January Climate Science News
By Carla Wise
Climate change and tree planting
Tree planting is an increasingly popular activity associated with “carbon offsetting“ projects people and businesses are buying to try to neutralize their carbon emissions. However, recent studies suggest that planting trees outside the tropics may not help slow climate change. Dr. G. Bala, Dr. K. Caldeira, and others used a computer model to determine the impact forests in different parts of the world would have on temperature. The analysis found that forests in tropical regions cool the planet by sequestering carbon dioxide and by increasing evaporation, which increases cloud cover. However, forests planted in other latitudes may have neutral or even harmful effects on climate change. This is because while these forests absorb carbon, they also tend to be darker than fields or farms they replace. Darker vegetation absorbs more sunlight, holding more heat near ground level. This effect is most pronounced in snowy areas, where planting trees may actually have an overall warming effect.
See the following articles for more details on this work:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/12/planting_trees.php
http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/108542.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/12/051206162547.htm
Polar bears and melting ice
The US Fish and Wildlife Service agreed in January to decide whether to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Citing warming temperatures that are melting the sea ice on which polar bears depend, the agency has said it will decide within a year whether listing is warranted. The announcement came after several environmental groups took the agency to court for failure to respond to requests to give the polar bear protection under the ESA.
There is growing evidence that polar bear habitat (sea ice) is declining quickly with a rapidly warming arctic. There is also evidence from some polar bear populations of declining numbers, fewer offspring, and thinner bears.
For more information, see:
http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/stories/20070122/localnews/151449.shtml
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/23/ap/tech/mainD8MR9OMG2.shtml
1 comment
February 9th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
Aaron
The People Speak is sponsoring a Forum where you can ask Richard Moss, Director of the UN Foundation Climate Program, questions about climate change science and the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. Dr. Moss was the Director of the Technical Support Unit of the IPCC impacts, adaptation, and mitigation working group. He has been a lead author and general editor of several IPCC Assessments, Special Reports, and Technical Papers.
Click on the link below to ask Dr. Moss your question.
The People Speak is a campaign that engages people in critical global issues, such as climate change. Click on www.thepeoplespeak.org for more info.
Follow this link to ask Dr. Moss your question:
http://www.thepeoplespeak.org/community.igloo?r0=community&r0_script=/scripts/folder/view.script&r0_pathinfo=%2F%7B78d4a4ef-9401-49f9-bb92-c09b114ee798%7D%2FForums%2Fthepeopl%2Faskane~1%2Faskricha&r0_output=xml&s=cc