Diversity in some coral populations may significantly influence their response to extreme temperature disturbances — such as those predicted from climate warming. A team demonstrated natural selection acting on the species of algae living within corals may determine survival in extreme temperatures.
Officials say it may take up to three months to seal off a leaking oil well 5,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico that has created a massive environmental crisis that could affect much of the Gulf coast. The Florida State University, which is leading a statewide Oil Spill Academic Task Force to assist the Gulf region in preparing for and responding to the oil spill, is home to some of the nation’s top experts in measuring and modeling the magnitude and trajectory of the spill, providing information on the potential and actual ecological impacts of the oil and evaluating risks associated with the spill. The spill followed an explosion on April 20.
SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT: EFFECT OF OIL SPILLS ON ENVIRONMENT Dr. Richard E. Dodge Professor and Dean, NSU Oceanographic Center Executive Director, National Coral Reef Institute Contact Dr. Dodge Cell phone 954.629.2134
Two Baylor University researchers have published a paper on their creation of a new equation for estimating rainfall amounts in ancient ecosystems.
Researchers in British Columbia, Canada, have used a technique known as ecological niche modeling to identify likely areas where a potentially lethal fungus could spread next. Cryptococcus gattii, which can cause life-threatening infections of the lungs and central nervous system when inhaled, infects humans as well as a broad range of wild and domestic animals.
Ken Rosenberg, director of conservation science at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and a specialist on the conservation of birds throughout the Western Hemisphere, comments on the ecological threat posed by the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Disappearing coral reefs are among a host of ecological markers that showcase how promises to protect the planet’s biodiversity are not being met, according to a study this week in the journal Science. The findings are an assessment of targets made at the 2002 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). UNC marine scientist John Bruno is a study co-author.
The growing oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico could void years of conservation work to save a species of turtle that calls the Alabama Gulf Coast home, say the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) biologists who are behind the effort.
Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a report on “Climate Change Indicators” reviewing 24 critical indicators of the planet’s environmental health for visible impacts of climate change. For the vast majority of the indicators, 22 of 24, the report’s authors conclude that climate change has already had scientifically verified effects on our air, oceans, weather and wildlife.
A study published April 19, 2010 ahead of print in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) demonstrates that conditions that can support the establishment of Lyme disease have come together in southern Quebec, an area that until now has not sustained the disease.
“Double-flame” research seeks to improve soot combustion, reduce pollutants.
Researchers studied the impact of grass and grass/tree buffer strips on three herbicides commonly used in agriculture. The scientists studied the transport of the herbicides in both surface runoff and subsurface infiltration during two growing seasons.
National Wildlife Federation and 25 groups issued a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today calling for suspension of the permitting process for a proposed tar sands pipeline known as Keystone XL. The groups say the full scope of its environmental and social impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions have not been considered.
University of New Hampshire professor Nancy Kinner, director of the joint UNH/NOAA Coastal Response Research Center, is available to media to discuss the impact of the oil spill from the burning oil rig off the coast of Louisiana.
Heating and squishing microalgae in a pressure-cooker can fast-forward the crude-oil-making process from millennia to minutes.
Both ozone and primary pollutants from traffic substantially increase asthma-related emergency department visits in children, especially during the warm season, according to researchers from the Department of Environmental Health at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta.
A report released today by a federal working group highlights 11 key categories of diseases and other health consequences that are occurring or will occur due to climate change. The report, A Human Health Perspective on Climate Change, provides a starting point for coordination of federal research to better understand climate’s impact on human health. The recommendations of the working group include research to identify who will be most vulnerable, and what efforts will be most beneficial.
A comprehensive assessment of global fossil-fuel subsidies has found that governments are spending $500 billion annually on policies that undermine energy security and worsen the environment.
A new “gasification” method of converting biomass feedstock into sustainable fuel developed by researchers in Massachusetts and Minnesota greatly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and doubles the amount of fuel made from an acre of biomass feedstock, says UMass Amherst scientist Paul J. Dauenhauer.
UC San Diego has been rated once again as one of the country’s most environmentally responsible universities, this time by The Princeton Review.
Kicking off with an Earth Day presentation, Ithaca College will launch an educational initiative focusing on the topic of “Media for Social Change.”
The annual survey at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry says cutting consumerism is the first step toward a more sustainable lifestyle.
First comprehensive review of Katrina releases of petroleum and hazardous materials.
Three Temple University environmental experts are available to discuss the 40th Earth Day, the current state of the environment, where it is going and what needs to be done to get there.
Shells from mollusks presented to the dead during ancient funeral ceremonies are keys to helping a geologist gauge ocean movements near the Peruvian coast from as much as 13,000 years ago.
Birth control for moths – that’s one way of describing the focus of a start-up company hoping to take a bite out of the $100 billion hole that insects inflict each year via crop losses worldwide.
On this 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the call to action is aimed at individuals, not just government. That’s the view of Dedee DeLongpré Johnston, director of sustainability at Wake Forest University, who is issuing a call to action for Earth Day 2010.
