping for climate change

by EugenioD07 Posted on October 9, 2014

CALIFORNIA LOVE

California is No. 1 in prepping for climate change

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9 Oct 2014 5:09 PM

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California, I’m coming home. Because duh: The hippie-tacular Golden State leads the nation in prepping for climate change. A new 50-state tracking tool developed by the Georgetown Climate Center charts state-by-state progress in climate adaptation plans, and shows which ones have been plucky enough to hit their goals. California is at the head of the pack, of course, and is trailed closely by — you guessed it — Massachusetts and New York.

Georgetown Climate Center

California has one of the longest wish lists in the nation, anyway, with 345 separate climate goals. The sad truth is that achieving 48 of its 345 goals actually puts it way out front. Another sad truth is that just 14 states have finalized any kind of climate action plan at all (not surprisingly, most of those are coastal).

California’s successes so far have a lot to do with prioritizing the issues. The state, for example, has created a “Planning for Sea Level Rise Database,” installed tools to identify and reduce climate-related health vulnerabilities, and even has a bill that’ll require lighter-colored pavement to reduce the effects of urban heat islands. So maybe Cali is just going for the low-hanging fruit here, but hey, at least it’s picking the stuff. (And it’d better before the fruit dries out completely.)

Source:
California leads on climate change, says 50-state tool

, USA Today.

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East Coasters, prepare for three decades of epic flooding

by FletaJennings Posted on October 8, 2014

East Coasters, prepare for three decades of epic flooding

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8 Oct 2014 4:38 PM

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A new report finds that, thanks to sea-level rise, tidal floods are bathing East Coast cities more than ever. And within the lifetime of a 30-year home mortgage, ever-higher high tides will swamp coastal communities with much more frequency and severity, according to projections based on analysis of 52 tide gauges between Maine and Texas.

Suzanne Goldberg of The Guardian provides the deets: 

The report, “Encroaching Tides: How Sea Level Rise and Tidal Flooding Threaten U.S. East and Gulf Coast Communities over the Next 30 Years,” from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), found most of the towns on America’s east coast will see triple the number of flooding events by 2030.

By 2045, those towns will see 10 times as many tidal floods — and those floods will seep further inland, and last longer, the researchers said.

The study also highlights what coastal cities are already doing to protect their shorelines, calling for state and federal help to plan, fund, and implement resilience projects ASAP. The UCS authors acknowledge that rapid, steep cuts in carbon emissions are probably the only way to reduce the need to move people and structures further inland to higher ground.

But they also point out that a surge in tidal flooding is “essentially guaranteed” while the heat-trapping gases we’ve already set free hang out in the atmosphere doing their warming thing. The report’s call to action: Fortify seaside communities against the coming onslaught of water, and reduce carbon emissions to make sure low-lying areas aren’t permanently submerged later on. At the same time. Quickly.

Yeah, the heavy dose of realism is a bit of a downer for beach lovers and coastal dwellers. At least Climate Central made you a fun interactive map to preview future damage from sea-level rise.

Source:
Encroaching Tides

, Union of Concerned Scientists.

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East Coasters, prepare for three decades of epic flooding

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Climate change’s relationship with the sea just got more mysterious

by JamisonFosbrook Posted on October 6, 2014

Climate change’s relationship with the sea just got more mysterious

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6 Oct 2014 4:54 PM

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Climate change’s relationship with the sea just got more mysterious

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I have abysmal news: The deep oceans are not getting warmer.

OK, that sounds like a good thing. But hold your applause! Surface waters — everything above 1.24 miles — are still hot and getting hotter. It’s the deep ocean abyss that has not warmed measurably since we started keeping track in 2005, according to a new paper out in Nature Climate Change.

“The sea level is still rising,” said Josh Willis, NASA scientist and coauthor, presumably anticipating the ‘I-told-you-so’s of deniers. Sorry guys, we don’t get out of global warming that easily.

What is surprising about this study is that scientists often theorized that deep oceans took the heat from our atmosphere, causing a lull in the pace of global warming observed over the last decade or so. The case of the missing heat, it seems, is still wide open.

