Acidic oceans implicated in Earth's worst mass extinction
News
Acidic oceans implicated in Earth’s worst massextinction
Acidic oceans helped fuel the biggest mass extinction inthe history of life on Earth, a study says. The researchers studiedrocks from the United Arab Emirates, concluding that a rapidrelease of carbon was a crucial factor in driving the oceanacidification. “This is a worrying finding, considering that we canalready see an increase in ocean acidity today that is the resultof human carbon emissions.”, Dr Clarkson, who led the team,commented. The carbon was released at a similar rate to modernemissions. The BBCandNaturealso have thestory.
Climate and energy news
Is Surrey cut out to become Dallascountry?
The discovery of huge deposits of oil under the Weald hasreceived a lukewarm response, reports the Telegraph. The energycompany UK Oil and Gas Investments estimates the field could holdas much as 100 billion barrels. But locals are lukewarm, writesJohnston: “if people aren’t going to get rich from the oildiscovery then they will always rather it was drilled elsewhere”.Meanwhile, environmental campaigners have already pledged to fightany potential drilling, Energy LiveNewsreports. The Timesand the Financial Timesalso coveredthe story.
Shell’s takeover of BG likely to face globalantitrust scrutiny
As one of the energy industry’s biggest ever deals, RoyalDutch Shell’s proposed acquisition of BG Group will face prolongedscrutiny from regulators around the world. But legal experts do notexpect the European Commission – one of the main watchdogs – toblock the merger, the Financial Times reports. The success of thedeal further depends on the price of oiland hassparked North Sea jobs fears, the FinancialTimes writes.
Japan’s New Coal Plants Threaten Emission Cuts,Group Says
New coal power projects planned for Japan could emit carbondioxide equal to about a 10th of the country’s total emissions, anenvironmental group said on Thursday. “These projects, which maystill be operating in 2050, run counter to Japan’s efforts totackle climate change and should be quickly reviewed or stopped”,the group said. The report comes as Japan debates emissionreduction plans ahead of the December United Nations climate talksin Paris. Elsewhere, RTCCreported that Japan isunlikely to target tough CO2 cuts for Paris.
Permafrost ‘carbon bomb’ may be more of a slowburn, say scientists
Carbon dioxide from thawing Arctic permafrost is likely tobe released gradually, rather than in a catastrophic eruption aspreviously predicted, according to new research. But the predictedimpact on the climate of future permafrost emissions remainssignificant. More than 1,000 billion tonnes of carbon are stored inthe soils beneath the Arctic tundra, double humanity’s emissionssince the industrial revolution, the Guardian reports.
World Bank approves $265m Argentinian renewablesand forest protection push
The World Bank this week approved $265m of investment inArgentina’s emerging green economy, signing off on three projectsdesigned to enhance forest protection and deliver renewable energyaccess to rural communities. “Through these projects we intend toclose the service access gap between rural and urban inhabitants,”said Jesko Hentschel, World Bank director for Argentina, Paraguayand Uruguay. The move represents the latest in a series of similarWorld Bank-backed projects in emerging and developing economies.
Climate and energy comment
Australia’s energy productivity plan: great idea,but is it ambitious enough?
Australia is bidding to boost energy productivity by 40% by2030, but other countries are already doing more, argues AlanPears. Neither Australia’s present level of energy productivity,nor its rate of improvement, rate all that highly in comparison toother countries, and the target is “lacking in ambition”. But giventhe lengthy and complex process proposed to develop the energyproductivity plan, maybe it’s just realistic.
There may be oil near Gatwick, but don’t buy yourstetsons yet
UK Oil and Gas’s find may turn out to be a large one. Butthe environmental and political opposition to drilling in leafySussex will be strong, argues Larry Elliot. Moreover, it is unclearat what level of oil prices extraction would be commerciallyviable.
New climate science
Causes and Impacts of the 2014 Warm Anomaly in theNE Pacific
An unusually warm patch of surface water is part of aPacific Ocean pattern that may be affecting weather in the PacificNorthwest, a new study says. The warm ocean, nicknamed ‘the blob’when it emerged in early 2014, is just one element of a broaderpattern in the Pacific Ocean, the researchers say. The conditionshas contributed to the warm, persistent weather in the western US,the researchers say, which has affected fisheries and watersupplies.
Observed climate changehot-spots
Areas in the Amazon, the Sahel, tropical West Africa,Indonesia and central eastern Asia are ‘hot-spots’ for warmingconditions, a new study finds. Researchers analysed temperature andrainfall from 1951-80 to 1981-2010 to find the parts of the worldwith the most significant climatic changes. The main contributingfactors are global average temperature rise, an increase in seasonswhere temperatures exceed the maximum during 1951-80 in areasaround the equator, and the decrease of rainfall over centralAfrica, the researchers say.