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National Wildlife Federation applauds Obama State of the Union.

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Through effective policy implementation, grazinglands can reduce greenhouse gases through carbon sequestration and emissions reduction offset credits. Carbon sequestration is the long-term storage of carbon in the ground or oceans, slowing the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere enters the soil of grazinglands through the natural process of photosynthesis by green plants. The subsequent cycling turns some of that carbon into soil organic carbon—and into an environmental, societal and economic benefit for every country with these grazinglands.

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Rising and falling sea levels over relatively short periods do not indicate long-term trends. An assessment of hundreds and thousands of years shows that what seems an irregular phenomenon today is in fact nothing new," explains Dr. Dorit Sivan.

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A study published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) provides new information about the rates at which three of the most powerful greenhouse gases are destroyed by a chemical reaction that takes place in the upper atmosphere.

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A team of UK scientists has developed a technique for monitoring the condition of peatlands by capturing images from Earth and space to measure spatial patterning. This method could help monitor peatland damage. This research appears in January-February 2010 Journal of Environmental Quality.

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Based on a study of seasonal rainfall variations in the desert Southwest up to 56,000 years ago as recorded in cave stalagmites, geoscientists suggest the rapidly growing Southwest could become even more arid as global temperatures rise. Findings appear in Nature Geosciences this week.

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Civil engineers at the University of Washington and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Seattle office have taken a first look at how dams in the Columbia River basin, the nation's largest hydropower system, could be managed for a different climate.

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The simple formula we’ve learned in recent years – forests remove CO2 from the atmosphere; therefore forests help prevent global warming – may not be quite so simple. New Weizmann Institute research shows that forests can directly absorb and retain heat. In at least one type of forest, these effects may cancel out a good part of the benefit in lowered CO2.

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Crop genetics play key role in understanding the impact of environmental stress.

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Climate specialist Jeff Gaffney explains Union of Concern Scientists' call for dialogue with American Farm Bureau, which recently said there is no generally agreed scientific assesment on the impact of carbon emissions from human activities.

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While governments around the world continue to explore strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a new study suggests policymakers should focus on what needs to be achieved in the next 40 years in order to keep long-term options viable for avoiding dangerous levels of warming. The study is the first of its kind to use a detailed energy system model to analyze the relationship between mid-century targets and the likelihood of achieving long-term outcomes.

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From now through Feb. 1, USC blog summerinantarctica.usc.edu will chronicle the adventures of students learning what it's like to do science way south. And yes, there will be penguins.

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An El Nino Pacific Ocean warming event kept global temperatures warmer than seasonal norms through December, with temperatures in the tropics a full 0.50 C (0.9 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than seasonal norms.

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In a vivid example of how a small geographic feature can have far-reaching impacts on climate, new research shows that water levels in the Bering Strait helped drive global climate patterns during ice age episodes dating back more than 100,000 years.

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Researchers are investigating whether viruses that have adapted to higher temperatures – similar to increases due to global warming – can jump species more easily. Their results could shed light on the characteristics of H1N1-like viruses in a world of increasing temperatures.

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The overwhelming majority of Americans support action to limit carbon pollution and move the U.S. toward a clean energy future, according to a new poll released today by National Wildlife Federation.

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NWF says Copenhagen Climate Talks show progress but ,ore needed.

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A Baylor University researcher who has studied the Eastern Screech Owl for more than 40 years says an increase in the number of the owls that are red – known as “rufus” – is another sign of global warming.

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A Baylor University researcher has explored various means by which individuals and communities are responding to weather and climate change.

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First-person reports from the UN climate change summit, from a graduate student in forest ecology and an undergraduate in environmental anthropology at Michigan Technological University.

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Environmental Protection Agency funds study that says climate change has effect on continent's waterfowl numbers.

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Which came first, the warmer temperatures or the clearer skies? Answers to that and similar "chicken or egg" type questions could have a significant impact on our understanding of both the climate system and manmade global warming.

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Those seeking to understand and predict climate change can now use an additional tool to calculate carbon dioxide exchanges on land, according to a scientific journal article publishing this week.

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Scientists who study the melting of Greenland’s glaciers are discovering that water flowing beneath the ice plays a much more complex role than they previously imagined.

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A Web tool that generates color maps of projected temperature and precipitation changes using 16 of the world's most prominent climate-change models is being demonstrated at the climate summit in Copenhagen and is the subject of a presentation Dec. 15 at the American Geophysical Union meeting.