Since sea-level rise is the joint project of 1) water that expands as it heats up, and 2) meltwater that has been locked up in landbound ice, we will continue to see the tidelines inching up our coasts as those partners in crime continue to do what they do best. But scientists wanted to know how much sea-level rise could be attributed to warming in the deep oceans. So they used satellite images and direct temperature measurements to extrapolate the amount of sea-level rise happening in the upper ocean, plus the estimated volume of de-iced ice water. Whatever rise was left over must be due to increased temperatures in the deep ocean — but that turned out to be next to nothing.

So the question remains: If the deep oceans aren’t warming, where is all that extra heat going?

We … don’t really know, at least not yet. But it’s definitely going somewhere. Another paper published in the same issue of Nature Climate Change suggests that we’ve been massively underestimating (by 24 to 58 percent) the amount of heat absorbed by the upper layer of the ocean since the 1970s. If the deep, deep oceans aren’t getting any warmer, it could be that we’ve been overlooking some sneaky heat somewhere else. In any case, the bottom line is that we still have a lot to learn about how global warming and sea-level rise act on a system as complicated as a planet. What we DO know is that this isn’t some Olive Garden-size portion of troll food to keep climate deniers going for the next couple months.

Not that it’ll stop them from trying. Trolls will eat anything.

Source:
NASA Study Finds Earth’s Ocean Abyss Has Not Warmed

, NASA.

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Climate change’s relationship with the sea just got more mysterious

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Seaweed is healthy, delicious, and legal in all 50 states

by LanoraK64nsi Posted on September 17, 2014

Seaweed is healthy, delicious, and legal in all 50 states

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17 Sep 2014 7:43 PM

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Seaweed, on the rare occasions I came across it in my Midwestern upbringing, seemed like a pretty simple deal: beach-borne mass of green goo-ribbons that you don’t really want to step on. Other than a few seaside experiences, I didn’t really think about seaweed much at all. And I da-hefinitely didn’t think about eating it.

But I’ve changed my ways. I learned my lesson. I’m a seaweed believer. Here’s why:

I read an article in the most recent edition of Lucky Peach, a quarterly food journal, by writer Rachel Khong. In it, she chronicles a summer she spent on the California coast, north of San Francisco, harvesting and preparing edible seaweed with Mendocino Sea Vegetable Company.

According to Khong’s research, seaweed is one of the most life-giving organisms in the world.* Here’s a taste of what she writes in her article:

The seashore is where all our stories start. It’s understood that present-day humans evolved in littoral spaces, where the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and shellfish, originally from seaweed, were needed to evolve complex nervous systems and big brains. Which is to say: eating seaweed  —  either directly or by proxy  —  was what made us us. And seaweeds sustain life on earth, producing 70 to 80 percent of the world’s oxygen through photosynthesis…

Plus, she notes, “seaweed is an impressively ample source of protein.”

The protein-rich superfood feeds almost everything under the sea. Really, all ocean creatures eat seaweed somehow — whether directly or by eating something else that eats seaweed — so it’s the foundation of the marine food chain.

Why I haven’t eaten seaweed before (other than as sushi-wrap) is beyond me. Especially considering that humans have been munching on seaweed for thousands of years. Writes Khong:

We can’t be sure how long human beings have been eating seaweed  —  whatever archaeological proof of seaweed that might’ve existed has long since broken down and disappeared  —  but by most educated guesses it is a very, very long time. The oldest proof we have is the seaweed found in mortars in southern Chile dating to 12,000 BCE.

So while seaweed-eating may kinda seem like just another foodie trend, it has deep roots in human history and is supposedly very yummy. So why not go out and forage your own, world? It’s abundant, nutritionally dense, and pairs well with Dijon mustard and fresh tarragon.

Correction: An earlier version of this article identified seaweed as a plant, when in fact it is an algae. Grist regrets the error and has sentenced the author to make her own toothpaste out of kelp. 

Source:
A Little Kelp From My Friends

, Lucky Peach.

