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Photosynthesis photographed for the first time
Posted by Mother Nature Network: John Platt on July 10th, 2014
Mother Nature Network: Every school kid learns about photosynthesis, but a new study shows the life-giving process in action for the first time. As published this week in the journal Nature, an international team of researchers has photographed photosynthesis in action using the world's fastest X-ray laser, which captures events that take place in one-quadrillionth of a second. Using this ultrafast laser, the researchers were able to document the previously unseen moments when photosynthesis converts water into oxygen,...
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How much methane leaks out during fracking?
Posted by Mother Nature Network: John Platt on September 20th, 2013
Mother Nature Network: Critics of the natural gas extraction technique known as fracking have long criticized it for leaking too much methane — a potent greenhouse gas — into the atmosphere during the extraction process. The Environmental Protection Agency recently estimated that natural gas operations emitted about 145 million metric tons of methane in 2011, making it the biggest source of these emissions in the country. Now a new study, sponsored by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and nine energy petroleum companies,...
Shh! Settlement bans two kids from talking about fracking – for life
Posted by Mother Nature Network: John Platt on August 7th, 2013
Mother Nature Network: Two Pennsylvania children have been permanently banned from talking about fracking following a legal settlement with the companies exploring for natural gas around their family farm. The 2011 settlement, signed when the kids were just 7 and 10 years old, could theoretically follow them for the rest of their lives, according to reports from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. How did two pre-teens get wrapped up in this gag order? It all stems from a 2011 settlement signed by their parents after fracking...
Study: Increased carbon dioxide may lead to greener deserts
Posted by Mother Nature Network: John Platt on June 4th, 2013
Mother Nature Network: Increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide may have contributed to a gradual greening of some desert regions over the past 30 years, a process that will continue, according to a new study. But the authors warn that this "CO2 fertilization effect" could also have consequences for native plants and the wildlife that depends on them. The study, published May 15 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, was conducted by researchers from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization...
Fracking is draining water resources, especially in the West
Posted by Mother Nature Network: John Platt on May 7th, 2013
Mother Nature Network: The natural gas extraction technique known as fracking uses so much water that it could threaten groundwater resources, especially in the Western U.S., two new reports conclude. The first report (pdf), from the Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC), found that hydraulic fracking removes 7 billion gallons of water every year in just four states: North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana and Colorado. The organization blames inadequate federal and state-level protections for the use and/or contamination...
Cow power: Indiana farm uses manure to fuel its dairy trucks
Posted by Mother Nature Network: John Platt on April 5th, 2013
Mother Nature Network: Fair Oaks Farms in Indiana loves its manure. The farm has about 30,000 milk cows which produce more than a fair amount of manure every day. Several years ago the farm started putting that manure to good use, using it to power its barns and other structures. Now, according to a report in The New York Times, it is taking the manure one step further. Fair Oaks now converts some of its manure into enough compressed natural gas (CNG) to keep its fleet of 42 tractor-trailers on the road every day. "As...
Climate change could have devastating effect on India’s monsoon season
Posted by Mother Nature Network: John Platt on November 6th, 2012
Mother Nature Network: More than a billion people in India currently depend on the rainy monsoon season for the water necessary to grow crops such as rice and wheat, but those annual rains could be less predictable in the future, according to a new study published Nov. 5 in the journal Environmental Research Letters. The study, by Jacob Schewe and Anders Levermann of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, looked at climate change models for the next 200 years and concluded that monsoons could begin...