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On Our Radar: Making Clouds From Saltwater

DESCRIPTIONNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization A scientist proposes creating clouds to slow climate change

An atmospheric physicist at the University of Washington proposes that scientists begin experimenting with ways to build long-lived clouds over the ocean by spraying salt water into the air from ships. He says the clouds could reflect sunlight away from the planet and potentially slow atmospheric warming. [EurekAlert]

Republicans have been making the case that the Obama administration should stop investing in specific clean energy companies (such as Solyndra) and let the open market determine which companies succeed and which fail. But a closer look at many Republicans’ actions shows that they, too, often want to reward the energy companies they would like to see prosper. [Washington Guardian]

After coping with extreme flooding on the Mississippi River last year, this year the United States Army Corps of Engineers is dealing with drought. Army Corps dredges have been working hard to remove silt from navigational channels so that they remain deep enough for shipping. [The New York Times]

Researchers have designed a biorefinery that makes ingredients for laundry detergent and plastics, among other things, out of Starbucks coffee grounds and stale baked goods. The design could have broad implications for creating useful products from food waste. [ScienceDaily]

China charges that six separate renewable energy projects in the United States violate World Trade Organization rules. [Platts]

Fish Bones to the Rescue

Green: Science




Read more…

The Nation’s Greenest Colleges

Green: Living




1. Green Mountain College, Poultney, Vt.
2. Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa.
3. Evergreen State College, Olympia, Wash.
4. University of Washington, Seattle
5. Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.
6. University of California, Irvine.
7. Northland College, Ashland, Wis.
8. Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
9. College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Me.
10. Hampshire College, Amherst, Mass.

More information about the survey and sustainability efforts on campuses is at

Assessing Algal Blooms’ Economic Impact

Toxic algae is not only physically harmful, it can do major damage to local economies, according to a new study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Washington.

The study, which was presented at the National Symposium on Harmful Algae in the United States, looked at what would happen to the economy of coastal counties in Washington State if a harmful algal bloom forced the yearlong shutdown of the state’s razor clam season, which normally lasts from October through May.

“It would cost those counties as much as $22 million in lost revenue,” said Vera Trainer, the harmful algal bloom program manager for NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Center and one of the study’s authors.

That includes money that would be spent on hotels, transportation and goods by the roughly 30,000 people a day who take part in the razor clam season.

“There have been national studies that have looked at the potential impact,” Ms. Trainer said. “We wanted to do a real localized study that would attempt to look at actual dollars that would be lost.”

Harmful algal blooms are caused by certain types of phytoplankton, which can produce chemical toxins. When ocean nutrient conditions are right, large populations of these plants can arise, covering miles of ocean.

While full-season fishing closures are not common, they have happened. Ms. Trainer and her colleagues found that between 1991 and 2008, more than 25 percent of all razor clam fishing days had been lost as a result of the blooms.

“We wanted to be able to show the actual impact so that people understand the importance of studying the blooms and improving our ability to predict them,” Ms. Trainer said. “We want people to know that when we’re asking for money for research it’s so we can work harder to help protect the people whose livelihood depends on these seasons.”

Ms. Trainer also said that the agency had become more adept at predicting when and where the blooms would occur, as well as making sure state Web sites could post up-to-date information.

“What that means is that while we used to have to close off the whole coast, we can now focus on the one or two beaches where the bloom is actually occurring,” Ms. Trainer said. “As a result, we can limit the harm, try to make it so that people don’t pack up their cars and head to the beach only to find the beach closed.”

Earlier studies have examined the economic and heath impacts of harmful algae blooms, including a landmark analysis in 2000 by scientists at Woods Hole that warned the blooms “represent a significant and expanding threat to human health and fisheries resources throughout the United States and the world.”