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Seaweed is healthy, delicious, and legal in all 50 states

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Seaweed: Healthy, delicious, and legal in all 50 states

by KathlenFromm Posted on September 17, 2014

Seaweed: Healthy, delicious, and legal in all 50 states

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17 Sep 2014 7:43 PM

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Seaweed: Healthy, delicious, and legal in all 50 states

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Seaweed, on the rare occasions I came across it in my Midwestern upbringing, seemed like a pretty simple deal: beach-borne mass of green goo-ribbons that you don’t really want to step on. Other than a few seaside experiences, I didn’t really think about seaweed much at all. And I da-hefinitely didn’t think about eating it.

But I’ve changed my ways. I learned my lesson. I’m a seaweed believer. Here’s why:

I read an article in the most recent edition of Lucky Peach, a quarterly food journal, by writer Rachel Khong. In it, she chronicles a summer she spent on the California coast, north of San Francisco, harvesting and preparing edible seaweed with Mendocino Sea Vegetable Company.

According to Khong’s research, seaweed is one of the most life-giving plants in the world. Here’s a taste of what she writes in her article:

The seashore is where all our stories start. It’s understood that present-day humans evolved in littoral spaces, where the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and shellfish, originally from seaweed, were needed to evolve complex nervous systems and big brains. Which is to say: eating seaweed — either directly or by proxy — was what made us us. And seaweeds sustain life on earth, producing 70 to 80 percent of the world’s oxygen through photosynthesis…

Plus, she notes, “seaweed is an impressively ample source of protein.”

The protein-rich superfood feeds almost everything under the sea. Really, all ocean creatures eat seaweed somehow — whether directly or by eating something else that eats seaweed — so it’s the foundation of the marine food chain.

Why I haven’t eaten seaweed before (other than as sushi-wrap) is beyond me. Especially considering that humans have been munching on seaweed for thousands of years. Writes Khong:

We can’t be sure how long human beings have been eating seaweed — whatever archaeological proof of seaweed that might’ve existed has long since broken down and disappeared — but by most educated guesses it is a very, very long time. The oldest proof we have is the seaweed found in mortars in southern Chile dating to 12,000 BCE.

So while seaweed-eating may kinda seem like just another foodie trend, it has deep roots in human history and is supposedly very yummy. So why not go out and forage your own, world? It’s abundant, nutritionally dense, and pairs well with Dijon mustard and fresh tarragon.

Source:
A Little Kelp From My Friends

, Lucky Peach.

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Seaweed: Healthy, delicious, and legal in all 50 states

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Americans are eating better — well, some Americans

by TrinidadSeitz Posted on September 12, 2014

Americans are eating better — well, some Americans

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12 Sep 2014 5:13 PM

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Americans are eating better — well, some Americans

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Income gap! What are you doing here?! We’re trying to have a conversation about food and you just show up uninvited and unannounced, as usual.

Just kidding, obviously — since money is intrinsically tied to every part of our lives, the growing divergence between high- and low-income households can pretty much be expected to show up all the damn time.

A new study examining data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) over the period of 1999 to 2010 found that Americans have somewhat improved our overall dietary quality. We’re eating more fresh produce, whole grains, and fish, and less meat and sugary treats. Great! People are also eating less meat, and when they do they increasingly choose pasture-raised animals.

This increase in overall dietary quality, however, is still modest. Don’t worry, America — you will still love McBrunch, no matter how terrible it is for you.

But — of course! — these modest improvements come with some larger backsliding. Positive changes in dietary health were made largely by folks who earn higher incomes. For lower-income individuals, dietary quality actually decreased from 2006-2010. So, the income gap — which has risen since the 1970s, as the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans earn 22.5 percent of the nation’s income while the bottom 90 percent makes do with less than 50 percent of that — is being paralleled in food choices.

To call it a “choice” however, isn’t entirely fair. The food that’s most accessible to people who make very little money tends to be highly processed, fatty and starchy, and relatively nutritionally vacant. The fact that the quality of food that one eats is so closely tied with income seems pretty intuitive, but that doesn’t mean it’s not alarming as yet another indicator of growing inequality in the U.S.

