Feature Channels: Pollution

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Carbon capture traps carbon dioxide before it escapes into the atmosphere, but the process requires a large amount of energy.

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New Yorkers can apparently breathe a sigh of relief, at least for now.

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A new study, which combines satellite thermal and in situ warming experiment data from across the world’s tropical forests, looks at the variation of leaf temperatures within forest canopies. The data collected revealed that a small percentage of tropical leaves are already reaching, and occasionally exceeding, the temperatures at which they can no longer function—suggesting that as climate change continues, entire canopies could die, eliminating a key regulator of Earth’s climate and putting the world’s biodiversity at risk.

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Lake Okeechobee rural residents are subjected to repeated, intermittent exposures to air pollution during agricultural fires.

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In response to the Aug 21 announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the agency will delay action on lowering the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone pollution, American Thoracic Society President M. Patricia Rivera, MD, ATSF, issued the following statement

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Coral reefs in one part of the Pacific Ocean have likely adjusted to higher ocean temperatures which could reduce future bleaching impacts of climate change, new research reveals.

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A new study, led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, reveals that the wealthiest Americans, those whose income places them in the top 10% of earners, are responsible for 40% of the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

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Researchers have linked US household income data to greenhouse gas emissions generated in creating that income, and found that 40% of total emissions are associated with income for the highest 10% of households.

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Human-caused climate change is shortening the snow cover period in the Arctic.

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Indoor air pollution may have met its match. Scientists have designed lampshades that transform pollutants into harmless compounds. The catalyst-coated lampshades work with halogen and incandescent lamps, and LEDs will be next. The team will present their results at ACS Fall 2023.

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As Labor Day approaches, many people will go tubing and swimming, but do these delightful summertime activities impact streams and rivers? Today, scientists report that recreation can alter the chemical and microbial fingerprint of waterways. They will present their results at ACS Fall 2023.

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Pouring flecks of rust into water usually makes it dirtier. Now, researchers have developed special iron oxide nanoparticles called “smart rust” to trap estrogen hormones that are potentially harmful to aquatic life. They will present their results at ACS Fall 2023.

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Recordings of media briefings will be posted by 10 a.m. Eastern Time on each day. Watch recorded media briefings at: www.acs.org/ACSFall2023briefings.

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An international team of researchers led by UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science investigated the health and environmental impacts of a program in Ecuador that put induction stoves in 750,000 households.

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Farmers around the world could help the planet reach a key carbon removal goal set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) by mixing crushed volcanic rocks into their fields, a new study reports.

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Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign demonstrated a way to use electricity to recycle polyoxymethylene (POM), a form of plastic that’s growing in use but more challenging to recycle.

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The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) has been a game-changer in the fight against environmental pollution and climate change, both in the Arctic region and on a global scale. Established in 1991 under the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS), AMAP has played a pivotal role in monitoring and assessing pollution in the Arctic, with a special emphasis on its impact on indigenous populations.

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Researchers have developed an innovative method for screening sensors to detect heavy metals, bacteria and other agents in water. This method could lead to mass manufacturing of sensors that provide dependable part-per-billion monitoring of water quality.

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The impact of particulate matter air pollution on death and disability is on the rise worldwide, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

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In a recent study, Illinois Sustainable Technology Center environmental chemist Wei Zheng and colleagues investigated the adsorption of sitagliptin in soils treated with sewage wastewater.

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In rooms where smoking has taken place regularly, tobacco's imprint lingers on indoor surfaces, even long after regular smoking has stopped. The leftover residues, known as thirdhand smoke, can be a long-term source of indoor pollutants. New research from a team led by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) zeroes in on carpets as an especially potent – and difficult to clean – reservoir of tobacco contaminants.

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Safe drinking water is threatened globally by the increased toxicity of phytoplankton — or microscopic algae — blooms. The need for a better understanding of when and where the blooms will emerge spurred Virginia Tech researchers to start developing the first automated, real-time lake phytoplankton forecasting system. Working with the University of Florida, Virginia Tech faculty have been awarded a $2.

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In the search for ways to fight methylmercury pollution in global waterways, scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory discovered that some forms of phytoplankton are good at degrading the substance.

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The latest headlines from the Food and Water Safety channel on Newswise.

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China's rapid industrialization and economic growth have led to an increasing demand for energy, with coal being the primary source of power generation. As a result, China boasts the world's largest fleet of coal-fired power plants (CFPPs), contributing over 60% of its domestic electricity supply. However, the operation of these CFPPs has also resulted in significant air pollutant emissions, leading to adverse impacts on public health and the environment.

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Researchers from Michigan State University’s top-ranked School of Packaging have developed a way to make a promising, sustainable alternative to petroleum-based plastics more biodegradable. A team led by Rafael Auras has made a bio-based polymer blend that’s compostable in both home and industrial settings. The work is published in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.

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Below are summaries of recent Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center research findings and other news. Reporting on wildfire smoke? Fred Hutch clinicians and researchers are available to their expertise. Dr. Trang VoPham is an epidemiologist focusing on environmental exposures and risk, follow her on social media.

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The REPLANT Act provides money for the US Forest Service to plant more than a billion trees in the next nine years. The World Economic Forum aims to help plant a trillion trees around the world by 2030.

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In a study published today, researchers successfully engineered microbes to make biological alternatives for the starting ingredients in an infinitely recyclable plastic known as poly(diketoenamine), or PDK.

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A new study published in PNAS evaluates the effects of Saharan dust clouds on atmospheric methane. An international research team found that when mineral dust that mixes with sea-spray to form Mineral-Dust-Sea Spray Aerosol (MDSA), this MDSA is activated by sunlight to produce an abundance of chlorine atoms ultimately mitigating methane totals.

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A new study identified the reduction of ammonia emissions as a cost-effective measure to reduce concentrations of fine particulate matter concentrations in the atmosphere.

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Delving into the intricacies of waste management, researchers in China explore the application of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy technology for the identification and classification of recyclable waste and discuss their work in AIP Advances.

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The combination of soaring heat and smothering fine particulate pollution may double the risk of heart attack death, according to a new study of more than 202,000 heart attack deaths in China.