Featured Climate Resource

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Featured Climate Science Resource

[Image: R. B. Husar, Washington University]
[Image: R. B. Husar, Washington University]

The NBII Mountain Prairie Information Node (MPIN) provides resources on climate that support the needs of state agencies, federal and state land managers and scientists studying key regional ecosystems such as Greater Yellowstone, the Northern Rockies, the Great Plains, and the Prairie Pothole Region.

This NBII Node is home to information about Climate Monitoring in Greater Yellowstone, El Nino and La Nina, Paleoclimatology, and Weather.

Climate Change

Climate change is defined as any significant change in a climate characteristic for a period of a decade or longer. The earth's climate is currently changing, and according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the current change is due to human activities in the last 250 years. These human activities involve the burning of fossil fuels, which emits greenhouse gases, thereby contributing to an increase in global temperature over the past 100 years and the alteration of the earth's climate.

Renewable energy sources are typically more sustainable and have less environmental impacts than energy sources derived from fossil fuels. They are "cleaner" sources of energy, with lower greenhouse gas emissions and other waste products. However, for each type of renewable energy, direct and indirect energy inputs and outputs or overall "carbon balance" should be explored. For example, with all types of renewable energy, the environmental impacts resulting from manufacture of the parts and technology necessary to create the needed infrastructure should not be overlooked. In addition:

Machinery used to farm biofuel energy crops may contribute to climate change in the form of greenhouse gases being emitted from the use of the farm machinery. The processing and conversion of the crop into a usable fuel may also emit greenhouse gases, depending on the processes used.

At hydropower facilities, greenhouse gases may form in reservoirs, and be emitted to the atmosphere.


Resources on Renewable Energy and Climate Change
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Clean vs. Renewable Energy

Wind turbines [Photo: NREL Image Library]
Wind turbines
[Photo: NREL Image Library]

"Clean energy" refers to natural processes whose energy can be harnessed and converted to a useful form with little or minimal pollution. "Renewable energy" refers to a natural energy source that is able to be replenished at or near the rate that it is harnessed and consumed. These terms are sometimes incorrectly used interchangeably. Different renewable energy technologies can emit different types and amounts of pollution, and therefore some of these technologies are "cleaner" than others, having fewer environmental impacts.

Renewable energy technologies such as solar, geothermal, wind, biofuel, and hydropower, all have some associated ecological costs involving the manufacture, transport, and installation of the materials accounting for the physical infrastructure used to harness and convert the energy. The indirect environmental footprint associated with renewable energy technologies is usually considered to be outweighed by the relatively minimal environmental impact of the energy production technique when compared with the environmental benefits of a nonrenewable, fossil fuel-based energy source.

Carbon Sequestration

Carbon sequestration regions [Image: U.S. Department of Energy]
Carbon sequestration regions
[Image: U.S. Department of Energy]

Rising carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere continue to incite international concern as the effects of global warming become clearer and more frequent. In parallel with energy conservation and the potential of alternative energy sources, recapture and storage of current CO2 levels and emissions represents an essential strategy in mitigating for climate change.

The U.S. Department of Energy has created a network of seven Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs) to research, develop, regulate, and implement large-scale carbon sequestration projects in the U.S.

Comparing the Carbon Balance of Renewable Energy Sources

[Image: NASA]
[Image: NASA]

Although renewable energy sources are replenishable and produce few or no emissions, the indirect environmental impacts associated with these technologies must be considered in order to assess the actual "carbon footprint" of renewable energy use.

For example, when soil is disturbed, it releases some of its carbon content into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas. Researchers have found that there is a lower soil carbon content in plots of corn than in other perennial grasses such as Miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus) and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) (Source: ScienceDaily). Growing perennial grasses instead of corn has a positive effect on soil carbon, thereby reducing the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere. These positive effects can be weighed against the negative effect of pollution produced during the burning of fossil fuels by machines that plant, tend to, and harvest these biofuel crops.

Similarly, the amount of fossil fuels emitted through the transport and construction of renewable energy infrastructure must be taken into account. The amount of net carbon released or taken up in the production of renewable energy can be calculated as is its overall carbon balance and can be used as a relative comparison among different types of renewable and nonrenewable energy.

Species Spotlight

American pika. [Photo: NOAA Earth Systems Research Laboratory]
American pika
[Photo: NOAA Earth Systems Research Laboratory]

American pika
Ochotona princeps

Description: The American pika is a small rodent that has a round body, large, round ears, and is between six and eight inches long. Generally weighing about six ounces, the pika is diurnal, meaning it is active during the day.

Life History: Mating first occurs before the snow starts to melt. Females give birth to 2 to 4 offspring, which are weaned in 3 to 4 weeks. After about one month, the offspring leave the mother and grow to adult size after an additional two months. The females may mate again, and may have more than one litter. Pikas eat a variety of plants, including grasses, thistles, sedges, and flowers. The pika is active all year, and stockpiles dried vegetation deep down between rocks for the winter.

Habitat: Live in between rocks on high elevation boulder and talus slopes, and are very sensitive to high temperatures.

Distribution: The habitat range of the pika extends from British Columbia and Alberta in Canada, down through the Rocky Mountains to New Mexico. They are also found in the Sierra Nevada Range.

Status: There is concern that some pika populations may be adversely affected by warming temperatures due to global climate change, which decreases the amount of suitable high elevation habitat. However, the pika is not listed as endangered or threatened as of February, 2010. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife report indicates that some pika populations may be able to adapt to higher temperatures.

Resources: NatureWorks
NOAA Earth Systems Research Laboratory
Big Sky Institute, Montana State University
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
World Wildlife Fund

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