Global Warming Issues

On July 29, four Democratic Senators called for the resignation of EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson and asked the U.S. attorney general to investigate whether Johnson lied to Congress.

“We have lost all confidence in Johnson’s ability to carry out EPA’s mission in accordance with the law,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who chairs the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee. “He has become a secretive and dangerous ally of polluters, and we cannot stand by and allow more damage to be done.”

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The owners of Salem Harbor Station say they’re here to stay and have a plan to live up to state regulations – although environmental activists have their doubts.

“We are confident Salem Harbor can and will continue to serve you with reliable electricity for years to come,” reads a notice the Virginia-based owners, Dominion, placed in the July 25 Salem Gazette.

Jim Norvelle, a spokesman for Dominion, said given larger economic factors, it’s difficult for the company to predict the future, but he pointed to regulatory-compliance plans being made as evidence of the company’s intention to remain in Salem.

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Developed under the leadership of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), this report, SAP 3.1, describes computer models of the Earth’s climate and their ability to simulate current climate change.

“Complex climate models are tools that provide insights and knowledge into how future climate may evolve. To assure that future climate projections are used appropriately, it is crucial to understand what current models can simulate well, and where models need improvements,” said David Bader, with DOE’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the coordinating lead author for this SAP report. “This report makes an important contribution in helping to describe and explain the current state of high-end climate modeling for the non-specialist.”

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Called the aerosphere, it influences the daily and seasonal movements, development traits, such as size and shape, and evolution of behavioral, sensory, metabolic and respiratory functions of airborne organisms.  Understanding how they respond to altered landscapes and atmospheric conditions can also help mitigate adverse effects.

In the history of science and technology, there is an infrequent combination of empirical discoveries, theories and technology developments converge that make it possible to recognize a new discipline. Past examples include marine biology, biomechanics and astrobiology with more recent developments of nanotechnology and bioinformatics – all disciplines that are now well established in the lexicon of modern science and technology.

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Storing energy is a crucial but expensive component of plans to turn intermittent sources of energy, like wind and sun, into reliable replacements for coal and natural gas. But two new scientific papers show progress in materials science and chemistry that could cut the cost.

The advances apply to the process of converting electricity into hydrogen for storage and then converting the hydrogen back to electricity when needed. The first half is done in an electrolyzer, which splits a water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen, and the second half in a fuel cell, which puts them back together.

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China’s environmental regulators on Thursday unveiled stricter emergency pollution controls for the Olympic Games that would shutter more factories and expand traffic restrictions if air quality failed to meet approved standards once the competition began next week.

The measures, posted on the Web site of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, would be invoked during the Games only in the case of “extremely unfavorable weather conditions” — for example, hot, humid air without wind to disperse pollution.

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