WORLD | Carbon goes green | Daniel James Devine | Nov. 30, 2013

WORLD | Carbon goes green | Daniel James Devine | Nov. 30, 2013: "To a plant, carbon dioxide is food. But the gas has a counterintuitive effect on a plant’s metabolism: The more CO2 in the air, the less water a leaf needs."

"researchers estimated that warm, dry areas were 11 percent greener than they would have been had CO2 remained constant since 1982.

The long-term effects of this greening are hard to predict, but scientists speculate it could prevent soil erosion, increase plant life in deserts, and increase forest cover. On the other hand, it could increase fuel for forest fires, and provoke unexpected changes in habitats, requiring wildlife—or farmers—to adjust ways of living."

Johnson Comments on President's ‘Fix It’ Speech - Press Releases - Newsroom - Ron Johnson, United States Senator for Wisconsin

Johnson Comments on President's ‘Fix It’ Speech - Press Releases - Newsroom - Ron Johnson, United States Senator for Wisconsin: "In contrast, the president’s latest idea has a crucial flaw: It is short-term. He proposes letting people keep their plans for one year only. After that, apparently, they’d again be forced onto costlier, less satisfactory Obamacare plans. People don’t need a health-care solution just for the next year. We need to think long-term."

School starting age: the evidence | University of Cambridge

School starting age: the evidence | University of Cambridge: "tudies have compared groups of children in New Zealand who started formal literacy lessons at ages 5 and 7. Their results show that the early introduction of formal learning approaches to literacy does not improve children’s reading development, and may be damaging. By the age of 11 there was no difference in reading ability level between the two groups, but the children who started at 5 developed less positive attitudes to reading, and showed poorer text comprehension than those children who had started later. In a separate study of reading achievement in 15 year olds across 55 countries, researchers showed that there was no significant association between reading achievement and school entry age."

Death row inmate's wish raises ethical questions | Fox News

Death row inmate's wish raises ethical questions | Fox News: "They worry that such practices would make judges and juries more likely to hand out death sentences."