University of Iowa researchers have found high levels of toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the deep sediments lining the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal (IHSC) in East Chicago, Ind. Scientists say the discovery is cause for concern because the IHSC is scheduled to be dredged in spring 2012 to maintain proper depth for ship traffic in this heavily industrialized area of southern Lake Michigan.
Restoring prairies to their native vegetation can be approached from several directions. Managers might eliminate invasive plants through use of herbicides, encourage growth of native species through seeding, or manipulate conditions to favor native species. Research that provides evidence for making these decisions can be invaluable for resource management.
Averaged globally, August 2011 was the third warmest August in the past 34 years. The Southern Hemisphere saw its second warmest August in that time, while it was the fourth warmest August in the Northern Hemisphere.
Boston University researchers have estimated the impact near term increases in global-mean temperatures will have on summertime temperatures here in the U.S. and around the globe.
By looking to Mother Nature for solutions, researchers have identified a promising new binder material for lithium-ion battery electrodes that could not only boost energy storage, but also eliminate the use of toxic compounds now used in manufacturing the components.
As corporate and nonprofit recruiters prepare to storm college campuses this fall, applicants need new ways to distinguish themselves in an increasingly challenging job market. Viewing the world through the lens of sustainability and demonstrating practical experience with a “greener resume” can make a difference when applying for jobs, says Dedee DeLongpré Johnston, Director of Sustainability at Wake Forest University.
Although the burning of natural gas emits far less carbon dioxide than coal, a new study by an NCAR researcher concludes that a greater reliance on natural gas would fail to significantly slow down climate change. Coal releases more carbon dioxide, but it also releases particles that cool the planet.
A six-year campaign to control winter moth pests with a natural parasite now has concrete evidence that a fly, Cyzenis albicans, is attacking the pest at four sites in eastern Massachusetts. It’s the beginning of the end for the decade-long defoliation of millions of trees by the invasive species.
A three-year series of research flights from the Arctic to the Antarctic has produced an unprecedented portrait of greenhouse gases. The HIPPO project, led by NCAR, Harvard, and NOAA, is enabling researchers to generate the first detailed mapping of the global distribution of gases and particles that affect Earth’s climate.
A recent study found that when it comes to consumers' rationale for not purchasing sustainable clothing, perception and reality aren't always cut from the same cloth.
Land area under exceptional drought hit record levels in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas amid concerns about how long the conditions may persist, the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln said.
Transportation researchers at the University of Arkansas are working to develop a national decision-support system to help local, state and federal law-enforcement and emergency-management agencies identify commercially important rivers and infrastructure that may be especially vulnerable to a terrorist attack or natural disaster.
Clouds only amplify climate change, says a Texas A&M University professor in a study that rebuts recent claims that clouds are actually the root cause of climate change.
A study in the Journal of Environmental Quality reports that total emissions of the greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide, were not significantly affected by tillage practices when expressed on an area basis. When they were calculated per unit yield of grain, however, emissions were significantly greater under no-tillage compared with conventional tillage.
Today, the White House issued a press release stating they would not move to issue a final standard on ozone pollution. The American Thoracic strongly condemns this decision. “This is not change we believe in,” said ATS President-Elect Monica Kraft, MD, professor of medicine and director of the Asthma, Allergy and Airway Center at Duke University.
Scientists this month are wrapping up a three-year series of missions from the Arctic to the Antarctic aboard an advanced research aircraft, having successfully made the most extensive airborne measurements of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and particles to date. Mission scientists will discuss preliminary findings and describe the mission in detail.
With citizens’ groups seeking government regulation of foul-smelling ammonia emissions from large dairy farms, scientists today reported that adding natural plant extracts to cow feed can reduce levels of the gas by one-third while reducing the need to fortify cow feed with expensive protein supplements. They reported here at the 242nd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
New research from North Carolina finds that people who live in counties with better weather and more natural features like hills and lakes are more active and thinner than their counterparts.
A new study of dust-like particles of soot in the air — now emerging as the second most important — but previously overlooked — factor in global warming provides fresh evidence that reducing soot emissions from diesel engines and other sources could slow melting of sea ice in the Arctic faster and more economically than any other quick fix, a scientist reported here today.
Even after many decades of studying ozone and its loss from our atmosphere miles above the Earth, plenty of mysteries and surprises remain, including an unexpected loss of ozone over the Arctic this past winter.
Panda poop contains bacteria with potent effects in breaking down plant material in the way needed to tap biomass as a major new source of “biofuels” produced not from corn and other food sources, but from grass, wood chips and crop wastes, scientists reported today at the 242nd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
New and competing uses of rangeland and threats to its resources have reached unprecedented levels. At the same time, we are seeing a high turnover of rangeland management staff and private lands historically handed down through families are being sold more frequently to third parties. Land knowledge accumulated over generations is being lost.
Globally, irrigation increases agricultural productivity by an amount roughly equivalent to the entire agricultural output of the U.S., according to a new University of Wisconsin-Madison study.
