Category Archives: Originals

In this report, we review New Mexico’s long-term climate history and find little in the way of evidence that greenhouse gas build-up in the atmosphere has altered New Mexico’s climate. Instead of long-term changes, short-term variability dominates the state’s average temperature, precipitation, and drought frequency. Current temperatures are similar to ones observed at the end of the 19th… Read More »

The scientific literature fails to support the hypothesis that the trace amount of naturally occurring mercury in the fish we eat in any way endangers or threatens health, especially that of expectant mothers and their babies. Exactly the opposite is true: those alarming people away from fish pose the real danger to public health.

Through an Executive Order, Washington’s Governor Christine Gregoire has set ambitious goals for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions originating from the state of Washington. By 2020 she has set the goal to reduce the state’s emissions to what they were in 1990. Additional goals include 25% below 1990 levels by 2035 and 50% below 1990 levels by 2050.… Read More »

Most studies of the effects of atmospheric CO2 enrichment on Earth’s vegetation have dealt with common terrestrial plants, ranging from grasses to trees, while very few have focused on sizable plants of aquatic realms. This summary reports the results of several research studies that have evaluated the responses of marine macroalgae to elevated levels of atmospheric CO2.

Nearly all crops respond to increases in the air’s CO2 content by displaying enhanced rates of photosynthesis and biomass production; and in this brief review of some recent pertinent papers, we find that tomato is no exception to the rule, even when grown under stressful conditions of fungal infection and high soil salinity.

Nearly all agricultural species — including C4 plants — respond positively to increases in the air’s CO2 content by displaying enhanced rates of photosynthesis and biomass production, as well as higher rates of water use efficiency. This summary reviews some of the impacts of these and other related phenomena as they pertain to the C4 crop species of… Read More »

The common sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is a large annual forb of the genus Helianthus. First domesticated in the Americas, sunflower is cultivated across the world for its oil and fruits. Sunflower seeds (the edible fruit) are typically produced and sold as a snack food for human consumption, bird feed, or as livestock forage. Sunflower oil (extracted from the… Read More »

Atmospheric CO2 enrichment typically enhances photosynthesis and biomass production in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under normal growing conditions. But what happens when environmental conditions are less than ideal? This Summary investigates this question as it pertains to the impact of air pollutants on the growth and development of wheat, as learned from a number of scientific studies published… Read More »