Direct and Indirect Human Contributions to Terrestrial Carbon Fluxes

2004-06-30
Direct and Indirect Human Contributions to Terrestrial Carbon Fluxes

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  • Author: National Research Council
  • Publisher: National Academies Press
  • ISBN: 0309165857
  • Category : Science
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 92

Human-induced climate change is an important environmental issue worldwide, as scientific studies increasingly demonstrate that human activities are changing the Earth's climate. Even if dramatic reductions in emissions were made today, some human-induced changes are likely to persist beyond the 21st century. The Kyoto Protocol calls for emissions reporting that separates out management-induced changes in greenhouse gases from those changes caused by indirect human effects (e.g., carbon dioxide fertilization, nitrogen deposition, or precipitation changes), natural effects, and past practices on forested agricultural lands. This book summarizes a September 2003 workshop where leaders from academia, government and industry came together to discuss the current state of scientific understanding on quantifying direct human-induced change in terrestrial carbon stocks and related changes in greenhouse gas emissions and distinguishing these changes from those caused by indirect and natural effects.

Terrestrial Biospheric Carbon Fluxes Quantification of Sinks and Sources of CO2

2012-12-06
Terrestrial Biospheric Carbon Fluxes Quantification of Sinks and Sources of CO2

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  • Author: Joe Wisniewski
  • Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
  • ISBN: 9401119821
  • Category : Science
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 677

Towards the Balance and Management of the Carbon Budget of the Biosphere The current state of misunderstanding of the global C cycle and our failure to resolve an issue that has been debated for 100 years (Jones and Henderson-Sellers, 1990) speaks loudly about the limitations of modem science when faced with the complexity of the biosphere. Efforts to understand and balance the global C budget have gone through several phases. First was a holistic view of the C budget as part of efforts to understand the geochemistry of the Earth (e. g. , Clarke, 1908). Next, came a period of data collection and sythesis which focused on the diversity of sectors of the biosphere. This phase culminated in the early 1970's with the realization that humans were greatly impacting the global C cycle as measured at the Mauna Loa Observatory (Keeling et al. , 1973). New syntheses of the global C budget emerged at this time (Woodwell and Pacan, 1973; Bolin et al. , 1979). The next phase was one of controversy and intense focus on particular sectors of the biosphere. The controversy rested on discrepancies about the role of the terrestrial biota in the global C cycle and the failure to account for sufficient C sinks to absorb all the C emitted by land-use change in the tropics (Woodwell et al. , 1978, 1983; Houghton et al. , 1983).

The Global Carbon Cycle

2012-09-26
The Global Carbon Cycle

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  • Author: Christopher B. Field
  • Publisher: Island Press
  • ISBN: 1610910753
  • Category : Science
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 568

While a number of gases are implicated in global warming, carbon dioxide is the most important contributor, and in one sense the entire phenomena can be seen as a human-induced perturbation of the carbon cycle. The Global Carbon Cycle offers a scientific assessment of the state of current knowledge of the carbon cycle by the world's leading scientists sponsored by SCOPE and the Global Carbon Project, and other international partners. It gives an introductory over-view of the carbon cycle, with multidisciplinary contributions covering biological, physical, and social science aspects. Included are 29 chapters covering topics including: an assessment of carbon-climate-human interactions; a portfolio of carbon management options; spatial and temporal distribution of sources and sinks of carbon dioxide; socio-economic driving forces of emissions scenarios. Throughout, contributors emphasize that all parts of the carbon cycle are interrelated, and only by developing a framework that considers the full set of feedbacks will we be able to achieve a thorough understanding and develop effective management strategies. The Global Carbon Cycle edited by Christopher B. Field and Michael R. Raupach is part of the Rapid Assessment Publication series produced by the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE), in an effort to quickly disseminate the collective knowledge of the world's leading experts on topics of pressing environmental concern.

Strategic Plan

2006
Strategic Plan

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  • Author: Climate Change Technology Program (U.S.)
  • Publisher:
  • ISBN:
  • Category : Climatic changes
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 244

Emerging Technologies to Benefit Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia

2009-02-21
Emerging Technologies to Benefit Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia

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  • Author: National Research Council
  • Publisher: National Academies Press
  • ISBN: 0309124948
  • Category : Technology & Engineering
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 292

Increased agricultural productivity is a major stepping stone on the path out of poverty in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, but farmers there face tremendous challenges improving production. Poor soil, inefficient water use, and a lack of access to plant breeding resources, nutritious animal feed, high quality seed, and fuel and electricity-combined with some of the most extreme environmental conditions on Earth-have made yields in crop and animal production far lower in these regions than world averages. Emerging Technologies to Benefit Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia identifies sixty emerging technologies with the potential to significantly improve agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Eighteen technologies are recommended for immediate development or further exploration. Scientists from all backgrounds have an opportunity to become involved in bringing these and other technologies to fruition. The opportunities suggested in this book offer new approaches that can synergize with each other and with many other activities to transform agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

California Agricultural Research Priorities

2004-11-28
California Agricultural Research Priorities

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  • Author: National Research Council
  • Publisher: National Academies Press
  • ISBN: 0309092892
  • Category : Technology & Engineering
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 177

The glassy-winged sharpshooter is one of the more recent invasive pests to afflict California agriculture. The insect transmits a bacterial pathogen that causes Pierce's disease, which has impaired production of wine, table, and raisin grapes in California. The report recommends strengthening the process and the priorities for research funded by state agencies and wine industry groups to address Pierce's disease and its vector. Research should be focused on identifying feasible options for controlling the spread of the disease and providing sustainable approaches that are adaptable and affordable over the long term. Several avenues of research be pursued more intensely including the genetic makeup of the pathogen that triggers Pierce's disease, understanding the mechanisms that make grapes resistant to the disease, the possibilities of introducing predator enemies to the sharpshooter, and new ways to manage the planting of crops to help avoid spread of the disease.

