Ocean News

Brian Murray From Qatar on Coastal 'Blue Carbon'

Brian Murray, director for economic analysis at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, describes the research findings he presented at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Doha.

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Sandy Surfaces, Kyoto at Stake in U.N. Climate Talks

The November 29 edition of The Climate Post was featured by National Geographic NewsWatch. The Climate Post offers a rundown of the week in climate and energy news. It is produced by the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions each Thursday.

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Climate Conversations: Why Negotiators at Doha Should Care about the World’s Forgotten Mangroves

Reuters shares a journal article by the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and co-authors finding that when coastal ecosystems suffer degradation or are converted for aquaculture, upstream dams, dredging or urban development, up to 1 billion metric tons of carbon is emitted into the atmosphere every year.

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Surfonomics: Quantifying the Worth of Waves

The Nicholas Institute's Ocean and Coastal Policy Program Director Linwood Pendleton discusses the worth of waves on a recent Radio New Zealand broadcast.

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Mangroves’ Hidden Value

Mangroves are being lost at an alarming rate as their conversion for aquaculture and other uses is profitable. Research, however, suggests that valuing the deep reserves of carbon in mangrove sediments may be the key to their survival. Brian Murray, director for economic analysis, discusses the current science in Nature Climate Change.

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Climate Scientists Urge Protection of Coastal Ecosystems

Some scientists believe that the use of fossil fuels and deforestation are the principle contributors to climate change. But now one team of researchers is pointing to what they say is another major source of carbon emissions—the destruction of coastal ecosystems. The Nicholas Institute’s Brian Murray comments via Reuters TV.

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Offshore Drilling in Atlantic Ocean Likely Under Obama, Romney Policies

After decades of inactivity, drilling off North Carolina’s coast seems more likely than at any time since state authorities blocked an effort by Mobil Oil to drill off the coast of Hatteras in 1990. Bill Holman, director of the state policy program at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, is quoted in this story picked up by the Charlotte Observer, News & Observer and the Kansas City Star.

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Sea-Level Rise Can Help Carbon Mitigation, But Only in the Short Run, Study

Rising temperatures and sea-level rise may help coastal marshes absorb more carbon from the atmosphere, slowing the pace of climate change. The ClimateWire article discusses a new study in Nature, as well as a study on blue carbon led by Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions researchers.

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New Staff Join the Nicholas Institute

Duke’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions welcomes four new staff members this fall.

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Coastal Habitat Loss Exacerbates Carbon Dioxide Release

Duke researchers found that coastal ecosystems store significant amounts of carbon dioxide, and that coastal habitat destruction releases 0.15 to 1.02 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year.

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