Tag Archives: national academy of sciences

A first-of-a-kind study indicates microbial action on thawing Arctic permafrost can result in rapid increases in atmospheric CO2. Extending across northern Eurasia and Alaska, the equivalent of more than twice as much CO2 is stored in Arctic permafrost as is present in the atmosphere, highlighting the risk and threats posed by a warming climate.

On Monday the American Geophysical Union (AGU) released a revised position statement on climate change, sending a clear message in its title: Human-induced Climate Change Requires Urgent Action. Established in 1919 as a committee within the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, the AGU was independently incorporated in 1972. The international non-profit now has more than 61,000 members working to further the …

Wildfires and climate change Two research scientists from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies have recently concluded a study showing that climate change could likely become the principal driver for future wildfires if current CO2 levels continue to rise unabated. Since the start of the industrial revolution, human activity – such as setting and suppressing wildfires – has been a primary driver in wildfire …

In an effort to dissuade congressional leaders to halt their anti-science campaign opposing the Environmental Protection Agency’s endangerment finding signed by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson late last year specifying carbon emissions as a risk to human health and welfare, more than 500 scientists have signed a letter urging Congress to oppose resolutions seeking to reverse that finding. Organized by the Union of Concerned Scientists …

Often lost in the debate over climate change and CO2 emissions is the link between rising carbon dioxide levels and ocean chemistry. Since the early 19th century, scientists have understood carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. Late in the 19th century researchers began to suspect that CO2 emissions could alter climate. For at least the past three decades the link between rapidly rising greenhouse …