An Iowa State study found that nitrogen and phosphorus found in fertilizers is going to alter and has already altered microbial communities that are important in nutrient restoration in soil as well as part of an established balance in the soil. For example, introducing more nitrogen into the soil could cause microbes that feed off of nitrogen to increase and to seep into water sources. In addition to these negative impacts on these microbial communities, there has been a consensus within the Nutrient Network that these damages are indeed global.
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Physicists and climate researchers for the journal Science Advances recently came to the conclusion that if humans burned through all of the Earth's carbon resources, about 10,000 gigatons, we would completely melt Antarctica. This would be catastrophic as it would cause sea levels to rise 160 feet, submerging many large cities, such as New York and LA, and a majority of lower Florida and Bangladesh.
This article adds on to the point made by the documentary Chasing Ice, that humans are going to eventually cause so much environmental harm by continuing to burn fossil fuels that our world as we know it will be completely changed, and not in a good way. Showing quantitative evidence paired with a visual is much more powerful that could potentially change the minds of skeptics and ultimately lead to the slowing/stopping of burning fossil fuels. The US Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory has been researching ways in which to use photosynthesis as a model for storing solar energy, They have worked to store this solar energy in chemical bonds found in hydrogen, combining water and sunlight to potentially create a fuel. While the project is still in its earlier stages, it has been successful in changing electrons from energy absorbing molecules to fuel. As this type of energy does not immediately have to be used after it is generated like typical solar energy, but creates no pollutants when burned, it is a promising new step in a sustainable and renewable energy source. Some people, even those who are knowledgeable about green energy, may not know about this new promising energy source, as it is still in its early stages of development. However, as this source could change lives by reducing the world's carbon emissions as well as providing a sturdier green energy. |
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March 2016
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