• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
The climate news that makes a difference.
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
  FEATURED
Thorold Gas Peaker Plant Won’t Be Built After Unanimous City Council Vote September 20, 2023
Indoor Heat Leaves Canadians Unsafe with ‘No Escape’, CBC Investigation Finds September 20, 2023
Agrivoltaics a Win-Win for Farmers, Communities, Solar Developers, and Alberta’s UCP September 20, 2023
‘Beginning of the End’ for Oil and Gas as IEA Predicts Pre-2030 Peak September 19, 2023
‘Turning Point’ for PR Industry as Clean Creatives Targets Fossil Industry Contracts September 19, 2023
Next
Prev

…It's over, let it go

February 17, 2013
Reading time: 4 minutes
Primary Author: Alex Kirby

 
This is a summary of the stories we have published in the week ending Saturday 16 February (all are archived).

Warmer seas may help coral

10 February – Warming seas may mean that tiny marine creatures can help to repair coral reefs which have themselves been damaged by climate change. Rising sea temperatures will make life a bit cosier for the organism – a tiny variety of foraminifera (the name means “hole bearer”) called Amphistegina. Martin Langer of the University of Bonn and colleagues report in the Public Library of Science One that these little single-celled, calcareous creatures (chalky, or containing lime) will be able to extend their natural range as the sea warms – and could possibly help stabilise coastlines under threat as sea levels rise, and coral reefs that are stressed by rising temperatures.

Carbon dioxide ‘protects the Amazon’

11 February – Scientists now think the Amazon rainforest is unlikely to succumb to a widespread die-off of its trees, because they expect the main greenhouse gas to act as a powerful fertiliser. For years now there have been fears that the forest was likely to experience a mass die-off because of rising temperatures caused by climatic changes, with rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels a principal cause. But scientists now say the gas is affecting the Amazon in two ways. It is certainly increasing temperatures, they say, with the risk of droughts and other dangers to arboreal life. But it is also providing an airborne fertiliser. They think this beneficial effect is likely to exceed the damage CO2 is causing.

  • Be among the first to read The Energy Mix Weekender
  • A brand new weekly digest containing exclusive and essential climate stories from around the world.
  • The Weekender:The climate news you need.
Subscribe

Thawing tundra threat to frozen carbon

12 February – The melting of Arctic ice frozen for many thousands or even millions of years is speeding up, a potential route for carbon frozen deep below ground level to seep into the atmosphere. The return of the spring sun melts domes and lakes of frozen water called thermokarsts – karst is a word usually linked to limestone country, but it has been pressed into service as a label for the hard surfaces caused by ice. Within this ice is dissolved organic carbon. Once the ice melts, microbes get to work releasing carbon dioxide into the air. The soil thaws, the surface collapses, lakes form, water flows, land surfaces erode which in turn releases more carbon dioxide to create more warming, to make the tundra even more vulnerable to spring thaw, and of course to accelerated warming.

Shale gas kills nuclear power

13 February – Cheap and abundant shale gas supplies could be the death knell of nuclear energy in the United Kingdom, and in many other countries as well, threatening attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Nuclear power stations in Canada and the United States are closing because they cannot compete with cheap power being produced from shale gas. This revolution in the way North America produces its electricity is sending shock waves through the nuclear industry in Europe too. New nuclear build will be spectacularly uneconomic if a fracking industry is successful in the United Kingdom. Gas prices would tumble as they have across the Atlantic. Even the existing nuclear stations in France, Belgium and the UK would find themselves struggling to compete, especially if they need investment to achieve modern safety standards.

Ex-IPCC head: Prepare for 5°C warmer world

14 February – The world has missed the chance to keep greenhouse gas emissions below the level needed to prevent the temperature climbing above 2°C, according to the British scientist who used to chair the IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The scientist, Professor Sir Robert Watson, chaired the Panel from 1997 until 2002, when he was ousted after US pressure for his removal. Professor Watson says there is a 50-50 chance of preventing global average temperatures rising more than 3°C above their level at the start of the industrial age, but a 5°C rise is possible.  That would mean the Earth warming more than it has since the end of the last Ice Age.

