Feature Channels: Environmental Science

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It has been widely reported that the build up of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air, which is caused by human behavior, will likely lead to climate change and have major implications for life on earth. But less focus has been given to global warming’s evil twin, ocean acidification, which occurs when CO2 lowers the pH of water bodies, thus making them more acidic. This lesser known phenomenon may have catastrophic effects on all sea life.

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Average temperatures for the globe, as well as the northern and southern hemispheres, went up in July despite the continued cooling of the El Nino Pacific Ocean warming event and the apparent transition to a La Nina Pacific Ocean cooling event.

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New book helps readers understand urban ecosystem ecology and how to manage their impacts through green infrastructure planning.

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Researchers at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pa., are working to isolate the bacterial pathogen Xylella fastidiosa, a bacterial pathogen causing the early demise of some campus oak trees. They will then study how climate change affects the progression of the disease it causes, which is known as leaf scorch.

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Small boat acoustic sampling augments larger vessel surveys and could impact krill fishery management.

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Rapidly growing sector of tourism capitalizes on destinations’ natural and cultural resources.

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A new study published by a Washington and Lee University economist examines how much tourists would be willing to pay to protect the beach that they visit.

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Today, as state and local governments seek to integrate environmental and energy policies with job creation, a first-of-its kind national study has found that only a few states and cities have policies in place to create green jobs.

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The Wildlife Conservation Society applauded today’s Senate passage of H.R. 1454, the Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp Act. Its passage has been a major legislative objective of WCS and represents a victory for supporters of wildlife and fiscally responsible governance.

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In an unprecedented effort that will be published online on the 28th of July by the international journal Nature, a team of scientists mapped and analyzed global biodiversity patterns for over 11,000 marine species ranging from tiny zooplankton to sharks and whales. The researchers found striking similarities among the distribution patterns, with temperature strongly linked to biodiversity for all thirteen groups studied.

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A University of Arkansas researcher and her colleagues examined streams in urban, agricultural and forested settings and determined that the differences they found may affect how cities try to restore urban streams.

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Though its population has increased only slightly, urban development in New Jersey continued—and even gained momentum—over a 21-year span ending in 2007, according to a new study by researchers at Rowan and Rutgers universities.

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Procedure will improve research in plant nutrient uptake, organic matter decomposition, and production of greenhouse gases.

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More accurate precipitation data leads to improved water quality modeling in the Chesapeake Bay

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A climate-change study at Sandia National Laboratories that models the near-term effects of declining rainfall in each of the 48 U.S. continental states makes clear the economic toll that could occur unless an appropriate amount of initial investment — a kind of upfront insurance payment — is made to forestall much larger economic problems down the road.

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U.S. military operations to protect oil imports coming from the Middle East are creating larger amounts of greenhouse gas emissions than once thought, new research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln shows.

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The first expedition to search for deep-sea hydrothermal vents along the Mid-Cayman Rise has turned up three distinct types of hydrothermal venting, reports an interdisciplinary team led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in this week’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The work was conducted as part of a NASA-funded effort to search extreme environments for geologic, biologic, and chemical clues to the origins and evolution of life.

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Rowan University faculty and students have teamed with Pfizer Global Engineering and Manufacturing personnel to investigate green approaches to drug manufacture. This is the second time Rowan has partnered with Pfizer to investigate methods to reduce the carbon footprint of pharmaceutical plant operations.

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Fisheries researchers at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tenn., found one piece of a scientific puzzle that just may help save the endangered pallid sturgeon from extinction.

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Changes in soil microbial communities reduce plant decomposition rates and affect carbon cycling

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While the oil spill in the Gulf may have a profound impact on those who make their living in the region, children in the area may also feel the stress, says University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) child psychologist Vivian Friedman, Ph.D.

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The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is providing public education messages to raise awarness about how to recognize signs and symptoms of emotional health problems and where to go for help.

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Hugh Gorman, a technology historian at Michigan Technological University, can provide perspective and background on regulatory policies and the oil industry.

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BP's communications efforts during the oil spill are haunted by the company's past public relations mistakes, and a history of safety failures.

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If a new hi-tech “smart" metal could help cool your home 175 percent more efficiently, imagine the effect on your electric bills. University of Maryland researchers are testing a "thermally elastic" metal alloy for use in advanced refrigeration and a/c systems. The technology promises far greater efficiency and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

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Choices made now about carbon dioxide emissions reductions will affect climate change far into the future.

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Two compounds emitted by mosquito predators that make the mosquitoes less inclined to lay eggs in pools of water may provide new environmentally friendly tactics for repelling and controlling disease-carrying insects.

