Health
Frankenbugs?
There are few creatures more deadly than the tiny Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits malaria, dengue fever and other infectious diseases. Malaria is one of the world’s great killers, claiming about 800,000 lives each year. [Read more…] about Frankenbugs?
Keeping U.S. mercury off the global market
The Mercury Export Ban of 2008 went into effect last month. The bill, proposed by then-Senator Barack Obama, was signed into law by President George W. Bush on the eve of the 2008 elections. [Read more…] about Keeping U.S. mercury off the global market
Just how much gas is leaking?
As we tackle the emotional issue of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, as a means of producing natural gas, we need better data to assess one of the procedure’s big unknowns. Just how much gas leaks into the atmosphere? [Read more…] about Just how much gas is leaking?
Meet the new threat in cans
A past Earth Wise segment explored the health risks associated with bisphenol A, or BPA, a chemical used in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. Exposure has been linked variety of health concerns, among them obesity, reproductive cancers, asthma, and diabetes. [Read more…] about Meet the new threat in cans
Keeping fresh water flowing to NYC
Though it’s surrounded by the Hudson, New York City doesn’t rely on the river for its freshwater supply. Rather, decades ago, an aqueduct system was built to bring water to Manhattan from upstate—largely drawing on reservoirs in the Catskill region. This is one reason why we see so much concern about natural gas extraction by fracking in the watersheds that feed Catskill reservoirs. [Read more…] about Keeping fresh water flowing to NYC
The high cost of artisanal gold
Artisanal gold mines operate in more than 55 countries, generating around a quarter of the world’s gold supply. These smaller-scale mines use rudimentary methods of extracting and processing metals. [Read more…] about The high cost of artisanal gold
Curbing global mercury pollution
Mercury exposure has been tied to a suite of health problems, among them damage to the central nervous system and the immune system. [Read more…] about Curbing global mercury pollution
The world is getting dustier
Scientists have estimated that dust in our atmosphere has doubled in the last century. Some airborne dust comes from naturally occurring geological events, such as drought or volcanoes. [Read more…] about The world is getting dustier
Get to know I-522
Three months ago, California voters struck down Proposition 37. The proposition, which was defeated 53-47%, would have required food and beverage manufacturers to clearly label products that contain genetically modified organisms—commonly known as GMOs. Opponents of the legislation led a $46 million dollar campaign to help ensure its defeat. [Read more…] about Get to know I-522
Can we sprawl forever?
How often do we return to the city of our childhood only to see massive suburban sprawl, traffic congestion, and loss of natural habitat? [Read more…] about Can we sprawl forever?
Reducing greenhouse emissions through contraception
Population Matters is a British nonprofit dedicated to improvements in family planning, sex education, and girls’ and women’s’ rights worldwide. [Read more…] about Reducing greenhouse emissions through contraception
The hazards of dust
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It’s well known that dust is a human health hazard. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulates the emissions of particulate matter, which is essentially dust, from construction sites, power plants, dirt roads, automobile tailpipes and industry. [Read more…] about The hazards of dust
Methane: The other greenhouse gas
Most of us are familiar with the idea that we need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to prevent global warming. Methane is also a problem, and we hear about it much less frequently. But compared to carbon dioxide, methane’s impact on climate change is some twenty times more powerful. [Read more…] about Methane: The other greenhouse gas
Clearing the air
Mercury, hydrogen chloride, and sulfur dioxide. These are just a few of the air pollutants emitted by industrial boilers. And, thanks to new air pollution standards that have been more than a decade in the making, some of our nation’s dirtiest boilers will be cleaning up their act. [Read more…] about Clearing the air
Cement plant emissions
Cement is all around us. It’s used in everything from concrete and mortar to stucco and grout. But making cement is dirty business. A number of pollutants are emitted from cement plants – from both the production process and the fuels used to stoke kilns. [Read more…] about Cement plant emissions
When the cure is worse than the disease
The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil well caused nearly 5 million barrels of oil to spew into the Gulf of Mexico. Countermeasures included physical barriers such as booms and the use of chemical dispersants to break up the oil slicks. [Read more…] about When the cure is worse than the disease
It’s radiant in Virginia
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Most of us who worry about the safety of nuclear power plants think immediately of the reactors. The last thing we want is a Fukushima-style meltdown that results in many square miles of uninhabitable land. Imagine whole neighborhoods, schools, and shopping districts left as abandoned ghost towns. [Read more…] about It’s radiant in Virginia
A tale of factory farms, fertilizer, and fish
A new study released in the journal Environmental Science and Technology is the second to highlight that manure used to fertilize farm fields may reduce the health of fish living in adjacent streams. [Read more…] about A tale of factory farms, fertilizer, and fish
Urban green spaces are losing ground
