Study shows simple diet swaps can cut carbon emissions and improve your health
Curbing carbon emissions and eating healthier may both start at the dinner table. According to a new study co-authored by a Tulane University researcher and published in the journal Nature Food, making simple substitutions like switching from beef to chicken or drinking plant-based milk instead of cow’s milk could reduce the average American’s carbon footprint […]
Reusable Surgical Head Covers Reduce Emissions, Environmental Impact
Reusable surgical head covers had a lower carbon footprint and a lower environmental impact than disposable ones, according to a life cycle assessment of three kinds of head covers in Amsterdam. In metric tons, the mean carbon-equivalent footprint for an annual supply of head covers at a hospital with 25 operating rooms was 1.9 (95% […]
California’s trees are dying, and might not be coming back: Wildfires and climbing temperatures have caused a 6.7 percent decline since 1985
The State of California is banking on its forests to help reduce planet-warming carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. But that element of the state’s climate-change solution arsenal may be in jeopardy, as new research from the University of California, Irvine reports that trees in California’s mountain ranges and open spaces are dying from wildfires and […]
Decline of diatoms due to ocean acidification: Study shows unexpected negative impact by CO2 on important plankton group
Diatoms are the most important producers of plant biomass in the ocean and help to transport carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere into the deep ocean and thus regulate our climate. Because diatoms rely on silica rather than calcium carbonate to build their shells, they were previously thought to benefit from ocean acidification — a […]
Long-hypothesized ‘next generation wonder material’ created: Scientists have successfully synthesized graphyne, which has been theorized for decades
For over a decade, scientists have attempted to synthesize a new form of carbon called graphyne with limited success. That endeavor is now at an end, though, thanks to new research from the University of Colorado Boulder. Graphyne has long been of interest to scientists because of its similarities to the “wonder material” graphene — […]
How a soil microbe could rev up artificial photosynthesis
Plants rely on a process called carbon fixation — turning carbon dioxide from the air into carbon-rich biomolecules – for their very existence. That’s the whole point of photosynthesis, and a cornerstone of the vast interlocking system that cycles carbon through plants, animals, microbes and the atmosphere to sustain life on Earth. But the carbon […]
Bacteria upcycle carbon waste into valuable chemicals: Engineered bacteria convert captured carbon dioxide into chemicals for fuels, fabric and cosmetics
Researchers engineered a strain of bacteria to break down carbon dioxide (CO2), converting it into commonly used, expensive industrial chemicals. The carbon-negative approach removes CO2 from the atmosphere and bypasses using fossil fuels to generate these chemicals. Bacteria are known for breaking down lactose to make yogurt and sugar to make beer. Now researchers led […]
Magnetic surprise revealed in ‘magic-angle’ graphene
When two sheets of the carbon nanomaterial graphene are stacked together at a particular angle with respect to each other, it gives rise to some fascinating physics. For instance, when this so-called “magic-angle graphene” is cooled to near absolute zero, it suddenly becomes a superconductor, meaning it conducts electricity with zero resistance. Now, a research […]
Warmer soil stores less carbon
Global warming will cause the world’s soil to release carbon, new research shows. Scientists used data on more than 9,000 soil samples from around the world, and found that carbon storage “declines strongly” as average temperatures increase. This is an example of a “positive feedback,” where global warming causes more carbon to be released into […]
Liquid fuels from carbon dioxide: Electrocatalyst converts CO2 into multicarbon products
A new electrocatalyst called a-CuTi@Cu converts carbon dioxide (CO2 ) into liquid fuels. As reported by a team of Chinese researchers in the journal Angewandte Chemie, active copper centered on an amorphous copper/titanium alloy produces ethanol, acetone, and n-butanol with high efficiency. Most of our global energy demands are still being met by burning fossil […]