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Community Remote Sensing is a new field that combines remote sensing with citizen science, social networks, and crowd-sourcing to enhance the data obtained from traditional sources. It includes the collection, calibration, analysis, communication, or application of remotely sensed information by these community means.

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In a pioneering use of computed tomography (CT) scans, scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have discovered that carbon dioxide (CO2)-induced global warming is in the process of killing off a major coral species in the Red Sea.

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At a 2002 Earth Summit, a group of NGOs offered a tongue-in-cheek critique of BP's "Beyond Petroleum" campaign, naming it winner of the "Greenwash Academy Awards." Today the company's reputation as an environmental steward and good citizen is in tatters. Analyzed in light of a first-of-its-kind economic analysis from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, BP offers a classic case of the potential downside for companies that place greenwash ahead of truly transparent disclosure.

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Indian Ocean sea levels are rising unevenly and threatening residents in some densely populated coastal areas and islands, a new study concludes. The study, published in Nature Geoscience, finds that the sea level rise is at least partly a result of climate change.

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Researchers have demonstrated a relatively simple regeneration technique that could utilize waste steam to remove carbon dioxide from solid amine materials used to capture the greenhouse gas from the flue gases of coal-burning facilities. This steam-stripping technique could produce concentrated carbon dioxide ready for sequestration.

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A Cornell Lab of Ornithology team working in the Gulf has documented what may be the worst oil spill devastation of a major bird colony in the Gulf so far, on Louisiana's Raccoon Island.

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Paula Mikkelsen, a visiting fellow in Cornell University’s department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology who spent 20 years as a marine biologist at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in Fort Pierce, Fla., warns that the damage from the Gulf oil spill runs far deeper than oil-covered beaches and surface slicks.

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In patients with pre-existing heart or lung disease, being exposed to high levels of traffic-related air pollutants is associated with reduced heart rate variability (HRV)—a risk factor for sudden cardiac death, reports a study in the July Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

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Furman University will use a $340,000 grant from the S.C. Energy Office for a new installation of solar panels.

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Continued support for off-shore oil drilling by Gulf Coast residents who are dealing with one of the most devastating environmental disasters in U.S. history might seem surprising, but new research from the University of New Hampshire shows that local factors such as unemployment and population growth influence views about the value of environmental conservation and regulation.

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As oil washes ashore along the Gulf Coast, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is asking birders to keep an eye on nesting birds – not just near water, but hundreds of miles inland.

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Indiana University professor Christopher Craft says the doom-and-gloom predictions for the Gulf oil spill's effects on coastal wetlands are premature.

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As federal legislators and regulators consider taxing utility companies for carbon emissions, a new UC Berkeley study suggests a fixed pricing structure on natural gas service that would protect consumers and satisfy utility companies.

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For the first time, the government is developing fuel efficiency standards for heavy-duty vehicles like buses and big rigs. Over the long haul, truckers should benefit from new technologies, says engine expert John Johnson. But it's a different story for automobile drivers.

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Iowa State University researcher Diane Debinski has been studying the meadows in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem of the Rocky Mountains since 1992 and she believes changing climate could affect the diversity of plants and animals in the region.

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Scientific evidence presented indicates top-down regulation by predators operates in most ecosystems.

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Most people today embrace sustainability, although it may be the greatest technological challenge our society has ever faced. That challenge pales in comparison to the ethical crisis it presents to society.

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As the crisis continues, University of Vermont experts examine the fallout -- social, political, financial and environmental.

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A team of researchers from Washington State University and the University of Georgia have found that organic farming increases biodiversity among beneficial, pest-killing predators and pathogens. In potato crops, this led to fewer insect pests and larger potato plants.

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A new academic study found that even brief exposure to ultrafine pollution particles near a freeway is potent enough to boost the allergic inflammation that exacerbates asthma.

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The July 2010 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) will feature a call for an international ban on the mining and use of all forms of asbestos, including chrysotile asbestos. The commentary by Joseph LaDou, MD, and other Fellows of the Collegium Ramazzini demonstrates clearly the need for an international ban on all forms of asbestos: although 52 countries have banned asbestos, many others still use the mineral, exposing millions of people to an agent for which there is no scientifically verified safe level. LaDou contends, “All asbestos-related diseases are preventable if asbestos is banned globally.”

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Even though urban cyclists face hazards such as exposure to car exhaust and the risk of traffic accidents, it’s still far healthier to park the car and get on a bike. The health of the individual cyclists may improve as they drive less and exercise more, and the resulting reduction in exhaust emissions will benefit the entire community, according to a study published online June 30 ahead of print in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP).

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Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that children living near the Kiteezi landfill in Kampala, Uganda, have blood lead levels nearly 20 times as high as the typical lead level found in U.S. children.