Science: Researchers develop Crystals that can absorb CO2 like a Sponge

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/02/15/tech-carbon-capture.html

S.2 tells us about an article about new crystals that have been created that absorb greenhouse gasses.

"Scientists have created metal-organic crystals capable of soaking up carbon dioxide gas like a sponge, which could be used to keep industrial emissions of the gas out of the atmosphere.

Chemists at the University of California Los Angeles said the crystals — which go by the name zeolitic imidazolate frameworks, or ZIFs — can be tailored to absorb and trap specific molecules."

The crystals could be particularly used for scrubbers in power plants as they are durrable and easy to produce.

Science: New Ocean map reveals high human impact

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=ocean-impact-map

"Fishing, fertilizer runoff, pollution, shipping, climate change—these are just a few of the ways that human activities influence the oceans that cover 70 percent of Earth's surface. And in all that vastness—139 million square miles (360 million square kilometers)—less than 4 percent remains unaffected, and more than a third has suffered serious human impacts, according to a new map published in Science."