It sounds like a 1950s B-horror movie — Attack of the Invasive Species — but the battle of invading plants and animals could be coming to your front door and is costing you millions of dollars. Two Texas A&M University at Galveston researchers are on the forefront of the fight.
The researcher who used chemical sleuthing to uncover what’s in scented products now has turned her attention to the air wafting from household laundry vents. Air from laundry machines using the top-selling scented liquid detergent and dryer sheet contains hazardous chemicals, including two that are classified as carcinogens.
Baylor University environmental researchers have proposed in a new study a different approach to predict the environmental safety of chemicals by using data from other similar chemicals.
In rural areas of Africa, Asia and Latin America, poor farmers supplement their livelihoods by hunting and cutting wood, but such practices can seriously threaten biodiversity in the developing world. Now, two Cornell University researchers are leading the way to explore solutions that not only protect biodiversity but also improve the livelihoods of the poor.
If so many poor people live around national parks in developing countries, does that mean that these parks are contributing to their poverty? Yes, according to the conventional wisdom, but no, according to a 10-year study of people living around Kibale National Park in Uganda that was published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) documents the success of a Wildlife Conservation Society program that uses an innovative business model to improve rural livelihoods while restoring local wildlife populations.
David Flaspohler, a conservation biologist at Michigan Technological University, and colleagues are studying the effects of forests fragmented by lava flows, called kipukas in Hawaii, on the creatures that live there.
University of Iowa assistant professor Scott Spak and students participating in a six-week NASA summer program have found that taking into account local atmospheric conditions can improve the accuracy of satellite surface imagery.
Hamilton College Professor of Biology Ernest H. Williams co-authored an article presenting the results of a study showing that the number of monarchs overwintering on the mountains in Mexico has declined significantly over the past 17 years. He and his co-authors feel that this decline calls into question the long-term survival of the monarchs’ migratory phenomenon.
Geologists recently descended into caves on a small island in the middle of the South Pacific to try and gain a better understanding of weather patterns occurring as far back as 10,000 years ago.
Yafang Cheng, a University of Iowa post-doctoral researcher, and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany, have found that soil nitrite can be released into the air in the form of nitrous acid (HONO) and indirectly enhance the self-cleansing capacity of the atmosphere.
New University of Washington research indicates that even if Earth warmed enough to melt all polar sea ice, the ice could recover if the planet cooled again.
The cisco, a key forage fish found in Wisconsin’s deepest and coldest bodies of water, could become a climate change casualty and disappear from most of the Wisconsin lakes it now inhabits by the year 2100, according to a new study.
Tennessee Tech University civil engineering professor Faisal Hossain recently went to Washington, D.C. to present his research about dams' effects on local climate. He went at the invitation of policymakers who were looking to learn about the need for more flexibility when building large dams.
A global study by an international team including professor John Graves of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science quantifies the threat to tuna and billfish populations around the world.
A new educational website, “American Indian Responses to Environmental Challenges,” targets middle and high school teachers, students and the general public.
Marine researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society and other groups have created a map of the world’s corals and their exposure to stress factors, including high temperatures, ultra-violet radiation, weather systems, sedimentation, as well as stress-reducing factors such as temperature variability and tidal dynamics.
Researchers determine relationships between human sources of phosphorus and harmful amounts of phosphorus in aquatic environments.
A type of fungus that's been lurking underground for millions of years, previously known to science only through its DNA, has been cultured, photographed, named and assigned a place on the tree of life.
Although Arctic sea ice appears fated to melt as the climate continues to warm, the ice may temporarily stabilize or somewhat expand at times over the next few decades, new research indicates.
Algae-based fuel is one of many options among the array of possible future energy sources. New University of Virginia research shows that while algae-based transportation fuels produce high energy output with minimal land use, their production could come with significant environmental burdens.
Rocks from the fossil Permian Reef in the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas reveal secrets about changes in sea level and marine life 265 million years ago, according to two Texas A&M University researchers.
According to a new analysis of plants in grasslands around the world, 84 percent of plant species are important to their ecosystem. Brian Wilsey and Stanley Harpole, both in Iowa State University's Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, are authors of a study on plant diversity published in today's issue of the journal Nature. The study's lead author, Forest Isbell, is a former graduate student of Wilsey who now works at McGill University, Canada.
Several crops produced in the U.S. could play a significant role in biobased resins and coatings recently developed by researchers at North Dakota State University, Fargo. The NDSU researchers have developed a family of resins from renewable raw materials, creating resins that eliminate hazardous components such as formaldehyde and bisphenol-A. The resins are based on sucrose and vegetable oils, and can be varied to perform in many applications and industries.
The aging forests of the Upper Great Lakes could be considered the baby boomers of the region’s ecosystem.
For many students, going to college or university also means moving away from home and starting a new life in a new city. Take the opportunity to also start a new eco-friendly chapter and go back green with these tips.
American University’s Matthew Nisbet featured in American Journal of Public Health.
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