Infographic: Where Are All Our Carbon Emissions Being Stored?

Last week the world reached a grim milestone: Levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide passed 400 parts per million for the first time in human history . It’s widely understood that this is the result of human carbon dioxide emissions. But did you know that without the help of the oceans, plants and soils this figure would already be well above 500 ppm? By analyzing where our carbon emissions come from and where they go we know that less than half of human emissions since the industrial revolution remain in the atmosphere. Although they don’t get much press we should all be thankful to these wonderful carbon sinks. Without them things would be even worse. Learn more at Shrink That Footprint . + Shrink That Footprint The article above was submitted to us by an Inhabitat reader. Want to see your story on Inhabitat ? Send us a tip by following this link . Remember to follow our instructions carefully to boost your chances of being chosen for publishing! Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: carbon dioxide levels , carbon sinks , carbon sinks infographic , Climate Change , climate change infographic , global warming , human carbon dioxide emissions , shrink that footprint        

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Infographic: Where Are All Our Carbon Emissions Being Stored?

32.4 Million People Were Displaced in 2012 Due to Climate and Weather Events

Photo by Ritu Raj Konwar via IDMC A new report released last week by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center  (IDMC) shows that a whopping 32.4 million people were forced to flee their homes last year, and 98% of that displacement was due to climate and weather related events. While displacement occurred disproportionately in Asia and Africa, rich countries were also affected – and there were particularly high numbers in the U.S. Read the rest of 32.4 Million People Were Displaced in 2012 Due to Climate and Weather Events Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: 2012 Special Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , 32.4 million people displaced in 2012 , 98% displacement caused by climate and weather events , climate change impact on natural disasters , flood disasters in India and Nigeria , global displacement , idmc , internal displacement monitoring center , IPCC , monsoon floods , natural disasters , people forced to flee their homes , rich countries affected by displacement        

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32.4 Million People Were Displaced in 2012 Due to Climate and Weather Events

Ballroom Luminoso: San Antonio Freeway Underpass Transformed Into a Beautiful Gathering Space

Ballroom Luminoso , a new public artwork by Joe O’Connell + Blessing Hancock , was recently installed in a freeway underpass in San Antonio, TX. Composed of six brilliantly lit, color-changing chandeliers, the sculptures are clad in recycled bike parts gleaned from bike co-ops and collectives across the country. Through their use of materials and refined forms, the piece melds grandeur with a sense of neighborhood rejuvenation. + Joe O’Connell + Blessing Hancock The article above was submitted to us by an Inhabitat reader. Want to see your story on Inhabitat ? Send us a tip by following this link . Remember to follow our instructions carefully to boost your chances of being chosen for publishing!   Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: Ballroom Luminoso , eco light installation , green light installation , Joe O’Connell + Blessing Hancock , lighting installation , recycled bike parts , Recycled Materials        

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Ballroom Luminoso: San Antonio Freeway Underpass Transformed Into a Beautiful Gathering Space

Supermarkets Transform Their Unsold Spoiled Food Into Green Energy

Two supermarkets are making lemonade out of lemons the green way—by converting their spoiled food into energy . Grocery chains Ralphs and Food 4 Less (both part of the Kroger Co.) have joined forces with FEED Resource Recovery to make use of the rotten and expired foods that their markets don’t sell. Any food that can’t be sold or donated will be transformed into energy to help run their distribution center in Compton. Read the rest of Supermarkets Transform Their Unsold Spoiled Food Into Green Energy Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: anaerobic digester , biogas , eco design , FEED Resource Recovery , Food 4 Less , food recycling , green design , Kroger Co , Ralphs Supermarket , sustainable design        

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Supermarkets Transform Their Unsold Spoiled Food Into Green Energy

Climate Change Could Render Our Favorite Foods Extinct

Image ©dbrekke As if worrying about rising   sea levels  isn’t enough, the evils of climate change are also affecting our food supply. A mix of increased temperatures, changes in rain, and bacterial and fungi outbreaks have hit American farmers hard, causing harvests to fall behind schedule or find complete ruin. With dramatic shifts in weather becoming increasingly common, a number of foods we’re used to eating could be in danger of extinction . Read the rest of Climate Change Could Render Our Favorite Foods Extinct Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: Climate Change , eco design , food extinction , food shortage , green design , ruined crops , sustainable design , world food supply        

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Climate Change Could Render Our Favorite Foods Extinct

