Feature Channels: Environmental Science

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This year, Earth Day falls on April 22, and for its 39th anniversary, the eco-minded among us will be taking stock of advancements made by the green movement, as well as the challenges that remain. "It is great news that the public has become more aware of the damage we are causing to our ecosystems, but Earth Day should also be an opportunity for us to think about the social costs associated with global warming," says botanist Clint Springer, Ph.D., of Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia.

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A nearly ice-free Arctic Ocean in the summer may happen three times sooner than scientists have estimated. New research says the Arctic might lose most of its ice cover in summer in as few as 30 years instead of the end of the century.

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Scripps researchers contribute to assessment concluding that loss of agricultural land, increased risk of wildfires among potential outcomes.

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The National Wildlife Federation announces the release of a comprehensive Children and the Outdoors State Policy Solutions Guide. The guide reviews leading state policy initiatives and provides policymakers with model solutions to the growing disconnect between children and the natural world.

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Nights are getting hotter among cities in east Africa as growing populations change sensitive local weather patterns, according to research at The University of Alabama in Huntsville.

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A study conducted at the University of Notre Dame revealed that nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, is frequently produced in the sediments of small streams and that production rates were best explained by stream water nitrate concentrations. These concentrations are often the result of runoff from agricultural soils, where it is well established that a high presence of nitrates can stimulate nitrous oxide production.

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A review article published in Environmental Health Perspectives suggests that increasing changes in global climate and oscillations in atmospheric temperatures may shift the use and spread of agricultural chemicals and pathogens, resulting in potentially harmful human exposures. Although the authors focused their review on the U.K. agricultural environment, they wrote that some of their conclusions are applicable and relevant to other countries as well as to sectors other than agriculture.

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Using aquatic microbes as their "canary-in-a-cage," scientists from Ohio are reporting that nanoparticles now being added to cosmetics, sunscreens, and hundreds of other personal care products may be harmful to the environment. Their report, part of a symposium on the topic that includes almost two dozen papers, is scheduled for presentation at the 237th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.

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Recent scientific studies document "early warning signs" that many natural systems are approaching irreversible changes driven by global warming. Overwhelming scientific evidence supports reducing carbon pollution that causes global warming as much as possible and as quickly as possible.

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Baylor University researchers, working with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, have detected low-level residues of several human medications and personal care products in fish collected from effluent-dominated rivers, including the residue of one pharmaceutical in wild fish that has not been previously reported.

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Scientists from Japan are reporting development of what could be the world's first "green" hair bleach, an environmentally friendly preparation for lightening the color of hair on the head and other parts of the body without the unwanted effects of the bleaches used by millions of people each year. Their study is scheduled for presentation in March at the 237th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.

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UC San Diego is taking the next step as one of the greenest universities in the country by celebrating Earth Week, April 19-25 with 20 "Extreme Green" events, ranging from a trash sort, to a green job fair, and an eco-friendly fashion show. The university's environmental research will be featured and there will be a sustainability award ceremony and green film festival put on by students.

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UIC researchers are conducting a study to determine the health effects associated with recreational activities such as boating, canoeing, kayaking and fishing on Chicago's waterways.

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Exploiting a little-known punch/counterpunch strategy in the ongoing battle between disease-causing fungi and crop plants, scientists in Canada are reporting development of a new class of "green" fungicides that could provide a safer, more environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional fungicides. Their study is scheduled for presentation in March at the 237th National meeting of the American Chemical Society.

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Fueled by the slogan "Turn your lights off, turn the Earth on!" Misericordia University's new environmentally-focused student group, Cougars for Change, is leading campus efforts to participate in a world-wide initiative to draw attention to responsible energy use and global warming.

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Dan Brabander wants to put the green in "“ and take the lead out of "“ urban gardens. As associate professor of geosciences at Wellesley College, his focus is on environmental geochemistry and public health. To that end, he has received funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and has formed a partnership with Boston's Food Project, a nonprofit organization that helps foster organic urban gardens. For the past five years, Brabander and his Wellesley College student researchers have been testing for lead contamination in urban backyard gardens in Boston neighborhoods.

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The new Bright Green MBA program offered by the Marshall Goldsmith School of Management at Alliant International University in San Diego is designed to meet the needs of these different groups. From our research, we have identified the top four reasons for choosing a Green MBA.

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Stony Brook University and Medical Center sponsor initiative to recycle pharmaceuticals.

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The student residents of Wellesley's sustainability co-op housing have made a commitment to buying and cooking locally and sustainably. Also essential to the new model of co-op living on campus is a community-based lifestyle. Nine students currently live in the sustainable housing wing of Simpson Hall on the Wellesley College campus in rooms that share a common living area and kitchen.

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George Washington University experts are available to discuss climate change, Earth Day, and sustainability.

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Drexel University began construction on a $69 million building that will include a "Bio Wall" or living biofilter for energy efficiency and improved indoor air quality. The building will be the first at a university in the United States to include a Bio Wall.

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Richard Alley of Penn State, V. "Ram" Ramanathan of Scripps demonstrated global reach and severity of human impacts on climate; will deliver public lectures at USC on April 23.

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Calling New Orleans "the canary in the global warming coal mine," two Tulane professors say the Crescent City must embrace unconventional thinking in order to recover in a sustainable way from Hurricane Katrina while withstanding a continual threat from rising sea levels, diminishing wetlands and future storms. They stress that the No. 1 priority for Louisiana should be to combat global warming and accelerated sea-level rise.