Changes in the Sheep Industry in the United States

2008-10-26
Changes in the Sheep Industry in the United States

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  • Author: National Research Council
  • Publisher: National Academies Press
  • ISBN: 0309121612
  • Category : Technology & Engineering
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 367

The U.S. sheep industry is complex, multifaceted, and rooted in history and tradition. The dominant feature of sheep production in the United States, and, thus, the focus of much producer and policy concern, has been the steady decline in sheep and lamb inventories since the mid-1940s. Although often described as "an industry in decline," this report concludes that a better description of the current U.S. sheep industry is "an industry in transition."

Verifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions

2010-07-28
Verifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions

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  • Author: National Research Council
  • Publisher: National Academies Press
  • ISBN: 0309152119
  • Category : Nature
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 124

The world's nations are moving toward agreements that will bind us together in an effort to limit future greenhouse gas emissions. With such agreements will come the need for all nations to make accurate estimates of greenhouse gas emissions and to monitor changes over time. In this context, the present book focuses on the greenhouse gases that result from human activities, have long lifetimes in the atmosphere and thus will change global climate for decades to millennia or more, and are currently included in international agreements. The book devotes considerably more space to CO2 than to the other gases because CO2 is the largest single contributor to global climate change and is thus the focus of many mitigation efforts. Only data in the public domain were considered because public access and transparency are necessary to build trust in a climate treaty. The book concludes that each country could estimate fossil-fuel CO2 emissions accurately enough to support monitoring of a climate treaty. However, current methods are not sufficiently accurate to check these self-reported estimates against independent data or to estimate other greenhouse gas emissions. Strategic investments would, within 5 years, improve reporting of emissions by countries and yield a useful capability for independent verification of greenhouse gas emissions reported by countries.

Negative Emissions Technologies and Reliable Sequestration

2019-04-08
Negative Emissions Technologies and Reliable Sequestration

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  • Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
  • Publisher: National Academies Press
  • ISBN: 0309484529
  • Category : Science
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 511

To achieve goals for climate and economic growth, "negative emissions technologies" (NETs) that remove and sequester carbon dioxide from the air will need to play a significant role in mitigating climate change. Unlike carbon capture and storage technologies that remove carbon dioxide emissions directly from large point sources such as coal power plants, NETs remove carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere or enhance natural carbon sinks. Storing the carbon dioxide from NETs has the same impact on the atmosphere and climate as simultaneously preventing an equal amount of carbon dioxide from being emitted. Recent analyses found that deploying NETs may be less expensive and less disruptive than reducing some emissions, such as a substantial portion of agricultural and land-use emissions and some transportation emissions. In 2015, the National Academies published Climate Intervention: Carbon Dioxide Removal and Reliable Sequestration, which described and initially assessed NETs and sequestration technologies. This report acknowledged the relative paucity of research on NETs and recommended development of a research agenda that covers all aspects of NETs from fundamental science to full-scale deployment. To address this need, Negative Emissions Technologies and Reliable Sequestration: A Research Agenda assesses the benefits, risks, and "sustainable scale potential" for NETs and sequestration. This report also defines the essential components of a research and development program, including its estimated costs and potential impact.

TOWARD GREEN ECONOMY: OPPORTUNITIES AND OBSTACLES FOR WESTERN BALKAN COUNTRIES

2015-05-22
TOWARD GREEN ECONOMY: OPPORTUNITIES AND OBSTACLES FOR WESTERN BALKAN COUNTRIES

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  • Author: M.Radovic-Markovic; Z.Nikitovic
  • Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
  • ISBN: 1503532968
  • Category : Business & Economics
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 332

The green economy represents an important support to economic growth, investments and competitiveness. Therefore, it is considered to be an important alternative in attaining the general wellbeing of the humans, which is seen in the decrease of the risk while preserving the environment and using alternative energy sources. Atmospheric gases, especially carbon dioxide, create the greenhouse effect which influences the climate changes. They are already generating the extreme weather conditions, including powerful hurricanes and floods which have recently affected the Western Balkans. Having this in mind, this book is created with the intention not only to point out to the extent to which the Western Balkan countries have accepted the concept of green growth, but also to see what results are achieved in respect of implementation of this concept with the goal of overcoming the economic and financial crisis and creating the conditions for sustainable growth of this Region. Besides this, the intention was to emphasise the political, economic and legal limitations that are blocking faster development of green economy, as well as the possibilities of their overcoming, This monograph has a very broad topic range, with the goal of comprising the most important aspects and considerations of these issues. As the end result of theoretical and research considerations of the author, in approximately twenty chapters, one gets a clear insight in how the Region has progressed in respect of making the most important sectors „green“.