America’s First Climate Refugees are Native Alaskan Communities

Alaska Glacier photo from Shutterstock For many years, climate change has displaced millions in the developing world – and now America is seeing its first climate refugees . Over 180 native communities in Alaska are under threat as ice melt, rising seas, and erosion threatens their traditional way of life. A new report by the US Army Corps of Engineers predicts that Alaskan villages such as Newtok (located on the western coast of Alaska and 400 miles south of the Bering Strait) could be completely underwater as soon as 2017. Read the rest of America’s First Climate Refugees are Native Alaskan Communities Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: alaska , Arctic Council , bering strait , Climate Change , climate refugees , erosion , glacial melt , global warming , newtok , ninglick river , obama administration , us army corps of engineers , water issues        

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America’s First Climate Refugees are Native Alaskan Communities

Mt. Everest Glaciers are Rapidly Melting, and Humans are Probably to Blame

Image via Shutterstock The glaciers atop Mt. Everest are melting at an unprecedented rate and anthropogenic global warming is likely to blame. The news comes on the heels of reports that CO2 levels have reached their highest in human history , surpassing the 400 parts per million mark, and climate change is shifting the location of the North and South Poles . Researchers from the University of Milan say that ice coverage on top of Earth’s highest mountain has shrunk by 13 percent in the last five decades. Read the rest of Mt. Everest Glaciers are Rapidly Melting, and Humans are Probably to Blame Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: anthropogenically-induced climate change , Climate Change , Environment , global warming , melting glaciers , News , University of Milan , world’s highest mountain        

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Mt. Everest Glaciers are Rapidly Melting, and Humans are Probably to Blame

Study Finds Conservatives Less Likely to Buy Light Bulbs Labeled as Good for the Environment

New research suggests that fewer people with right wing views will purchase light bulbs that are labeled as “pro-environment” due to the politicized nature of the carbon debate in the United States. Published last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dena Gromet of Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania found that consumers’ purchasing decisions are divided along party lines. Read the rest of Study Finds Conservatives Less Likely to Buy Light Bulbs Labeled as Good for the Environment Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: carbon emissions , cfl bulb , Climate Change , conservative , consumer , dena gromet , Environmentally Friendly , green , incandescent , jacquelyn ottman , liberal , light bulb , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , protect the planet , the new rules of green marketing , wharton school of the university of pennsylvania        

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Study Finds Conservatives Less Likely to Buy Light Bulbs Labeled as Good for the Environment

Wall Street Journal Prints Laughable Op-Ed Claiming CO2 Emissions Are Good for the Planet

Photo via Shutterstock According to a recent op-ed on the Wall Street Journal , rising CO2 levels are the best thing to happen to the planet since the Big Bang. The column was written by Harrison Schmidt, a former astronaut and adjunct professor of engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and William Happer, a professor of physics at Princeton University. In it, they claim that increased CO2 levels in the atmosphere will result in increased agricultural productivity. But mainstream science of course says this is a bunch of hooey. Read the rest of Wall Street Journal Prints Laughable Op-Ed Claiming CO2 Emissions Are Good for the Planet Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: carbon dioxide good for plants argument , columbia journalism review , global warming , harrison schmidt , in defense of carbon dioxide , intergovernmental panel of climate change , mariana ashley , more co2 is good for the planet , phil plait , rapid rate of increase in co2 levels , ryan chittum , skeptical science , slate magazine , wall street journal , william happer        

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Wall Street Journal Prints Laughable Op-Ed Claiming CO2 Emissions Are Good for the Planet

Climate Change Will Make Refugees Out of Hundreds of Millions, Expert Warns

Photo via Shutterstock After news broke last week that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have officially surpassed the 400 parts per million mark , a leading economist and researcher has warned that hundreds of millions of people will become climate refugees in the coming decades. The head of Grantham Institute for Climate Change , Lord Stern warned that mass migrations will occur as a result of climate change, which will exacerbate desertification and whole continents will experience crop failure, The Guardian reports . Read the rest of Climate Change Will Make Refugees Out of Hundreds of Millions, Expert Warns Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: 400ppm carbon dioxide levels , armed conflict from climate change , Climate Change , climate refugees , crop failure , desertification , environmental news , Lord Stern Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change , melting ice caps , News , rising sea levels , rising temperatures        

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Climate Change Will Make Refugees Out of Hundreds of Millions, Expert Warns

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