According to a new study by British researchers, starfish and their fellow echinoderms (sea urchins, sea lilies, etc) act as a significant sink for CO2.  The ocean bottom-dwellers store about 2 percent of annual human CO2 emissions.

Researchers knew echinoderms store large amounts of calcium carbonate, some have bodies made up of 80 percent of the stuff, but they were still shocked by the results.  It turns out, the small animals capture about 0.1 gigatonnes of carbon per year, compared to the 5.5 gigatonnes of carbon human activity pumps into the air annually.

The team came up with the figure by gathering carbon measurements of different echinoderms from various sample sites at latitudes around the world.  They combined their measurements with population data and mortality data for the different classes to figure out how much carbon the animals stored and how quickly that carbon was buried after death.

They think the number could actually be greater since they had to form estimates for areas like the Equatorial Pacific which aren't well studied and likely have large populations.  The scientists worry what increased acidification of the oceans will mean for these carbon suckers and how it will affect the global carbon cycle if they're greatly impacted.

via Nature News

In most respects, this adminstration's EPA is getting things done.  They're regularly throwing out bad policies and implementing better ones.  Here are four things the agency has announced recently that made us cheer and one that made us boo - loudly.

The Good

1.  They're overhauling the Toxic Substances Control Act.

The TSCA was introduced in 1976 and hasn't been updated since.  At the time, 60,000 chemicals were on the EPA inventory, since then, 24,000 have been added, but only 200 have been tested and only five banned.  Even scarier is that about 20 percent of those chemicals are kept secret through a loop hole in the act that doesn't require companies to report chemicals used in manufacturing if they're considered "proprietary."  The EPA is creating a list of chemicals of concern, including phtalates, short-chain chlorinated paraffins, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and perfluorinated chemicals, all of which have raised health and environmental concerns.  The list will put pressure on chemical companies to either prove they're safe or cease production.  It's likely that the new legislation will address the loop hole allowing chemicals ingredients to be kept from the public.

2.  They're cracking down on smog pollution.

The agency is tightening the standards for ozone in the air from 75 parts per billion to 60-70 parts per billion.  If the new rule is passed, states and cities will have implement tougher regulations of air pollution sources like cars and power plants.  The change will cost $19 - $90 billion to implement, but will save an equal amount in health care costs for people with asthma and other lung conditions.