Environment

Methyl Iodide- Controversial New Pesticide Approved By EPA

Even though the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has given final approval for use of a new pesticide, regulators in California and other states are taking a closer look at the substance's potential adverse health effects before allowing the ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 27 2008 - 10:52am

Not Just Sky- Oceans CO2 Levels Will Cause Coral Reefs To Crash

Rising carbon dioxide levels in the world's oceans could deliver a disastrous blow to the ability of coral reefs to withstand climate change. A major new investigation by Australian scientists has revealed that acidification of the oceans from human C ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 28 2008 - 10:21am

Methylmercury Brain Damage Risk Will Put CFL Bulbs In The Spotlight Again

Methylmercury is a chemical compound formed in the environment from released mercury. Unfortunately, the methylmercury can be transported quickly around the body and may enter the brain. In a pregnant mother, serious problems will ensue if important develo ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 28 2008 - 10:26am

Green Neighborhoods Mean Less Obesity- Study

Childhood obesity can lead to type 2 diabetes, asthma, hypertension, sleep apnea and emotional distress. Obese children and youth are likely to be obese as adults, experience more cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and stroke and incur higher heal ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 28 2008 - 10:32am

Impact Of Soil Microbes On Global Warming Less Than Previously Predicted

Current models of global climate change predict warmer temperatures will increase the rate that bacteria and other microbes decompose soil organic matter, a scenario that pumps even more heat-trapping carbon into the atmosphere. But a new study led by a Un ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 28 2008 - 10:51pm

Last Word: Poles' warming is man-made

Letter* published in Nature Geoscience concluded at last: Overall, despite the paucity of observations, we find that human-induced warming is detectable in both these regions of high vulnerability to climate change. ...

Blog Post - Hatice Cullingford - Dec 15 2008 - 2:44am

'Green Iron' Detoxifies Pollutants In Industrial Wastewater

Take a close look at that cheap piece of scrap iron before you toss it in the trash.  Wei-xian Zhang has a good use for it. Someday soon, much of the world might also.  Zhang, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, recently concluded a five-ye ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 3 2008 - 7:00pm

Global Warming's Drier Mushrooms Mean Less Carbon Dioxide From Soil

The fight against climate warming has an unexpected ally in mushrooms growing in dry spruce forests covering Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia and other northern regions, a new UC Irvine study finds.  When soil in these forests is warmed, fungi that feed on dead ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 3 2008 - 7:04pm

Extract One Million Times As Much CO2 From The Air- Using Rocks

Scientists say that a type of rock found at or near the surface in the Mideast nation of Oman and other areas around the world could be harnessed to soak up huge quantities of globe-warming carbon dioxide. Their studies show that the rock, known as peridot ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 5 2008 - 10:19pm

Global Warming Implicated In Fall Of Chinese Dynasties

Chinese history is replete with the rise and fall of dynasties, but researchers now have identified a natural phenomenon that may have been the last straw for some of them: a weakening of the summer Asian Monsoons.   Such weakening accompanied the fall of ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 7 2008 - 12:46pm