Fossil fuels ‘may prove worthless’

15 February – A leading UK university is launching a research programme to help businesses and policy-makers to protect themselves from investments which could be left worthless by climate change. The University of Oxford has begun research to identify high-carbon sectors and assets that could be devalued or written off if the world takes resolute action to limit emissions of greenhouse gases. It seeks to help investors to avoid sinking money in potentially useless assets that might ultimately lose their entire value, turning into what are known as “stranded assets”. Assets become stranded if they are replaced by greener alternatives or new technologies, or are subject to new regulations or resource constraints.

Arctic ice loses volume fast

15 February – The seasonal shrinkage of the area of Arctic sea ice is now well-established. But a new study has found that it is also undergoing thinning and a pronounced loss of volume all year round. Between 2003 and 2012 the volume of the ice declined by 36% in the autumn and 9% in the winter, a UK-led team of scientists has discovered. From 2003 to 2008, they found, autumn ice volumes averaged 11,900 cubic kilometres. But from 2010 to 2012 the average had dropped to 7,600 km3 – a decline of 4,300 km3. The average winter volume from 2003 to 2008 was 16,300 km3, dropping to 14,800 km3 between 2010 and 2012 – a difference of 1,500 km3.



in Climate News Network

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

moerschy / Pixabay
Biodiversity & Habitat

Planetary Weight Study Shows Humans Taking Most of Earth’s Resources

March 19, 2023
53
U.S. Geological Survey/wikimedia commons
Biodiversity & Habitat

Climate Change Amplifies Risk of ‘Insect Apocalypse’

December 1, 2022
67
Alaa Abd El-Fatah/wikimedia commons
COP Conferences

Rights Abuses, Intrusive Conference App Put Egypt Under Spotlight as COP 27 Host

November 14, 2022
34

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

Jon Sullivan/flickr

Thorold Gas Peaker Plant Won’t Be Built After Unanimous City Council Vote

September 20, 2023
334
/Piqusels

‘Beginning of the End’ for Oil and Gas as IEA Predicts Pre-2030 Peak

September 19, 2023
356
Clean Creatives

‘Turning Point’ for PR Industry as Clean Creatives Targets Fossil Industry Contracts

September 19, 2023
233
William Munoz/Flickr

‘Obituary-Changing’ Revelations Show Exxon’s Tillerson Undermining Climate Science

September 19, 2023
186
HiMY SYeD/flick

Ontario Waits 8 Months to Release Dire Climate Impact Report

September 14, 2023
486
Beckyq6937/Wikimedia Commons

Solar Geoengineering Means ‘Game Over’ for Life on Earth, Critics Warn

September 19, 2023
97

Recent Posts

Rewat Wannasuk/Pexels

Virtual Power Plants Could Cut Peak Demand 20%, Save U.S. Grid $10B Per Year

September 20, 2023
1
Jeremy Bezanger/Unsplash

Indoor Heat Leaves Canadians Unsafe with ‘No Escape’, CBC Investigation Finds

September 20, 2023
1
Wesley Fryer/flickr

Smart Thermostats Boost Grid Stability Amid Intense Heat

September 20, 2023
1
Cullen328/wikimedia commons

Manufactured Housing Could Dent the Affordable Housing Crunch with Energy-Efficient Designs

September 20, 2023
1
Mr Renewables/Wikipedia

Californians Fight for Approval of New Community Solar Plan

September 20, 2023
2
Asurnipal/wikimedia commons

Agrivoltaics a Win-Win for Farmers, Communities, Solar Developers, and Alberta’s UCP

September 20, 2023
1
Next Post

Weather changes frustrate Nepal's farmers

The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

Copyright 2023 © Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Proudly partnering with…

scf_withtagline
The Energy Mix - Energy Central
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}