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State assistance to improve energy efficiency of Maryland homes heated by natural gas would generate economic and environmental benefits over the next 10 years, including more than 80,000 new jobs, savings of hundreds of dollars in average heating bills and a nine percent reduction in residential carbon emissions, concludes a new University of Maryland study.

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Dime-sized temperature sensors, first built for the refrigerated food industry, have been adapted for sensing mountain microclimates.

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A good-news global warming story about a pine tree with a storied past promises that a back-to-the-future approach will provide economic opportunities and help prepare the southeastern U.S. for a changing climate.

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Measures being proposed by the U.S. Climate Action Partnership to curb greenhouse gas emissions are unlikely to affect potential long-term economic growth in the United States, according to a study by RTI International.

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Oceans Day, to be held Dec. 14, will highlight the direct link between climate change, ocean health, and human well-being.

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Katharine Hayhoe can discuss climatic and economic questions related to global warming and greenhouse gas emissions.

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The strong signature of an El Niño Pacific Ocean warming event showed up as the warmest November in 30 years — and not just by a little bit. November 2009 was a full 0.1 C (0.18 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than November 2005, the second warmest November in the 31-year satellite record.

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The University of Maryland has more than 30 experts who can talk about scientific, technological, economic and policy aspects of climate change that are critical to discussions at the world climate summit in Copenhagen, Dec. 7-18. These include conference attendees, scientists shaping world & U.S. climate research, and a Nobel Prize winning economist.

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Experts who can address the legal, ethical/moral, political, international, economic, and communication-related aspects of climate change are available to comment as those issues play out at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change now through Friday, December 18.

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The ocean plays a critical role in Earth’s climate system and will be among the topics discussed during the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) taking place in Copenhagen from Dec. 7-18, 2009. This year — for the first time — the climate meeting will feature an Oceans Day on December 14. Experts from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are available for comment.

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Expert faculty members at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) are available to discuss developments at the U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen.

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Today the Environmental Protection Agency made final its determination that global warming pollution constitutes a public danger and is virtually certain to act boldly under its authority under the Clean Air Act. The news comes just as international climate talks begin in Copenhagen.

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The Wildlife Conservation Society today released a list of animals facing new impacts by climate change, some in strange and unexpected ways.

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As the United Nations Climate Change Conference kicks off, GW faculty members and experts are available to comment on topics related to climate change, environmental law, sustainability and environmental studies.

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Obama Scheduling Change Boosts Momentum at Copenhagen

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“I don’t see any chance that we can have enforceable national limits on greenhouse gas emissions,” says University of Maryland Nobel laureate, Thomas Schelling in a paper released as delegates meet in Copenhagen at a UN climate conference. “I know of no peacetime historical precedent for the kind of international cooperation that is going to be required.”

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South Dakota State University researchers and their colleagues elsewhere in the U.S. and France found compelling evidence of a previously undocumented volcanic eruption that contributed to extremely cold decade from 1810-1819.

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Leaders of the world's nations will meet Dec. 7-16 in Copenhagen, Denmark, for talks as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Indiana University experts comment on their prospects.

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Going ‘green’ for the first time this Christmas? Climate change expert Clint Springer, Ph.D., of Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, suggests live trees are a great way to begin.

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Copenhagen preview by Thomas Schelling, University of Maryland Nobel Laureate in Economics: “I know of no peacetime historical precedent for the kind of international cooperation that is going to be required to deal with climate change. I also don’t see any chance that we can have enforceable national limits on greenhouse gas emissions.”

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In a striking finding that raises new questions about carbon dioxide’s (CO2) impact on marine life, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists report that some shell-building creatures—such as crabs, shrimp and lobsters—unexpectedly build more shell when exposed to ocean acidification caused by elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2).

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Today, new studies published in The Lancet show that strategies to reduce greenhouse gases also benefit human health. The Lancet series highlights case studies on four climate change topics — household energy, transportation, electricity generation, and agricultural food production. Researchers say that cost savings realized from improving health will offset the cost of addressing climate change and, therefore, should be considered as part of all policy discussions related to climate change. Key researchers and public health officials gathered in the Unites States and Britain gathered together via satellite simulcast to unveil new research.

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In the essay, “Where the Wild Things Were,” currently appearing in Foreign Affairs, Dr. Steven Sanderson, President and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society, asserts the world’s political institutions have failed the planet but “realism cannot turn into defeatism.”

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Ithaca College will be represented by students, faculty, and alumni at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 15th Conference of the Parties (COP-15), being held Dec. 5–18 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

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Temple University’s Fox School of Business and other leading academic institutions have joined with global insurers in a survey sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative that sheds new light on the industry’s approach to sustainability and climate risks.