Researchers’ theory: An increase in population size may mean sounds used in mate competition need not travel as far as before; acoustic information extracted from songs could be useful population monitoring tool
A good-news global warming story about a pine tree with a storied past promises that a back-to-the-future approach will provide economic opportunities and help prepare the southeastern U.S. for a changing climate.
Measures being proposed by the U.S. Climate Action Partnership to curb greenhouse gas emissions are unlikely to affect potential long-term economic growth in the United States, according to a study by RTI International.
The strong signature of an El Niño Pacific Ocean warming event showed up as the warmest November in 30 years — and not just by a little bit. November 2009 was a full 0.1 C (0.18 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than November 2005, the second warmest November in the 31-year satellite record.
The University of Maryland has more than 30 experts who can talk about scientific, technological, economic and policy aspects of climate change that are critical to discussions at the world climate summit in Copenhagen, Dec. 7-18. These include conference attendees, scientists shaping world & U.S. climate research, and a Nobel Prize winning economist.
The ocean plays a critical role in Earth’s climate system and will be among the topics discussed during the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) taking place in Copenhagen from Dec. 7-18, 2009.
This year — for the first time — the climate meeting will feature an Oceans Day on December 14. Experts from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are available for comment.
Expert faculty members at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) are available to discuss developments at the U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen.
Today the Environmental Protection Agency made final its determination that global warming pollution constitutes a public danger and is virtually certain to act boldly under its authority under the Clean Air Act. The news comes just as international climate talks begin in Copenhagen.
“I don’t see any chance that we can have enforceable national limits on greenhouse gas emissions,” says University of Maryland Nobel laureate, Thomas Schelling in a paper released as delegates meet in Copenhagen at a UN climate conference. “I know of no peacetime historical precedent for the kind of international cooperation that is going to be required.”
It was Bing Crosby who immortalized a white Christmas in his 1942 hit single, but these days more and more eco-conscious consumers are dreaming of a green Christmas instead. If you're looking for ways to reduce your carbon footprint this holiday season, consider these tips from Director of Sustainability Dedee DeLongpré Johnston.
You want to go for a run, but you don’t want to run in polluted air that might aggravate your asthma. University of California, San Diego computer scientists are creating a network of environmental sensors that will help you avoid air pollution hot spots that exist exactly when you are planning your route. The system will provide up-to-the-minute information on outdoor and indoor air quality, based on environmental information collected by hundreds, and eventually thousands, of sensors attached to the backpacks, purses, jackets and board shorts of San Diegans going about daily life.
Leaders of the world's nations will meet Dec. 7-16 in Copenhagen, Denmark, for talks as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Indiana University experts comment on their prospects.
Biodiversity loss can increase infectious diseases in humans, University of Vermont, EPA, and other scientists show in a first-of-its-kind global study.
Going ‘green’ for the first time this Christmas? Climate change expert Clint Springer, Ph.D., of Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, suggests live trees are a great way to begin.
In a striking finding that raises new questions about carbon dioxide’s (CO2) impact on marine life, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists report that some shell-building creatures—such as crabs, shrimp and lobsters—unexpectedly build more shell when exposed to ocean acidification caused by elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2).
The University of South Carolina, a leader in sustainability, announced its "Genesis 2015 Initiative," which will expand the use of alternative-fuel vehicles to its entire campus fleet within five years.
Millions of shark fins are sold annually to satisfy the demand for shark fin soup, a Chinese delicacy. Now, scientists using DNA tools have traced sharks’ fins from the Hong Kong market back to the sharks’ homes, and find that endangered populations are still being exploited. CITES will consider better protecting sharks from international trade, at its March meeting in Qatar.
As the world’s seawater becomes more acidic due to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide, some shelled marine creatures may actually become bigger and stronger, according to a new study.
Today, new studies published in The Lancet show that strategies to reduce greenhouse gases also benefit human health. The Lancet series highlights case studies on four climate change topics — household energy, transportation, electricity generation, and agricultural food production. Researchers say that cost savings realized from improving health will offset the cost of addressing climate change and, therefore, should be considered as part of all policy discussions related to climate change. Key researchers and public health officials gathered in the Unites States and Britain gathered together via satellite simulcast to unveil new research.
In the essay, “Where the Wild Things Were,” currently appearing in Foreign Affairs, Dr. Steven Sanderson, President and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society, asserts the world’s political institutions have failed the planet but “realism cannot turn into defeatism.”
