The billions of single-celled marine organisms known as phytoplankton can drift from one region of the world's oceans to almost any other place on the globe in less than a decade, Princeton University researchers have found.
Unfortunately, the same principle can apply to plastic debris, radioactive...
This post originally ran on Juan Cole’s website.
Pope Francis continues to preach environmentalism as he addresses crowds in Latin America, a challenging message in poor countries where over-exploitation of natural resources is a constant temptation. These are also countries and populations, ...
The Earth is suffering from human activities. Here are 50 photos show human's "masterpiece".
1. A turtle deformed by plastic ring.
2. A seal is tangled by abandoned fishing wire, causing its neck split.
3. A sea bird is covered by oil. The only thing it can do is waiting to die.
4. I...
The aviation industry is growing so quickly that its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are expected on present trends to triple globally by 2050. The industry itself is committed to reducing its emissions, but technological and political constraints are hindering rapid progress.
Technologically, the f...
All across the United States, the day after Thanksgiving is renowned for the hordes of shoppers that start lining up outside stores in the early hours of the morning. This day of shopping represents millions of transactions but it also accounts for much more. Think about how many people hop into the...
Pollution and climate change due to human influence is “clear,” and the observed effects are “unprecedented,” according to a report released Sunday by a United Nations panel.
The 116-page report is the fifth since 1990 prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The ...
Pollution in urban and farm runoff in Hawaii is causing tumors in endangered sea turtles, a new study finds.
The study, published Tuesday in the peer-reviewed open-access journal PeerJ, shows that nitrogen in the runoff ends up in algae that the turtles eat, promoting the formation of tumors on the...
Southern Californians' cancer risk from air pollution has dropped 65% since 2005 but is still too high in many areas, regional air quality regulators said in a report released Thursday.
They attribute much of the improvement to tough state and local regulations, incentive programs and cleaner fuels...
Los Angeles could one day battle snarling traffic with a fleet of self-driving cars — at least if Mayor Eric Garcetti gets his way.
Speaking Monday at an event sponsored by The Atlantic magazine, he outlined his vision for a ride-sharing service, much like Uber or Lyft, that would depend on automat...
Traffic sucks. Congestion is bad for the environment, health (see: Beijing), and maybe most importantly, our sanity. One solution gaining in popularity amongst urban governments is the congestion charging scheme, in which drivers pay a toll to enter designated downtown areas. London, Stockholm, and ...
The WHO has released a new study ranking countries with the worst air pollution. When we consider air pollution most of us will automatically think of China. However, it was nowhere to be found in the top 10 offenders. This, by the way, is not because they’ve suddenly cleaned up their act, but rathe...
Though a burst of clear skies last Monday allowed Beijingers to marvel at a magnificent Mid-Autumn Festival moon, a blanket of smog choked the capital the next morning, reminding citizens of China’s grave air pollution woes. However, that same Tuesday, September 9th, the Legislative Affairs Office o...
Unregulated trash burning around the globe is pumping far more pollution into the atmosphere than shown by official records. A new study led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research estimates that more than 40 percent of the world’s garbage is burned in such fires, emitting gases and particle...
Even when the sea looks clean, its surface can be flecked with tiny fragments of paint and fiberglass. That’s the finding from a study that looked for plastic pollution in the uppermost millimeter of ocean. The microscopic fragments come from the decks and hulls of boats, and they could pose a ...
Man-made noise pollution may pose a threat to marine eel populations by dulling crucial responses to predators, according to a study by a team of researchers from the Universities of Exeter and Bristol, UK.
The study has been published in the journal Global Change Biology on August 6.
The exp...
While developed countries and regions have long been culprits for Earth's rising greenhouse gas emissions, Cornell researchers – balancing the role of aerosols along with carbons in the equation – now predict a time when developing countries will contribute more to climate change than advanced socie...
Two NASA aircraft are participating in field campaigns beginning this month in Colorado that will probe the factors leading to unhealthy air quality conditions and improve the ability to diagnose air quality conditions from space.
The NASA aircraft will be joined by a research aircraft from...
Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and partner organizations are launching a major field project across the northern Front Range of Colorado this month to track the origins of summertime ozone, an invisible but harmful pollutant.
The researchers will use specially equ...
Independence Day is one of block parties, barbecues, icy cold drinks, sparklers, noisemakers, fireworks, and therefore, a ton of trash. Here are a couple things to keep in mind before, during, and after your July 4th fun:
1. If you are going out in the wilderness, to a parade, or off to the beach, ...
People may find their health disorders disappear when they are away from home or work. These disturbances may include headaches, insomnia, short-term memory loss, palpitations, skin disorders, and noises in the ears – which often worsen when normal background noise is low. We therefore need to be aw...
