Wednesday, January 6, 2010

carbon


No Rise of Airborne Fraction of Carbon Dioxide in Past 150 Years, New Research Finds

ScienceDaily (Dec. 31, 2009) — Most of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity does not remain in the atmosphere, but is instead absorbed by the oceans and terrestrial ecosystems. In fact, only about 45 percent of emitted carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere.

However, some studies have suggested that the ability of oceans and plants to absorb carbon dioxide recently may have begun to decline and that the airborne fraction of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions is therefore beginning to increase.
Many climate models also assume that the airborne fraction will increase. Because understanding of the airborne fraction of carbon dioxide is important for predicting future climate change, it is essential to have accurate knowledge of whether that fraction is changing or will change as emissions increase.

To assess whether the airborne fraction is indeed increasing, Wolfgang Knorr of the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol reanalyzed available atmospheric carbon dioxide and emissions data since 1850 and considers the uncertainties in the data.
In contradiction to some recent studies, he finds that the airborne fraction of carbon dioxide has not increased either during the past 150 years or during the most recent five decades.

The research is published in Geophysical Research Letters.

Organic Milk Linked to Lower Rates of Allergies, Asthma and Eczema

(NaturalNews) Young children who consume exclusively organic dairy products are significantly less likely to develop allergies, asthma or eczema by the age of two, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Louis Bolk Institute in the Netherlands and published in the British Journal of Nutrition.

"This is the first example of a definite health impact of organic food consumption being published in a peer-reviewed journal," said Carlo Leifert of Newcastle University, who is leading a study into the connection between organic food consumption and health.

Researchers followed 2,500 pregnant women until their children were two years old, recording information on their health and their lifestyle and dietary habits. They found that the rate of allergies was 36 percent lower among children who drank or ate organic milk, cheese and yogurt and whose mothers had consumed these products while breastfeeding than among children and mothers who had eaten either only non-organic dairy products or a mix of organic and non-organic products.

"There was a clear relationship between organic dairy use and less eczema," said researcher Machteld Huber. "The difference was significant but only for children exclusively eating organic dairy products."

"We didn't find a relationship if they had [both] organic and conventional dairy products."

Researchers do not know whether the increased allergy risk from non-organic dairy is caused by extra toxic ingredients, such as antibiotics, by lower levels of key nutrients, such as omega-3 fatty acids, by some combination of the two, or by some other factor.

"Organic milk doesn't contain any pesticides, added hormones or antibiotics," said Stuart Martin of the Scottish Organic Milk Producers Association. "When an organic cow becomes sick our farmers are encouraged to treat it homeopathically first and only use antibiotics as a last resort. Meanwhile, the milk from that cow is removed from the milk stream and is not used at all."