Clemson hosts global warming talk pro and con

CLEMSON — What will happen to us as climate change continues to occur? Some say changes will be minimal; others say significant. Clemson University area residents have the unique opportunity to hear from two leading experts who have decidedly different views.

Scientists John R. Christy and Michael C. MacCracken are the speakers for the program, “Climate Change Discussion” at 7:30 p.m. April 16. The talk will be held in the Self Auditorium of the Strom Thurmond Institute on campus and is free to the public. The program is co-sponsored by the Jerry E. and Harriett Calvert Dempsey Endowment, the Clemson University Environmental Institute, the environmental engineering and Earth sciences department and the Strom Thurmond Institute.

Wind Watch: Ice risk for Olympic turbine

The possibility of winter shutdowns for the London 2012 turbine follow concerns that it will have to be shutdown during the Games due to it creating a “flicker” that will distract the athletes (NCE 29 March 2007).

When Oceans Get Warmer Carbon Dioxide Uptake On Marine Plankton Will Be Reduced, Potentially Increasing Climate Change

To investigate how this system will change in response to surface-ocean warming, the scientists from Kiel have enclosed natural plankton communities in eight tanks of 1,400 litres each. The communities were exposed to different temperatures, which corresponded to the warming scenarios projected by the International Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) until the year 2100. In these “miniature ecosystems” the build-up and decline of the spring plankton bloom was monitored over a period of one month.