Environment

Scientists in Pennsylvania report that boosting production of crops used to make biofuels could make a difficult task to shrink a vast, oxygen-depleted “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico more difficult. The zone, which reached the size of Massachusetts in 2008, forms in summer and threatens marine life and jobs in the region. Their [...]

The world faces a compounding series of crises driven by human activity, which existing governments and institutions are increasingly powerless to cope with, a group of eminent environmental scientists and economists has warned.
In today’s issue of the leading international journal Science, the researchers say that nations alone are unable to resolve the sorts of planet-wide [...]

Aquaculture, once a fledgling industry, now accounts for 50 percent of the fish consumed globally, according to a new report by an international team of researchers. And while the industry is more efficient than ever, it is also putting a significant strain on marine resources by consuming large amounts of feed made from wild fish [...]

Microbiologists from the University of Essex, UK have used microbes to break down and remove toxic compounds from crude oil and tar sands. These acidic compounds persist in the environment, taking up to 10 years to break down. Mr Richard Johnson, presenting his PhD research to the Society for General Microbiology’s meeting at Heriot-Watt University, [...]

A new study indicates that Arctic temperatures suddenly increased during the last 50 years of the period from 1 AD to the year 2000. Because this warming occurred abruptly during the 20th Century while atmospheric greenhouse gases were accumulating, these findings provide additional evidence that humans are influencing climate.
Incorporating geologic records, biologic records and computer [...]

In the first study to look at what happens over the years to the billions of pounds of plastic waste floating in the world’s oceans, scientists are reporting that plastics — reputed to be virtually indestructible — decompose with surprising speed and release potentially toxic substances into the water.
Reporting at the 238th National Meeting of [...]

Burning candles made from paraffin wax –– the most common kind used to infuse rooms with romantic ambiance, warmth, light, and fragrance –– is an unrecognized source of exposure to indoor air pollution, including the known human carcinogens, scientists have reported. Levels can build up in closed rooms, and be reduced by ventilation, they indicated [...]

The warming of an Arctic current over the last 30 years has triggered the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from methane hydrate stored in the sediment beneath the seabed.
Scientists at the National Oceanography Centre Southampton working in collaboration with researchers from the University of Birmingham, Royal Holloway London and IFM-Geomar in Germany have [...]

When it comes to using climate models to assess the causes of the increased amount of moisture in the atmosphere, it doesn’t much matter if one model is better than the other.
They all come to the same conclusion: Humans are warming the planet, and this warming is increasing the amount of water vapor in the [...]

A previously unrecognized player in the process by which gases produced by trees and other plants become aerosols — microscopically small particles in the atmosphere — has been discovered by a research team led by scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Their research on the creation and effects of these chemicals, called epoxides, is [...]

Some people who are serious about wanting to reduce their “carbon footprint” on the Earth have one choice available to them that may yield a large long-term benefit — have one less child.
A study by statisticians at Oregon State University concluded that in the United States, the carbon legacy and greenhouse gas impact of an [...]

Could straw houses be the buildings of the future?
That’s what researchers at the University of Bath will be testing this summer by constructing a “BaleHaus” made of prefabricated straw bale and hemp cladding panels on campus.
And people around the world will be able to watch its progress online via “Strawcam” from Monday 20 July. The [...]

The air in Beijing during the 2008 Olympics was cleaner than the previous year’s, due to aggressive efforts by the Chinese government to curtail traffic, increase emissions standards and halt construction in preparation for the games, according to a Cornell study.
Led by Max Zhang, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, the study indicates that [...]

A study by five university researchers — including four from the University of Hawai’i at Ma-noa — concludes that existing shark cage diving enterprises in Hawai’i have a negligible effect on public safety.
The paper, “Seasonal cycles and long-term trends in abundance and species composition of sharks associated with cage diving ecotourism activities in Hawai’i,” is [...]

No one knows exactly how much Earth’s climate will warm due to carbon emissions, but a new study this week suggests scientists’ best predictions about global warming might be incorrect.
The study, which appears in Nature Geoscience, found that climate models explain only about half of the heating that occurred during a well-documented period of rapid [...]

A team of researchers has discovered an unexpected concentration of a certain isotopic molecule in parts of the stratosphere that could have implications for understanding the carbon cycle and its response to climate change.
By analyzing samples of air taken from the stratosphere — the layer of Earth’s atmosphere that sits between six and 30 miles [...]

Coastal marine ecosystems are at risk worldwide as a result of human activities, according to scientists at UC Santa Barbara who have recently published a study in the Journal of Conservation Letters. The authors have performed the first integrated analysis of all coastal areas of the world.
“Resource management and conservation in coastal waters must address [...]

Milder winters are causing Scotland’s wild breed of Soay sheep to get smaller, despite the evolutionary benefits of possessing a large body, according to new research published in this week’s Science Express.
The new study provides evidence for climate change as the cause of the mysterious decrease in the size of wild sheep on the Scottish [...]

Fast and green. That’s what it takes to get to the winner’s circle in a new type of auto racing.
Called green racing, it’s a meshing of the fast and furious world of auto racing with the quest for cleaner-burning fuels and more energy efficient engines. But make no mistake about it, being green does not [...]

With millions of people in the United States eagerly awaiting those July 4 fireworks displays — and our Canadian neighbors doing likewise for their July 1 Canada Day celebrations — here’s a prospect for those light shows of the future likely to ignite a smile on Mother Nature’s face: A new generation of “green” fireworks [...]