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An article co-authored by a Tulane scientist examines the role that groundwater plays in eroding the surface of the earth "” a dynamic that could have implications for New Orleans-area levees.

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The loading of carbon dioxide into oceans is a consequence of fossil fuel use that has only begun to be widely recognized as problematic in the past decade. Its subsequent effects on seawater chemistry have the potential to spread ecological disaster to a variety of industries dependent on the seas.

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Advanced materials and new industrial coatings may provide more structurally stable, environmentally sound solutions for manufacturing, shipping and infrastructure.

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During his inaugural address, President Obama spoke plainly about the nation's energy crisis and our reliance on foreign oil: ". . . each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet. Expert believes electric vehicles hold the key to a cleaner, safer, greener future.

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Researchers find great promise in a process that could use solar energy to use hydrogen, the third most abundant element on earth's surface, as the ultimate alternative to fossil fuels. This process increase dramatically the efficiency of titania photoanodes used to convert solar energy into hydrogen in fuel cells.

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New analysis calls into question widespread claims on potential economic, employment and environmental benefits promoted by special interest groups, industry associations and international organizations.

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Salisbury University Physical Plant Director Kevin Mann loves talking trash. That doesn't mean he has any particular opinion about your mother. In fact, if he was to pick a fight, his opener might be, "Your momma's so sustainable"¦ ." The trash Mann enjoys discussing is the kind that ends up in landfills"”and his main interest is keeping what he can out of them.

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Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens, architect of the "Pickens Plan" to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, is the keynote speaker for a statewide Energy Summit hosted by the University of Missouri's four campuses April 22-23 in Columbia.

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Intensive monitoring of air quality near a major highway intersection could reveal a lot about how the air outside affects the air in our indoor environment.

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In mid-March, drilling by paleoclimatologists to retrieve sediment and meteorite-impact rocks from remotest Siberia reached about 213 feet (65 m), about 1 million years into the past. They hope to retrieve the longest continuous climate data ever collected for the Arctic, over 3.6 million years.

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Alternative energy and sustainable construction experts available for Earth Day related interviews.

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The University of North Carolina Wilmington will complete the campus' first construction project this summer that will meet the U.S. Green Building Council for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification standards.

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Argonne National Laboratory is involved in a wide array of research and development projects aimed at advancing alternative energy sources and other "green" technologies in an effort to reduce greenhouse gases and ameliorate climate change, as well as to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and promote energy independence for the United States.

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Geoscientists say a small rise in past ocean temperature undercut and melted Antarctic ice, raising global sea levels many feet. New data from modeling and sediment cores converge to show the Western Antarctic Ice Sheet can retreat to near complete collapse much more rapidly than believed possible.

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Two decades after the Exxon Valdez oil spill--and long after predictions said the oil would be gone--a Temple researcher is exploring why there is still oil being found in the beaches of Alaska's Prince William Sound.

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The Catskill Mountains receive some of the highest nitrogen deposition rates in North America due to pollutants drifting, and a recent study in this region demonstrates how some forested watersheds are more capable than others in absorbing nitrogen. While nitrogen is an important nutrient for plant growth, excess levels are capable of acidifying soils and decreasing water quality.

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Renowned leaders in sustainability from the worlds of education, entertainment, politics and business, will discuss the steps needed to become a sustainable society during Dialogue for Change, a lively on-stage discussion Thursday, March 19, at 7:00 p.m. in the Ondaatje Hall, McCain Building at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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Global warming is expected to cause the sea level along the northeastern U.S. coast to rise almost twice as fast as global sea levels during this century, putting New York City at greater risk for damage from hurricanes and winter storm surge, according to a new study led by a Florida State University researcher.

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New tracking and observing technologies are giving marine conservationists a fish-eye view of conditions, from overfishing to climate change, that are contributing to declining fish populations, according to a new study.

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A University of Maryland-led team has compiled the first decades-long database of aerosol measurements over land, making possible new research into how air pollution changes affect climate change. The researchers show that clear sky visibility over land has decreased globally, indicative of increases in aerosols, or airborne pollution. Their findings are published in the March 13 issue of Science.

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Long-term exposure to elevated levels of ground ozone"”a major constituent of smog"”significantly raises the risk of dying from lung disease, according to a new nationwide study of cities that evaluated the impact of ozone on respiratory health over an 18-year period.

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Cornell University is turning its biotrash - vegetable oil from dining hall fryers, animal bedding from campus barns, farm waste from university research - into fuels for use on campus.

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A new guide to volunteering names Earthwatch one of the top international wildlife and conservation organizations.

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Effects of climate change projected this century for Oregon's Upper Willamette River Basin, including Eugene-Springfield, will threaten water supplies, buildings, transportation systems, human health, forests, and fish and wildlife, according to a new report.

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New temperature data and numerical climate model simulations contradict the long-held idea that global temperatures were steady in the greenhouse-to-icehouse transition 34 million years ago. This suggests that models in use now to predict climate change may be underestimating future polar warming.

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Two scientists who found warning signs of climate change in the upper atmosphere and in the deepest ice sheets will share the 2009 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, administered by the University of Southern California. The award consists of a $200,000 cash prize and gold medals. Winners lecture at USC on April 23.

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A joint venture between the U and Headwaters Inc. has been created to offer carbon management services to CO2-emitting companies, from carbon storage engineering to risk and liability management. The first project will be to develop and operate a regional CO2 storage site to serve several power plants in central Utah.