Ithaca College will be represented by students, faculty, and alumni at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 15th Conference of the Parties (COP-15), being held Dec. 5–18 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Climate change and environmental experts from the University of New Hampshire are available to discuss the critical and controversial issues that will be raised as global leaders meet Dec. 7-18, 2009, in Copenhagen for the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Recent theories suggesting that half of fishes' food comes from from land-based ecosystems may not hold water. Experiments show that algae, not land-based matter, builds healthy and fertile aquatic organisms.
A recent study concluded that 50 million U.S. acres of cropland and pasture could be used for the production of perennial grasses, such as switchgrass, for biofuel feedstock. Economically viable production of a perennial grass monoculture from which substantial quantities of biomass are removed annually is expected to require nitrogen fertilizer.
Exposure shortly after birth to ambient metals from fuel oil combustion and particles from diesel emissions is associated with respiratory symptoms in young inner-city children, according to a new study by researchers at the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCCEH) at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
Children who are exposed to high levels of traffic-related pollution and high levels of indoor endotoxin early in life have six times the risk of developing persistent wheezing by age three than children exposed to low levels of traffic and indoor-related pollutants, according to new research from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
A University of Utah scientist argues that rising carbon dioxide emissions – the major cause of global warming – cannot be stabilized unless the world’s economy collapses or society builds the equivalent of one new nuclear power plant each day.
Would the world be better if people consumed less? In his new book, Treasures of the Earth, University of Vermont professor Saleem Ali says no. He argues that disavowing consumption of oil, gems, precious metals, and minerals won’t help in planning for a resource-scarce future.
Temple University’s Fox School of Business and other leading academic institutions have joined with global insurers in a survey sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative that sheds new light on the industry’s approach to sustainability and climate risks.
Sustainability is more than a buzzword within Williams College dining services; it's an imperative. One of the most important ways the college achieves sustainability is by reducing food waste and minimizing resource consumption -- a goal that is written into the department's systems, policies, infrastructure, and building design.
On the front door of the Williams College dining services office -- a small grey clapboard house tucked in the middle of the school's campus in bucolic western Massachusetts -- staffers have placed a bumper sticker that reads "No Farms, No Food." It's a message the college takes to heart.
Businesses of all sizes will be surprised to learn that by purchasing recycled toner cartridges you can help to keep 1.9 billion pounds of waste out of landfills annually while saving up to 50 percent on the cost of printing and imaging supplies annually.
Sustainable farming, initially adopted to preserve soil quality for future generations, may also play a role in maintaining a healthy climate, according to researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge and Los Alamos national laboratories.
A new generation of “green” automobile tires that can boost fuel efficiency without sacrificing safety and durability is rolling their way through the research pipeline. The new tires could help add an extra mile or two per gallon to a car’s fuel economy. That’s the topic of the cover story of the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News, (C&EN) ACS’ weekly newsmagazine.
Cigarettes are "widely contaminated" with bacteria, including some known to cause disease in people, concludes a new international study conducted by a University of Maryland environmental health researcher and microbial ecologists at the Ecole Centrale de Lyon in France.
Scientists are reporting evidence that air pollution — a well-recognized problem at major airports — may pose an important but largely overlooked health concern for people living near smaller regional airports. Those airports are becoming an increasingly important component of global air transport systems.
National Wildlife Federation today released its new study of Generation E: Students Leading for a Sustainable, Clean Energy Future, which highlights the unique and critical role college students are playing in reforming sustainability programs that lower their campus’ carbon footprint. Visit www.nwf.org/GenE for the report and more.
The U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources today approved legislation expanding key watershed and environmental education programs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Green IT Initiative looks at power consumption from the microchip to the data center. Will use Recycled HPC system to develop sustainable power consumption.
An El Nino Pacific Ocean warming event that caused the second warmest tropical October in 31 years didn't stop the continental U.S. from seeing its second coldest October in that same time.
New website on sustainable landscaping developed by WIU horticulture professor addresses a rapidly evolving area responding to environmental issues, including global climate change. This new instructional tool and content-rich website helps deliver the information people need to make informed choices.
Wellesley College alumna Catlin Powers, class of 2009, fights to bring heat, clean water and other necessities to those in need -- from the high-altitude regions of the Himalayas to economically depressed areas of the Dominican Republic, Ghana and India. Powers and other investigators, including project advisor Nolan Flynn, associate professor of chemistry at Wellesley, have won $10,000 from the EPA's P3 Awards, a national student design competition focusing on people, prosperity and the planet.
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles, found in everything from cosmetics to sunscreen to paint to vitamins, caused systemic genetic damage in mice, according to a comprehensive study conducted by researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.