If the urban heat island effect were large, you would expect to see a bigger trend for calm days when more of the heat stays in the city.
BBC: NEWS | Special Reports | 629 | 629 | Climate scepticism: The top 10
When these stations observe a temperature rise, they are simply measuring the "urban heat island effect".
BBC: NEWS | Special Reports | 629 | 629 | Climate scepticism: The top 10
Greenery is critical to counterbalance the "urban heat island" effect from hotter, drier summers, when night-time temperatures remain high because of heat retained by brick and tarmac.
All this concrete ends up lining streams and waterfalls, but it also has contributed to the "heat island" effect in Tokyo.
There's also a section devoted to "green" roofs, both literally and figuratively, those planted to reduce New York's "heat-island" effect and storm-water runoff.
Heat advisories are in effect for parts of 17 states, with forecasters saying there is no relief in sight: "Hot and hotter will continue to be the story from the plains to the Atlantic Coast for the next few days, " the National Weather Service said.
While ice reflects around 80 percent of the sun's heat, having a cooling effect, blue sea water can absorb up to 95 percent of solar radiation, warming up the sea and accelerating the melting process further.
It passes by a heat pump, which is in effect an air conditioner run in reverse.
Repeated efforts by policymakers to take the heat out of housing have not had a noticeable effect.
Nonetheless, the idea that carbon dioxide spewed by the world's industries is causing more heat to be trapped in the atmosphere (the "greenhouse effect") has found wide acceptance.
As temperatures soared across the US this week we brought you five eco gadgets to beat the summer heat, and we also learned that solar panels have a cooling effect on buildings.
ENGADGET: Inhabitat's Week In Green: solar-powered stadium, bipod flying cars and biofueled flights
The new regulations in Massachusetts, which will take effect in June, will promote smaller and more efficient combined-heat-and-power biomass facilities that require less fuel and have lower net carbon dioxide emissions over time.
FORBES: Massachusetts Addresses "Biomass Loophole" and Limits Subsidies
If the decision is primarily an affirmation of the status quo (two congressional committees and a small army of Justice Department lawyers will continue probes), the main effect of Reno's decision was to ratchet up the political heat on herself.
You are now driving(in effect) on free solar energy that you created by removing the need to heat water and using the natural gas to drive your car instead.
FORBES: Gassing Up: Why America's Future Job Growth Lies In Traditional Energy Industries
Both are far better at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, meaning that cows, chickens and their ilk have a larger greenhouse effect than all the cars, trucks and planes in the world.
Water is much more efficient than air at absorbing heat and so even with tiny amounts of liquid flowing through the system the researchers saw a significant effect.
To better predict the orbits of hazardous objects, this group is looking at the Yarkovsky effect, a force created when the asteroid absorbs sunlight and re-radiates it as heat.
It's important to remember that even as the effect of Superstorm Sandy recedes from the news, there are still devastated areas that are without electricity, heat or hot water.
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