Posts Tagged ‘pollution’
Earth & Environment - Apr 12, 2010 12:21 - 0 Comments
In China, a mining town amid toxic heaps
INDIANA U. (US)—Waters around the Xikuangshan mine in southwest China contain levels of antimony that are two to four orders of magnitude higher than normal, making it a unique laboratory to study the contaminant’s environmental impact. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Apr 3, 2010 11:39 - 0 Comments
Microbe ‘housekeepers’ clean up seaside
SHEFFIELD (UK)—Marine life could be protected from the lethal effects of plastic pollution by coastal microbes that interact with waste in the seabed. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Mar 18, 2010 13:32 - 0 Comments
‘Livestock revolution’ taking a toll
STANFORD (US)—The growing worldwide demand for meat is likely to have a significant impact on human health, the environment, and the global economy in the next 50 years, according to a new report by an international research team. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Feb 16, 2010 11:42 - 0 Comments
Giving roads a green grade
U. WASHINGTON (US)—A new rating system does for road construction what the Energy Star system does for appliances—provides a sustainability performance metric for new and reconstructed or rehabilitated projects. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Jan 13, 2010 17:38 - 0 Comments
Stirring up question of PCBs
U. IOWA—The Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal is contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and scientists are unsure whether planned dredging in the next few years will help or hurt the situation. (more…)
Health & Medicine - Jan 8, 2010 14:54 - 1 Comment
Monkeys as guard dogs against lead
U. WASHINGTON—Because Asian monkeys share the same ecological niche as humans, researchers believe they might play a significant role in determining exposure to lead. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Oct 26, 2009 16:29 - 0 Comments
CO2 not the only gorilla in the room
UC BERKELEY (US)—When world leaders meet in Copenhagen in December to hash out a treaty limiting carbon dioxide emissions, they should begin planning a future summit to address other pollutants—from soot to ozone—that don’t remain in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide, but nevertheless are major contributors to global warming. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Sep 29, 2009 14:42 - 0 Comments
Map synthesizes total threats to Great Lakes
U. MICHIGAN (US)—Researchers are developing the first regional “threat map” of the Great Lakes. The project, which focuses on the effects of human activity, is designed to help planners and conservation groups in the United States and Canada make decisions and prioritize activities for years to come. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Aug 19, 2009 4:00 - 0 Comments
When a toxic pond runneth over
A Duke graduate student takes samples from coal ash sludge shortly after a December 2008 spill at a power plant in Tennessee. (Courtesy: Avner Vengosh/Duke University)
Earth & Environment - Aug 11, 2009 4:00 - 0 Comments
Beijing air sets Olympic gold standard
Above, a view of northwest Beijing on a clear day and, below, on a smoggy day.
Health & Medicine - Jul 24, 2009 13:45 - 0 Comments
Day at the beach—sand, surf, and sickness
“And while we found that only a small percentage of people who played at the beach became ill later—less than 10 percent in any age group, for any amount of exposure—it’s important to look at the situation more closely,” says lead author says Chris Heaney. “If we find evidence that shows exposure to sand really does lead to illness, then we can look for the sources of contamination and minimize it. That will make a day at the beach a little less risky.”
Earth & Environment - Jul 23, 2009 12:32 - 1 Comment
Green revolution fueled by duckweed?
Todd Michael, a plant biologist at Rutgers, says U.S. Department of Energy’s duckweed genome sequencing project “could unlock the remarkable potential of a rapidly growing aquatic plant for absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide, ecosystem carbon cycling, and biofuel production.”
Earth & Environment - Jul 22, 2009 10:52 - 0 Comments
In the air, ozone and some nasty chemistry
“We should be monitoring it and incorporating it into atmospheric models,” says Barbara Finlayson-Pitts, the study’s lead author, about a newly discovered, ozone-boosting chemical reaction. “We still don’t really understand important elements of the atmosphere’s chemistry.”
Earth & Environment - Jul 14, 2009 17:12 - 0 Comments
Divvying up fair share of carbon emissions
“Most of the world’s emissions come disproportionately from the wealthy citizens of the world, irrespective of their nationality,” says physicist Shoibal Chakravarty, noting that many emissions come from lifestyles that involve airplane flights, car use and the heating and cooling of large homes. “We estimate that in 2008, half of the world’s emissions came from just 700 million people.”
Earth & Environment - Jun 24, 2009 11:08 - 2 Comments
Will biofuels drain the nation’s water supply?
RICE (US)—The new emphasis on biofuels as an alternative to foreign oil must be carefully weighed against the potential damage to the nation’s water resources, scientists warn in a new report. (more…)
