Oceana reported today that increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which are absorbed by the oceans could lead to an accelerated deterioration of coral reefs.  Heightened levels of CO2 raise acidity levels in the ocean, creating an unhealthy environment for coral life, and threatens to create a domino effect on the fragile oceanic ecosystem that relies on it. Oceana explains:

The process, which is known as ocean acidification, reduces the ability of marine animals such as corals, crabs, lobsters, clams and oysters to create calcium carbonate skeletons and shells, which will likely reduce their survival rates, and their ability to mature and reproduce.

Acidification deteriorates the shells and skeletons of marine animals, and if the levels continue to rise could corrode them completely.  If this were to happen on a widespread scale, we could lose the important barrier that coral provides our shores as well as the larger marine life we depend upon for food.

The only way to decrease ocean acidification is to reduce the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases we release into the air.
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Related: Inconvenient Truth of the Day

An Answer to Global Warming?

A team of scientists from Columbia University have discovered that the mineral peridotite absorbs carbon dioxide. When CO2 comes into contact with the rock it is converted into a solid mineral (often calcite).

The findings could have an enormous impact on the fight against Global Warming the world over. The geologists that discovered the naturally occurring process have also found that it can be supercharged by a million times to convert carbon dioxide into minerals deep underground, which is convenient as the majority of peridotite is found deep within the crust of the Earth, where it is actually the most commonly occurring mineral in the mantle of our planet. Preliminary estimates find that approximately 7% of all the CO2 emitted on earth due to human activity, could be safely stored by using such method.

It stands to reason that in order to realistically deal with a problem as large as Global Warming a variety of strategies will be required. While cutting down on fossel fuel consumption and saving energy are unquestionably cornerstones in building a sustainable future, CO2 reduction strategies like the one described above should be given serious consideration as well.

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Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced plans to levy a tax on plastic bags within New York City. “The most beautiful thing” that kinda creepy, kinda deep guy next door from American Beauty ever filmed (watch the clip below) is not going to come for free anymore in the Big Apple, if Hizzona has his way, with Bloomberg proposing adding a 5 cent tax for each bag.

The Mayor says the plan could raise $16 Million in revenue each year while encouraging shoppers to cut down on the number of the plastic bags they use from retail stores and move toward using their own reusable bags for their shopping needs.

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While many stars make no secret of championing their environmental efforts, the film and television industry as a whole has lagged behind and still maintains a massive carbon footprint.  And while many production companies are working hard to reduce waste and energy consumption at their studios and offices, the biggest waste tends to take place on location.  Film and TV producer Judith James writes about the excesses in Traction, an online publication for women in Hollywood:

Consider how much fuel we use. Generators, night shoots, ‘distant locations,’ trucks per shoot, idling trucks, moving cranes, moving everything, people, wardrobe, grip equipment, out to the set and back, move locations, fly crews and helicopters.

In 2007 major studios, including Fox, Disney, Paramount, NBC, and CBS redirected 20,862 tons of studio sets and other solid waste that would have gone to landfills, and instead reused and recycled the materials, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.  This combined reduction of waste eliminated

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Comedy Central wants to teach you easy ways to reduce waste and help revive the planet! Through their on-air and online ‘Address the Mess’ campaign, Comedy Central is helping viewers reduce their carbon footprint. And on Sunday, November 9th, from 10am-4pm as Address the Mess takes over the WEST part of Union Square between E 15 & E 16th Street to help New Yorkers properly recycle their old appliances. With the support of the Lower East Side Ecology Center and the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, Address the Mess plans to raise awareness around the environmental crisis and collect all the unwanted e-ware gathering dust in your homes. By coming to this event participants have the chance to win two front row tickets to Brian Regan’s performance at the New York Comedy Festival.

Check out this video about Address the Mess featuring talented comedian (and my dear pal) Al Jackson:

Discarded electronics contribute to over 70% of the toxins found in our nation’s landfills. So if you live in NYC come out to Union Square next Sunday and Address the Mess. takepart and visit http://www.addressthemess.com for more information on this event and to learn other environmentally friendly steps you can take everyday.

Oh, because one buzzkill wasn’t enough for you today, I figured that I’d go ahead and let you know that levels of methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide, rose sharply last year for the first time in a decade. And the best part, the absolute clincher, is that scientists have no idea why that happened.

There is considerably less methane than carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Pre-industrial concentrations of methane were about 700 parts per billion — that is, for every billion molecules of air, there were only 700 of methane — but that level rose gradually to 1773 parts per billion by the late 20th century…The rise in 2007 was about 10 parts per billion over the course of a year, a real jump for such a short period of time.

Reuters reports that though methane levels have more than doubled since pre-industrial times (so let’s call that 125 years, give or take a decade), the levels had been pretty constant for some time. And they’re pretty well stumped about this new development.

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European Space Agency reports that the thickness of sea ice in large parts of the Arctic declined by as much as 19% last winter compared to the previous five winters. This date data comes from ESA’s Envisat satellite.

They measured sea ice thickness over the Arctic from 2002 to 2008 and found that it had been fairly constant until the record loss of ice in the summer of 2007.

You can read the full report here.

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Yesterday, the European Union reminded the global airline community who’s in charge around here (metaphorically) by approving measures that will force airlines to participate in a carbon trading system (literally).   The industry, if you hadn’t guessed, is less than thrilled.   From The New York Times article on this very topic:

European justice ministers meeting in Luxembourg approved the greenhouse gas measures, which oblige airlines, regardless of nationality, that land or take off from an airport in the European Union to join the emissions trading system starting on Jan. 1, 2012.

The system, created in 2005, already includes heavy industries like cement makers and electricity generators in Europe.

European airlines reminded the EU that there’s not a whole lot of extra money lying around, while the United States is wondering if Europe is allowed to impose their rules on American carriers, or if it violates international aviation agreements.

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“Cap and trade” emissions programs have always struck a dubious note for me, and yesterday’s “Cashing in on Carbon” conference in London further reinforced my suspicions.   I’m all for polluters limiting their greenhouse gas output, and I have always argued that major environmental improvements for industries will come from economic incentives, but carbon trading seems like the old bait-and-switch deception long practiced by industry hucksters.   Sure they have to limit their emissions to a degree, but then they can buy up carbon credits all over they place, appearing to their shareholders and the public as environmental stewards, when in fact, they are continuing to spew huge amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.   And now we have industry leaders huddled in dark rooms scheming to make the most money from this shell game.

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Both John McCain and Barack Obama have announced that they’re amped to develop clean car technology if either were to be elected president.   They do, however, have different ways of showing it, according to The New York Times.

First off, Senator McCain’s plan centers on the challenge he put forth a while back concerning the development of new technology:

Mr. McCain has talked of a $300 million challenge to develop batteries with the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars. The winning battery would need to deliver full performance, but cost just 30 percent of current technology.

Other than that, there’s not too much more substance other than speaking about how electric or hybrid cars are necessary.   Meanwhile, says the Times, “Mr. Obama has the more detailed plan.”

Part of that plan is to put a million plug-in cars on the road by 2015.  Ambitious.

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