Mangroves hold a secret that could supercharge carbon storage

Mangroves are famous for storing carbon, but a new study suggests they may be doing it in more ways than we usually count.

Researchers found that a tough, long-lasting form of carbon linked to fires and fossil fuel burning can build up in mangrove soils, and that a dissolved version of it may also move from land into coastal waters.


I found this a rare bit of hopeful news in climate change. Mangroves are useful in so many ways!

One of the many terrible things the current administration is doing is making sweeping cuts to science research, including climate and weather. This is dangerous for Americans of course, but also to people in other countries who use and build on research done here. The work these scientists do is important, and the cuts we're seeing now have the potential to cause problems for decades to come.

"From Wednesday, May 28th to Sunday, June 1st, join meteorologists and climate scientists from across the US as we share our work, and show you what makes it so vital. We will clarify the impact of the cuts on this research, and answer your questions about weather and climate research in the US."

Livestream Information and Schedule Highlights

The current livestream is below. It and previous hours' videos can be found at wclivestream .



Other links of interest:

• CNN article about the livestream
• 5 Calls for a sample script/letter for contacting your reps
• tumblr post you can reblog

Did anyone else watch ABC's Earth 2100 last night?

As someone who's been concerned about climate change and peak oil (which I was surprised was covered so minimally) for years, I can't say I learned much but I hope it was eye-opening for other people. I missed the first 20 minutes or so and showed up somewhere around 2030 and the melting of the Himalayan glaciers, which I think, frankly, we may already be too late to prevent.

( Trailer for the documentary )

For those who did find it more eye-opening, I thought you might be interested in some links relating to the topic.

Transition Towns
Transition United States and the Transition US Social Network
Future Scenarios
Post Carbon Institute
PeakOil.com
Wildlands Network

Please feel free to discuss Earth 2100 in comments, or share other organizations you know of that are working towards building a more sustainable future.

I just stumbled across an interesting website (also a book, apparently) called Future Scenarios that focuses on the interplay between peak oil and climate change and how they is likely to affect the environment and the human race.

The author, David Holmgren, offers four possible scenarios for the future:

1. Brown Tech (slow oil decline, fast climate change)
2. Green Tech (slow oil decline, slow climate change)
3. Earth Steward (fast oil decline, slow climate change)
4. Lifeboats (fast oil decline, fast climate change)

The site focuses more on speculation than on activism and problem solving designed to actively work towards one or another scenario, but I thought it was very interesting and thoughtfully done.

Source

Have I mentioned how much of a relief it is to have an administration that actually pays attention to science? \o/