Blogposts tagged 'Science'

Another ordinary day in the Arctic...

Posted by jossg - 13 September 2011 at 10:19am - 0 Comments
Polar bear cub plays with science equipment
All rights reserved. Credit: Greenpeace / Nick Cobbing
Polar bear cub plays with science equipment near the Arctic Sunrise

This afternoon I was on watch. Bear watch. 

Whenever there are people out on the ice, it's necessary for a couple of people at least, and more if there's fog, to be keeping a look out. On these occasions there's usually one person up on the wings of the bridge, another person up in the crow's nest, and somebody else out on the helipad. There's a rota so nobody has to stand for hours on end and get too cold, but today I did an hour in the heli slot.

Article tagged as: arctic, arctic sunrise, climate change, go beyond oil, polar bears, research, science

Plastic Arctic

Posted by claire miller - 5 September 2011 at 10:57am - 0 Comments
Scientist Clare Miller on Arctic Sunrise
All rights reserved. Credit: Greenpeace / Nick Cobbing
Scientist Clare Miller collecting data on the amount of plastics in the Arctic ocean, on the Arctic Sunrise

For many people the Arctic is seen as one of the last wilderness regions left where there has been limited human impact. However, sampling of marine plastic debris over the past few days shows that the far reaching effects of mankind is clearly present even in the Arctic ocean.

Article tagged as: arctic, arctic sunrise, oceans, plastic, science, ship tours

Science in the arctic: deploying mescosms at 79°N

Posted by jamie - 9 June 2010 at 12:44pm - 2 Comments

Like many other marine species, pteropods are threatened by ocean acidification © Cobbing/Greenpeace

Janet Cotter, from Greenpeace's Science Unit is currently on board the Esperanza on the first leg of the Arctic Under Pressure expedition. The ship is currently in Ny-Ålesund in the arctic, where Janet has been helping seagulls from 'contributing' to ocean acidification research.

In my day job, I work as a scientist as Greenpeace's Research Laboratories in Exeter, which is part of the Greenpeace's Science Unit. We might not get do the banner hanging from bridges and all the dramatic stuff that other Greenpeace activists do, but we have an important role in the organisation.  We analyse samples from around the world in our laboratories, often looking for toxic contamination of soils, rivers and seas, or sampling foodstuffs for GM contamination.

Article tagged as: arctic, climate change, esperanza, ocean acidification, oceans, science

Of climate, weather and arctic blasts

Posted by jamie - 12 January 2010 at 5:11pm - 11 Comments

Still melting

Juliette in our international office posted this on the Climate Rescue blog and, as similar thoughts have been going through my head in response to the current cold weather, it's worth reposting here.

It cannot be said too often that climate and weather are not the same thing. The first regulates the temperature and weather patterns on a long term basis, the other one is guilty for blocking the traffic with snow this morning, or making the heat today unbearable. NASA puts it better than I could:

Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long periods of time.

Article tagged as: arctic, climate change, science, weather

Testing the waters...

Posted by reyestirado - 9 April 2009 at 1:21pm - 0 Comments

Reyes samples the water supply in a Punjabi village

Here at the Greenpeace Research Laboratories, based at the University of Exeter, we provide scientific advice and analytical support to Greenpeace offices worldwide, across a range of disciplines.

I've just returned from a sampling field-trip to agricultural areas in Punjab, India. It has been an amazing and inspiring experience: visiting farms to gather data about farming practices and analysing groundwater wells affected by agrochemical pollution to monitor drinking water quality. Greenpeace India will use this study to highlight the need to shift to ecological farming as our safest solution to the food crisis and climate change.

Article tagged as: blog relay, exeter, greenpeace international research laboratories, science

Revealed: the true state of the world's oceans

Posted by jossc - 5 March 2009 at 11:37am - 0 Comments

A clean, healthy and biodiverse sea area around Appo Island, Philipinnes

Clean, healthy and biodiverse : the reef around Appo Island in the Philipinnes

Behind many a Greenpeace action and every campaign lies a large amount of science related work. Much of the analysis and some of the research backing our campaigns comes from the scientists of the Greenpeace Research Laboratories,  based at Exeter University. Over the years they have accumulated a vast amount of expertise and thousands of scientific papers on a wide range of issues including many that are related to the health of the worlds oceans. From bycatch to ocean acidification, the team has been uncovering the facts behind the changes we are now witnessing happening at sea.

Article tagged as: books, greenpeace international research laboratories, marine conservation, marine reserves, science

Science minister gets the hots for GM food

Posted by jamie - 23 September 2008 at 10:21am - 0 Comments

Government wonks have once again been druming up support for GM food, the latest tub-thumping courtesy of science minister Ian Pearson. He's been saying that if engineered crops can be demonstrated to alleviate hunger around the world, then the great British public will be only too happy to see them being cultivated in our green and pleasant land as well.

Article tagged as: development, GM crops, GM food, politics, science

Climate change to blame for more Atlantic hurricanes

Posted by bex - 30 July 2007 at 1:57pm - 0 Comments

The aftermath of Hurricane Andrew
The aftermath of Hurricane Andrew.

After a study last week confirmed the link between climate change and increased rainfall in the UK, a new study published yesterday has made the connection between climate change and a doubling in the number of Atlantic hurricanes in an average season over the past 100 years.

Article tagged as: atlantic, climate change, extreme weather, hurricanes, impacts, science

Official: burning fossil fuels has changed rainfall patterns in the UK

Posted by bex - 24 July 2007 at 1:39pm - 0 Comments

Flooding

The Red Cross is stretched to their limits, in Tewkesbury. Thousands of people previously living in Gloucestershire’s rolling hills suddenly find themselves homeless. A third of a million people have no drinking water.

Article tagged as: climate change, flooding, impacts, precipitation, science, UK

Wake up and smell the carbon

Posted by bex - 4 May 2007 at 1:29pm - 1 Comment

Greenland glacier

Sometimes world-changing pronouncements aren’t delivered on stone tablets accompanied by thunder bolts, but in densely written reports, packed with charts, footnotes and appendices.

Article tagged as: CHP, climate change, IPCC, science, solutions, UN
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