#Longevity lesson 1: How to add 14 years to your life?

longevity population ageingSo you stay fit and healthy longer at a lower cost to society – and stop complaining about that 65+ retirement age. There, we’ve said it.

Usually when people think of Sustainability they think of garbage and how to recycle bits of it. Some may think of rainforests, Arctic ice and dwindling oil reserves. Indeed they should. But usually that’s about it. Here we add 4 very different ingredients to your list – and hope to offer a new perspective on one of the most important demographic trends, so you can reconsider whether ageing is a problem, or whether it could be a benefit.

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Rare space radiation disasters may lead to extinction events – just how deadly is a two-month ozone hole?

Both supernovae and extreme solar flares can damage Earth’s ozone layer. But perhaps a black hole swallowing a neutron star somewhere not too far away gives a bigger punch – lasting a second or so.

Space radiation mass extinctions

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Diesel nanoparticles may disturb bee’s homing device, contribute to CCD

Air pollution from diesel engine fumes may end up in a honeybee’s brain. And for our flower-powered little friends that could be about as bad as it sounds, say a group of researchers from the University of Southampton – led by a Professor in ecology and a neuroscientist.

Diesel nanoparticles bee CCD

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Reefs took 1.5 million years to reappear after Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction

Coral reefs after Permian-Triassic Mass ExtinctionThe Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction was the largest in our planet’s history. Enormous disruptions of the carbon cycle led to climate change, ocean acidification and ocean anoxia – and with an estimated 90 percent of all species dying out Earth almost returned to a lifeless state.

Within the remaining 10 percent of biodiversity however all of Life’s Kingdoms were represented, so the seeds for recovery did exist.

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Poll suggests in Europe anti-climate hype is over: 9/10 see ‘serious problem’

A special European Commission poll shows general concern about climate change is again increasing and a majority thinks the climate crisis is ‘more important’ than the economic recession.

Europeans consider climate change bigger problem than recession

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Ice age riddle: what burped CO2 and wasn’t ocean or Neanderthal?

Pacific Ocean no large CO2 sink during Pleistocene ice ages?During the Earth’s ice ages the Pacific Ocean stored large amounts of carbon, which for some reason it released again close to the last glacial period’s end, warming the world and melting most of the icecaps.

That is how the ancient link between temperature and CO2 used to be envisioned.

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Carbon storage facilities have low risk of causing CO2 poisoning

Italian natural CO2 seep locationsAs more and more countries around the world struggle to meet their carbon emission reduction targets, they are looking for all kinds of solutions to work around the problem. One of those is carbon capture and storage (CCS).

This atmospheric CO2 reduction method has however been under heavy fire for being hazardous for human health in case of leaks. But now research on 286 Italian sites where CO2 seeps from the soil naturally has shown there is little to worry about poisoning caused by CO2 leakage.

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