Nitrogen pollution from human activities can be found in lake bed sediments from over 100 years ago, and in areas thousands of miles away from any city, farm or factory, CoEnv scientists have found.  SAFS’ Gordon Holtgrieve, Daniel Schindler and Lauren Rogers, and others, published these results in the December 16 issue of Science.  Their findings are based on the chemical composition of lake bed sediments from 36 different lakes, and mark both the time and the planetary scale at which nitrogen pollution has effected ecosystems.  

By adding salt to marine clouds — called cloud brightening — scientists think we may be able to tame growing hurricanes and stop others from happening.  Atmospheric Sciences’ Rob Wood is quoted.  Read more here. 

SAFS’ Thomas Quinn is a co-author of an opinion piece in the Cordova Times.  The article discusses the ineffectiveness of the 1872 Mining Law in regulating today’s mines and their effects.  Read it here. 

Professor Virginia Armbrust was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) today, along with eight other researchers at University of Washington.  A total of 539 members were elected by their peers, for meritorious efforts to advance science or its applications.  Read the full article here.  Congratulations to all!   

What actually did happen in Durban?  This article from the ‘Ecocentric’ science blog on Time.com covers the take-aways from the Durban Climate Summit.  Read it here.  In related news, Canada pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol today.