Recent News

Plants Put Limit on Ice Ages

Wednesday, July 1, 2009 —When glaciers advanced over much of the Earth’s surface during the last ice age, what kept the planet from freezing over entirely? This has been a puzzle to climate scientists because leading models have indicated that over the past 24 million years geological conditions should have caused carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere to plummet, possibly leading to runaway "icehouse" conditions. Now researchers including Ken Caldeira of the DGE writing in the July 2, 2009, Nature report on the missing piece of the puzzle. The research team, led by Mark Pagani of Yale University, found that the critical role of plants in the chemical breakdown and weathering of rocks and soil gave them a strong influence on carbon dioxide levels. It was a link that earlier studies had missed. more »

Global Sunscreen Won’t Save Corals

Thursday, June 18, 2009 — Emergency plans to counteract global warming by artificially shading the Earth from incoming sunlight might lower the planet's temperature a few degrees, but such "geoengineering" solutions would do little to stop the acidification of the world oceans that threatens coral reefs and other marine life, report a new study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters by a former DGE's Post-Doc, Damon Matthews of Concordia University, Canada, and Ken Caldeira and Long Cao. The culprit is atmospheric carbon dioxide, which even in a cooler globe will continue to be absorbed by seawater, creating acidic conditions. more »

Is the Sky the Limit for Wind Power?

Monday, June 15, 2009 —Using 28 years of data from the National Center for Environmental Prediction and the Department of Energy, Ken Caldeira of the DGE and a former DGE's Post-Doc, Cristina Archer of California State University, Chico, compiled the first-ever global survey of wind energy available at high altitudes in the atmosphere. The researchers assessed potential for wind power in terms of "wind power density," which takes into account both wind speed and air density at different altitudes. They found that the regions best suited for harvesting this energy match with population centers in the eastern U.S. and East Asia, but fluctuating wind strength still presents a challenge for exploiting this energy source on a large scale.more »

Luis Fernandez Receives EPA Gold Medal Award

Wednesday, June 10, 2009 —DEG's Visiting Investigator Luis E. Fernandez was awarded the EPA's highest honor award, the EPA Gold Medal for Exceptional Service, for his work on the International Mercury Program in which he served as technical director while as International Affairs Specialist and Environmental Scientist at the EPA Office of International Affairs in Washington D.C. Fernandez pioneered the Agency’s first program to study and reduce the impacts of mercury contamination from artisanal and small scale gold mining (ASGM) in developing countries. Fernandez helped develop a program that will reduce the estimated 1000 tonnes per year of elemental mercury being released to watersheds from ASGM which endangers the health of an estimated 40 million people. more »