Monday, May 20, 2013

Links

"Skeptical" "Science":  Help close the consensus gap using social media
Initially we'll be focusing on communicating the level of consensus across published papers, and then the scientists themselves, but as time moves on we'll be expanding that message in order to keep it fresh and engaging (there are only so many times and ways you can say "97% level of consensus" before it gets repetitive). We already have some intriguing ideas in the planning stages, but in addition to those campaigns, we'll also be creating easily adaptable templates so that we can respond instantly to timely events when appropriate.
Does Solar Energy Actually Make Massachusetts Safer? | Somewhat Reasonable
Does Governor Patrick actually believe that solar cells make Massachusetts safer? Can solar installations stop the seas from rising or make the storms less severe? Contrary to claims by some, there is no empirical evidence that mankind can significantly influence the climate. But misguided government efforts, like solar initiatives and mandates in Massachusetts, provide only a tiny addition to electricity supply at high cost to citizens.
Ag Weekly Online: Twin Falls, Idaho
RENO, Nevada - Plants are shrinking in the Great Basin of Nevada, and warming climate could be the culprit, according to a paper published in the renowned science journal Global Change Biology based on research conducted by University of Nevada, Reno plant ecologist Beth Leger.
Tree growth in carbon dioxide enriched air and its implications for global carbon cycling and maximum levels of atmospheric CO2
In the longest carbon dioxide enrichment experiment ever conducted, well-watered and adequately fertilized sour orange tree seedlings were planted directly into the ground at Phoenix, Arizona, in July 1987 and continuously exposed, from mid-November of that year, to either ambient air or air enriched with an extra 300 ppmv of CO2 in clear-plastic-wall open-top enclosures. Only 18 months later, the CO2-enriched trees had grown 2.8 times larger than the ambient-treated trees; and they have maintained that productivity differential to the present day. This tremendous growth advantage is due to two major factors: a CO2-induced increase in daytime net photosynthesis and a CO2-induced reduction in nighttime dark respiration. Measurements of these physiological processes in another experiment have shown three Australlian tree species to respond similarly; while an independent study of the atmosphere's seasonal CO2 cycle suggests that all earth's trees, in the mean, probably share this same response.

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