Making Cities Cooler
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Fish And Their Sense Of Smell
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We use our sense of smell for all sorts of things, like locating food and habitat, avoiding danger, and so on. Fish do as well. But instead of smelling scent molecules in the air like humans do, fish use their nostrils to sense chemicals suspended in water.
New Zealand Bans Plastic Bags
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In an effort to tackle plastic pollution, New Zealand is joining a growing list of countries banning single-use plastic bags for good. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says in a press statement that the ban was necessary to safeguard New Zealand’s clean and green reputation.
Heat-Resistant Corals
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All over the world, coral reefs are being wiped out by rising sea temperatures brought about by climate change. When sea temperatures get too high, the symbiotic relationship between coral polyps and microscopic algae living within the coral breaks down and the coral either digests or expels the algae. The result is coral bleaching which weakens, and if it persists, kills the coral.
An Elephant Repellant
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Growing human populations in Africa and Asia have created ever larger areas where elephants conflict with humans by trampling crops or causing other damage. These conflicts have occasionally been tragic when people were trampled to death and there are serious consequences when crops are destroyed. The individual elephants responsible for such destruction are often killed.
Bacteria-Powered Solar Cell
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Commercially-available solar panels are composed of solar cells that are most often made from various forms of silicon. Some panels use thin-film cells made from other semiconductor materials. Solar cells utilize a property of semiconductors that allows them to convert light energy into electrical energy.
Reducing Slavery In Seafood
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The seafood industry is one of the largest employers in the world. But according to a 2016 report, the seafood industry also contains widespread forced labor. Forty seven seafood-producing countries were reported to utilize forced labor. The seafood hub countries of Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Peru, and the Philippines were also reported to use a significant percentage of child labor.
Dirty Air In The National Parks
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Our national parks are supposed to be places that allow us to commune with nature. They offer incredible vistas and amazing sights. As a result, millions of Americans and visitors from around the world are drawn to these places – too many millions, in fact.
Global Warming And Air Conditioners
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All those record high temperatures around the world this summer – such as during the unprecedented heatwave in Japan – put the spotlight on the growing dependence we all have on air conditioning.
Greener Concrete
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The battle to reduce carbon emissions is heavily focused on electricity generation, transportation, buildings, and agriculture, which collectively account for more than 75% of the total. However, there are other sources of carbon emissions that cannot be ignored. Among industrial activities, the production of cement is responsible for 7% of industrial energy use and is the second largest industrial emitter of carbon dioxide. Making cement accounts for about 7% of global emissions.
Drought In Europe
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Even as Californians fought giant wildfires and Japan struggled with record high temperatures, the unusual summer heat in central and northern Europe has led to the worst drought conditions in over 40 years.
Cleaning Up Shipping Fuel
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Cargo ships are significant sources of global air pollution because of their fuel oil. Most ships burn something called “bunker fuel” which is a pitch-black, molasses-thick fuel made from the dregs of the oil refining process. It is loaded with sulfur, so when it is burned it produces noxious gases and fine particles that can harm human health and the environment. Because bunker fuel is made from petroleum refining residues, waste byproducts sometimes end up in the mix, making the stuff even a worse source of pollution.
A Battle For The Automobile Fuel Business
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Energy giant BP predicts that electric vehicle sales will increase by an incredible 8,800 percent between now and 2040. That creates a major business opportunity for oil companies as well as a real problem because demand for gasoline and diesel is destined to slow.
[Read more…] about A Battle For The Automobile Fuel Business
Clean Power Is Not Enough
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A recent study published in Nature Climate Change looked at what emission reductions are needed to meet the climate targets of the Paris Accords. The results are sobering.
Feeding Seaweed To Cows
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Methane emissions are a real problem. As a greenhouse gas, methane has at least 25 times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide. More than a third of all the methane that humans are responsible for putting into the atmosphere comes from domestic livestock: cattle, sheep, goats and buffalo. In California alone, dairy cows along with a smaller number of beef cattle emit the heat trapping equivalent of the emissions from 2.5 million cars.
A Small Win For Coral
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The Belize Barrier Reef is the largest barrier reef system in the Northern Hemisphere. It extends roughly 200 miles, and is made up of a series of coral reefs, cays and islands, many of which are covered with mangroves. It was designated a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1996, and added to its endangered list in 2009.
Urban Streams Are Breeding Superbugs
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City streams are subjected to a constant onslaught of synthetic chemicals found in pharmaceuticals and personal care products. Wastewater treatment facilities are not designed to filter out these compounds. Instead, they flow into surface waters where they impact aquatic organisms like microbes – which perform key ecosystem services like removing excess nutrients and breaking down leaf litter.
A New Catalyst For Splitting Water
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Hydrogen is widely considered to be a desirable source of clean energy. It can be used in fuel cells to power electric motors in cars or can be burned directly in internal combustion engines. If it is compressed or converted to liquid, it can be efficiently stored and transported. Most of all, when it is used as an energy source, the only emission it produces is water.
Progress On Plastic Straws
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Earlier this year we talked about the contributions of plastic straws to the global problem of plastic waste. Americans throw away an astounding 500 million straws a day. But global campaigns to reduce the use of plastic straws are starting to make real headway.
Air Pollution And Diabetes
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