Ah, America, land of opportunity, liberty, and kale salad — providing you’re already loaded.

Source:
The Rich Are Eating Richer, the Poor Are Eating Poorer

, Mother Jones.

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Michael Sam, Who Is Better At Football Than You Will Ever Be At Anything, Has Been Cut By the Rams

by StephenY29 Posted on August 30, 2014

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

He’ll probably get picked up by another team though.

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Michael Sam, Who Is Better At Football Than You Will Ever Be At Anything, Has Been Cut By the Rams

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Empty study paves the way for fracking in California

by AimeeL49cfr Posted on August 29, 2014

Empty study paves the way for fracking in California

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29 Aug 2014 5:10 PM

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Well, there you have it, ladies and gents: Fracking’s just fine! A study found no significant evidence to suggest that fracking and similar extraction techniques are harmful to the environment.

Energy companies poised to dig into California’s reserves are breathing a sigh of relief. The findings pave the way for the Bureau of Land Management to resume issuing oil and gas leases on federal land in California next year, following a temporary halt to the practice last year and the defeat of an attempted statewide moratorium on fracking this spring.

But here’s the catch: The study didn’t contain much information.

From the Los Angeles Times:

For example, the report found no evidence of water contamination from fracking in California, but the scientist directing the research, Jane Long, said researchers also had no data on the quality of water near fracking sites.

“We can only tell you what the data we could get says,” said Long, a former director at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. “We can’t tell you what we don’t know.”

Other unresolved issues, besides “the location, depth and quality of groundwater in oil- and gas-producing regions”: Any information about the toxicity of a third of the chemicals involved in fracking and whether or not plants or animals would be harmed by chronic exposure to those chemicals. Scientists behind the study had asked for more time, but the BLM had a seven-month timetable and wouldn’t budge.

BLM admits that this report doesn’t tell the whole story, and that — don’t worry — there will be more environmental impact studies done. They’ll just be done, you know, “as oil and gas development resumes.” Greeeeeeat.

Source:
Fracking report clears way for California oil, gas leasing to resume

, Los Angeles Times.

Feds to Resume Leasing for Fracking in California

, ABC News.

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Empty study paves the way for fracking in California

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Thousands of birds are igniting mid-air. What’s solar got to do with it?

by Bobby06Sczzqwhx Posted on August 18, 2014

Thousands of birds are igniting mid-air. What’s solar got to do with it?

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18 Aug 2014 6:28 PM

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Thousands of birds are igniting mid-air. What’s solar got to do with it?

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At the $2.2 billion Ivanpah solar installation in California’s Mojave Desert, telltale plumes of smoke curl above the plant’s hyper-concentrated rays. According to federal wildlife officials, these smoke bombs are too big to be caused by insects or bits of trash. Nope — they’re the result of unlucky birds that actually ignite in mid-air.

Federal wildlife investigators who checked out the solar thermal plant last year report seeing about one singed bird every two minutes. Now, they’re calling on California officials to halt progress on a similar project until there can be further study of Ivanpah’s avian impact. (And its track record with tortoises isn’t that great, either.) So far, the results don’t look pretty: Current bird death toll estimates run as high as 28,000 a year.

From the Associated Press:

More than 300,000 mirrors, each the size of a garage door, reflect solar rays onto three boiler towers each looming up to 40 stories high. The water inside is heated to produce steam, which turns turbines that generate enough electricity for 140,000 homes. …

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials warned California this month that the power-tower style of solar technology holds “the highest lethality potential” of the many solar projects burgeoning in the deserts of California.

The commission’s staff estimates the proposed new tower would be almost four times as dangerous to birds as the Ivanpah plant. The agency is expected to decide this autumn on the proposal.

We’ve heard a lot about how wind farms impact birds — in some cases so dramatically that huge projects can get stopped in their tracks. Et tu, solar array?

Source:
Emerging Solar Plants Scorch Birds in Mid-Air

, The Associated Press.

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Thousands of birds are igniting mid-air. What’s solar got to do with it?

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