American Society of Agronomy President participates in “Great Outdoors” policy event at White House Conference. He joins an exclusive list of leaders gathered to define conservation challenges and the best solutions to solve these issues.
Sahotra Sarkar, a philosophy professor at The University of Texas at Austin and leader in the study of environmental ethics, works with the conservationists, companies and governments to develop strategies that balance economic development and biodiversity while respecting the needs of indigenous people.
Earth Day 2010 will be celebrated on Thursday, April 22. Faculty experts from The University of Texas at Austin are available to discuss their research on topics ranging from building sustainable communities to plant ecology and environmental policies.
Northeastern University has received a $9.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the impact of exposure to environmental contamination on preterm birth rates and to develop sustainable solutions.
Looming declines in phosphorus spark concerns about future food security and launch new initiative at Arizona State University.
Established with a $5 million gift from the Alberici Foundation, Saint Louis University’s Center for Sustainability will develop creative, collaborative solutions to pressing environmental challenges facing society today and offer the first master's program of its kind in the Midwest.
Current observational tools cannot account for roughly half of the heat that is believed to have built up on Earth in recent years, according to a “Perspectives” article in this week’s issue of Science. Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) warn in the new study that satellite sensors, ocean floats, and other instruments are inadequate to track this “missing” heat, which may be building up in the deep oceans or elsewhere in the climate system.
A University of Maryland team will build a unique solar home that creates a mini-eco-system, capturing and fully using the energy of sun, wind, rain and household wastes. The WaterShed House will be Maryland’s entry in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon 2011. The 20 international finalists will erect homes on the National Mall.
Whether forests are dying back, or just drying out, projections for warming show the Pacific Northwest primed for more wildfires. Fuels built up after a century of suppressing fires have long been pointed to as the reason, but since the early ‘90s climate appears to have become a contributing factor.
With few exceptions, all known forms of life on our planet rely on the same genetic code to specify the amino acid composition of proteins. Although different hypotheses abound, just how individual amino acids were assigned to specific three-letter combinations or codons during the evolution of the genetic code is still subject to speculation.
Researchers are hopeful that the new core they drilled through an ice field on the Antarctic Peninsula will contain ice dating back into the last ice age. If so, that record should give new insight into past global climate changes.
The world's largest antimony mine has become the world's largest laboratory for studying the environmental consequences of escaped antimony -- an element whose environmental and biological properties are still largely a mystery. Scientists have found the waters around Xikuangshan mine in southwest China contain antimony at levels two to four orders of magnitude higher than normal (0.33 - 11.4 parts per million).
Two notorious Great Lakes invaders---the zebra mussel and the round goby---now play a central role in transferring toxic chemicals called PCBs up the food chain and into Saginaw Bay walleyes, one of that region's most popular sport fish.
As companies become increasingly focused on implementing sustainable business strategies, Furman University will offer a new program this fall that will help executives manage the challenges of a socially conscious business environment.
The University of Maryland is making great strides to become a national leader where sustainability is concerned. UM's Scott Lupin heads up the Office of Sustainability on campus and recently talked about how the office came into being, what is going on campus now and plans for the future.
Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that exposure to three common chemical classes—phenols, phthalates and phytoestrogens—in young girls may disrupt the timing of pubertal development, and put girls at risk for health complications later in life.
A new review of scientific literature finds that removal of crop residue for biofuels can adversely impact soil and environmental quality. Conversely, dedicated energy crops can increase soil organic carbon concentration while providing biofuel feedstock.
According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which is the oldest and largest global environmental network, governments have failed to meet targets to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. Their recent message says we are now witnessing the greatest extinction crisis since dinosaurs disappeared from our planet 65 million years ago. While critics might counter that IUCN is engaging in hyperbole, claiming that extinction is part of the natural cycle, conservationist Scott McRobert, Ph.D., professor of biology at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Pa., says that the urgent tone of the message is accurate, and the current mass extinction has little in common with that prehistoric event. So what is different?
Eco-fashion is one of the biggest trends of the decade, and designers are offering more stylish and affordable clothing as consumer demand rises. That’s why Wake Forest’s sustainability office and eco-designer Jenny Hwa will soon be co-hosting a fashion show of eco-chic clothing and accessories.
Although thousands of birds and mammals were killed immediately following the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989, the long-term effects of oil exposure on the region’s wildlife remain a concern.
Ryerson University Chemical Engineering students have discovered a potential solution to the rising levels of pharmaceuticals ending up in the water supply, particularly worrisome around hospitals and long-term care facilities, where pharmaceutical use is heavy. The foursome has designed an advanced wastewater treatment system which would remove 90 per cent of pharmaceuticals and endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) using commercially available technology. Currently no such sewage treatment plant exists in North America.
In a speech today, President Obama made a series of energy policy announcements, including expanded offshore oil drilling and new fuel economy standards for automobiles. The president also reiterated his call for Congress to deliver a comprehensive climate and energy bill this year.
Cornell University researchers have found a new tool to help marine biologists better grasp the processes under the sea: They have created mathematical models to unveil the bacterial community dynamics behind afflictions that bleach and kill coral.
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