As the climate continues to change as a result of human actions, the government has done little to regulate the known causes of the problem. Consider Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's recent proposal to restrict the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions. Such actions disregard the science behind greenhouse gases and their relation to global warming.

EDMONTON - Edmontonians now have a chance to check the health of their young elm trees through smartphone technology. Fifty-five of the downtown elms bear tags with abstract black and white logos, known as “quick-response codes,” for phones such as BlackBerrys or iPhones to scan. On average, the city loses about 4,300 trees a year, including elms. The drought of recent years is partly to blame, the city’s principal of forestry Jeannette Wheeler said.

At a new home off West Neck Road, NASA scientists are experimenting with an ancient fertilizing method they hope will grow shrubs and flowers in an environmentally friendly way and help control global warming.

The method dates back hundreds of years to a simple but largely forgotten formula once favored by Amazon Indians, African tribesmen and Chinese farmers. Today, the method is called "biocharring," and it basically works like this: Take burned pieces of wood, grind them up, combine them with compost or clean soil, then bury the mix in the ground, maybe 6 inches deep.

Students at Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey are developing supercapacitors that use electrodes made of the green and inexpensive material biochar.

Supercapacitors are commonly used in solar panels to rapidly capture the generated energy so that it can then be stored. However, the material they use, activated carbon, is unsustainable and expensive. Biochar, on the other hand, represents a cheap, green alternative. It is the byproduct of the pyrolysis process used to produce biofuels, and as the use of biofuels increases so will biochar production.

Phosphate poses one of Florida’s ongoing water-quality challenges. A process developed by University of Florida researchers using partially burned organic matter called biochar could provide an affordable solution, however. The process also yields methane gas usable as fuel and phosphate-laden carbon suitable for enriching soil.

Phosphate is used to make fertilizers, pesticides, and detergents. Florida produces about one-quarter of the world’s phosphate, and its surface waters sometimes contain large amounts. Because the chemical can spur algae growth, it has caused water-quality concerns in some communities. Some water treatment plants filter phosphate from wastewater, but existing methods have drawbacks such as high cost, low efficiency, and hazardous byproducts.