Invititation to the Media - Soils as carbon sinks-a breathing space in the race against global warming?June 26, 2002Can we use land carbon sinks as a way to buy time for the restructuring of our energy generation? "We estimate soil carbon sinks could mitigate 8% of the EU`s emissions if major changes were made in land use and agricultural management ," says Professor David Powlson of IACR Rothamsted. However; How many of the land-use options are practicable? How can we tell if someone is cheating on their commitments when changes in soil carbon only become apparent after 20 years (the Kyoto protocol accounting period is 5 years)? . How permanent can such sinks be? What do we need to change about our land management in order to maximise them? What opportunities does CAP reform and the Curry report offer for increased sequestration in arable agriculture? These will be some of the questions debated at an international meeting, "Soils as carbon sinks: Opportunities and limitations" hosted by the BSSS (British Society of Soil Science) on Friday 28th June. The meeting will also showcase the latest predictions on global warming, including the warning by Dr Peter Cox (Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction) that the Amazon is to get drier. IACR Rothamsted |
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| Related Global Warming Current Events and Global Warming News Articles Oceans' uptake of manmade carbon may be slowing The oceans play a key role in regulating climate, absorbing more than a quarter of the carbon dioxide that humans put into the air. Research challenges for understanding landscape changes identified Nine research challenges and four research initiatives that are poised to advance the study of how Earth's landscapes change were unveiled today in a new report by the National Research Council. Study: Sea stars bulk up to beat the heat A new study finds that a species of sea star stays cool using a strategy never before seen in the animal kingdom. The sea stars soak up cold sea water into their bodies during high tide as buffer against potentially damaging temperatures brought about by direct sunlight at low tide. Drug industry, nonprofits join forces to fight world's neglected diseases Drug companies and nonprofit organizations are joining forces to develop new drugs and vaccines to target so-called "neglected" diseases that claim millions of lives in the developing world each year. Health care accounts for 8 percent of US carbon footprint The American health care sector accounts for nearly a tenth of the country's carbon dioxide emissions, according to a first-of-its-kind calculation of health care's carbon footprint. Cave Study Links Climate Change to California Droughts California experienced centuries-long droughts in the past 20,000 years that coincided with the thawing of ice caps in the Arctic. Reducing greenhouse gases may not be enough to slow climate change Because land use changes are responsible for 50 percent of warming in the US, policymakers need to address the influence of global deforestation and urbanization on climate change, in addition to greenhouse gas emissions. Past climate of the northern Antarctic Peninsular informs global warming debate The seriousness of current global warming is underlined by a reconstruction of climate at Maxwell Bay in the South Shetland Islands of the Antarctic Peninsula over approximately the last 14,000 years, which appears to show that the current warming and widespread loss of glacial ice are unprecedented. Climate variability impacts the deep sea Deep-sea ecosystems occupying 60% of the Earth's surface could be vulnerable to the effects of global warming warn scientists writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Interactions with aerosols boost warming potential of some gases For decades, climate scientists have worked to identify and measure key substances -- notably greenhouse gases and aerosol particles -- that affect Earth's climate. More Global Warming Current Events and Global Warming News Articles |
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