The general assumption, in the first phase of elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) research, was that increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration would act as a fertilizer for plant systems. Under this “large-plant-scenario” (Fig. 9.1), increased photosynthesis at elevated CO2 would lead to higher plant biomass which would induce a negative atmospheric feedback loop that would offset anthropogenic carbon...

This paper analyses banking and borrowing of carbon emission rights within the framework of a simple, integrated assessment model. Breaking the world economy in just two regions it will be shown: (1) Increasing when-flexibility in greenhouse gas abatement through banking and borrowing of carbon emission permits has a positive effect on welfare for regions with a poor endowment in carbon emissio...

We review the literature that led to clarifying the role of tropical forests in the global carbon cycle from a time when they were considered sources of atmospheric carbon to the time when they were found to be atmospheric carbon sinks. This literature originates from work conducted by US Forest Service scientists in Puerto Rico and their collaborators. It involves the classification of forests...

University House 1, PO Box 1700, STN CSC, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, V8W 3R4 Phone: 250-721-6236 | Fax: 250-721-7217 | pacificclimate.org Recent work by Kriegler et al. (2013) in the journal Climatic Change finds that removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere with a combination of biomass combustion and carbon capture, together with the storage of resulting ca...

The authors evaluate the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) consensus that the increase of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere is of anthropogenic origin and is causing dangerous global warming, climate change and climate disruption. The totality of the data available on which that theory is based is evaluated. The data include: (a) Vostok ice-core measurements...

We explore the development of the Anthropocene, the current epoch in which humans and our societies have become a global geophysical force. The Anthropocene began around 1800 with the onset of industrialization, the central feature of which was the enormous expansion in the use of fossil fuels. We use atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration as a single, simple indicator to track the progressio...

Warm Neptuneand sub-Neptune-sized exoplanets in orbits smaller than Mercury’s are thought to have experienced extensive atmospheric evolution. Here we propose that a potential outcome of this atmospheric evolution is the formation of helium-dominated atmospheres. The hydrodynamic escape rates of Neptuneand subNeptune-sized exoplanets are comparable to the diffusion-limited escape rate of hydrog...

Peat bogs have historically represented exceptional carbon (C) sinks because of their extremely low decomposition rates and consequent accumulation of plant remnants as peat. Among the factors favoring that peat accumulation, a major role is played by the chemical quality of plant litter itself, which is poor in nutrients and characterized by polyphenols with a strong inhibitory effect on micro...

Rubisco, the most abundant enzyme on the Earth and responsible for all photosynthetic carbon fixation, is often thought of as a highly conserved and sluggish enzyme. Yet, different algal Rubiscos demonstrate a range of kinetic properties hinting at a history of evolution and adaptation. Here, we show that algal Rubisco has indeed evolved adaptively during ancient and distinct geological periods...

1. K. S. Crump, D. G. Hoel, C. H. Langley, R. o. Scientific Committee of the Food Safety CounPeto, Cancer Res. 36, 2973 (1976). cii,Food Cosmet. Toxicol., in press. 2. National Cancer Institute, Clearinghouse on 6. N. Chand ad D. G. Hoel, inReliability and BiCarcinogenesis, Bethesda, Md. 20014. ometry Statistical Analysis of Lafelength, F. 3. J. Cornfield, K. Rai, J. Van Ryzin, paper preProscha...