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Almost everyone has at least heard about the Chernobyl disaster. On the 26th of April 1986, whilst testing was being carried out on reactor number 4 of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant at Chernobyl, a spike in power output caused a fire which led to the largest radiation accident ever recorded. Much of the [...] Substantial loss of ice-sheet mass has been confirmed for Greenland and West Antarctica, thanks to an innovative approach to data interpretation. The satellite data also showed that the contribution of the receding ice sheets to sea-level rise has accelerated over the past few years. In 2002, twin satellites were launched to make detailed measurements [...] In theory, rising CO2 levels could cause plant growth to increase. Higher levels of CO2 can stimulate growth, as can the associated warmer temperatures. This would provide a welcome negative feedback – some of the manmade CO2 increase would be counteracted by higher rates of photosynthesis. This month, scientists reported unexpected widespread declines in [...] Predictions suggest the world’s population will peak in 40 years time at 9 billion, and to feed them all we need a 40% increase in food production. In a recent review, Valentí Rull from the Botanical Institute of Barcelona questioned whether scientific advances that increase food production are really the way forward. On the face [...] |
Rebecca Nesbit
Emma Wright |
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