New EPA standards benefit our health
The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced a plan to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by the year 2030. This is excellent news for the environment, as power plant emissions cause global warming, acid rain, mercury poisoning in fish and wildlife, and ozone damage to crops and trees. [Read more…] about New EPA standards benefit our health
Wildlife is where you find it
I was in New York City last week, hustling with the multitudes down Park Avenue in Midtown along the concrete walks that pass by J.P. Morgan-Chase, Deutsche Bank, and other giants of the financial world. Waiting for the crossing light at 48th street, I noticed a young woman on the opposite corner who was staring intently at a sign post. Not the sign, but the sign post. [Read more…] about Wildlife is where you find it
Summertime ozone
Ozone is a puzzling air pollutant. Human activities are not direct sources of a lot of ozone, but ozone concentrations increase to markedly unhealthy levels in many areas during the summer. About 30 years ago, atmospheric chemists solved this mystery. [Read more…] about Summertime ozone
The rising seas
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Melting polar ice and rising sea levels are some of the most obvious results of the ongoing global warming of our planet. Politicians may argue about whether the warming we are experiencing is caused by humans, but all agree that our planet has warmed during the past couple of hundred years. [Read more…] about The rising seas
Microbeads
When we think about protecting our waterways from plastic pollution, we think of recycling water bottles or moving toward canvas grocery bags. But what about the plastics we can’t see? [Read more…] about Microbeads
Science and art
Science and art are rarely thought of as going hand-in-hand. In fact, we typically think of scientists and artists as having entirely different type of brains – one logical and analytical, the other creative and subjective. [Read more…] about Science and art
New EPA carbon dioxide standards
In a big win for the environment, the Environmental Protection Agency recently released a plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Specifically, it calls for existing power plants to cut their emissions to 30 percent below 2005 levels by the year 2030.
Death by air pollution
The human health effects of air pollutants are hotly debated. Since air pollution is typically a long-term, diffuse problem, it is difficult to link human mortality to any particular air pollutant. Studies of the human health effects of acute chemical spills are much easier. [Read more…] about Death by air pollution
Wasting food
Scientists have long been concerned about potential food shortages in a world facing climate change and a rapidly increasing population. [Read more…] about Wasting food
Sunken shipping containers
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Shipping containers on cargo vessels – technically called intermodal containers – have been around since the 1950s. These large steel boxes, some of which are over fifty feet long, are used to carry thousands of goods around the world. [Read more…] about Sunken shipping containers
A window of opportunity
Much has been written about collisions of birds with radio-towers and tall buildings, especially during migration. Now a new study documents another large source of bird mortality—collisions with window glass in residential and low-rise buildings. [Read more…] about A window of opportunity
China’s polluted groundwater
As China continues to develop at a rapid pace, attention has been given to its poor air quality and smog. But a new report on the country’s land and water resources has revealed what is perhaps an even graver problem. [Read more…] about China’s polluted groundwater
Large wildlife loss
The decline of large mammals – like elephants and giraffes – is problematic for a number of reasons. Their loss disturbs ecosystems, not to mention the moral implications of allowing some of the most majestic creatures on Earth to approach extinction. But new research suggests another reason we should worry about the loss of large wildlife. [Read more…] about Large wildlife loss
Solar power for the developing world
Our lives are filled with smartphones, computers, appliances, and other things that run on electric power. As a result, it is easy to forget that more than 2 billion people live without electricity. Providing electricity to people in the developing world is a daunting task. But many of these people live in sunny places, where solar power provides a good solution. [Read more…] about Solar power for the developing world
The referee called “foul”
As a child, I remember looking with some fascination at barnacles on the piers in a Cape Cod harbor, and reading about how their growth on the bottoms of boats so slowed their progress in the water that dry-docking for barnacle removal was a common practice. Growths of marine organisms on hard surfaces fall under the general term biofouling. [Read more…] about The referee called “foul”
Our leaky planet
Petroleum deposits formed millions of years ago, when organic-rich sediments were buried and transformed under heat and pressure deep in the Earth’s crust. Most deposits remain deep in the Earth, making it expensive to drill for oil and gas. However, geologic uplift occasionally brings deposits back near the Earth’s surface. [Read more…] about Our leaky planet
Beefalo
In the early 1900s, a rancher conducted a breeding experiment that resulted in a cattle-buffalo hybrid called beefalo. Also known as cattalo, the unruly animals still exist and are now causing major problems in Arizona. [Read more…] about Beefalo
Untapped hydroelectric power
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Hydroelectric power is still the largest renewable energy source in the US, providing about 7% of our electricity generation. In New York, where Niagara Falls has been providing power for over a century, hydropower provides 17% of the state’s electricity. [Read more…] about Untapped hydroelectric power
Chemical plants and schools
