http://www.physorg.com/space-news/environment/ en-us PhysOrg.com provides the latest news on the environment, environmental issues, earth science and space exploration. On the beach at Monster, bulldozers painstakingly turn sand dredged from the bottom of the North Sea bed into dunes in an ambitious effort to safeguard the Netherlands from flooding. http://www.physorg.com/news177946209.html Space & Earth - Environment Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:10:02 EST news177946209 Lehigh University's Energy Research Center (ERC) has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop methods of recovering and reusing the heat that would be generated by the carbon-dioxide (CO2) compression process in a carbon capture system. The goal of the research project is to facilitate carbon capture and sequestration, or storage (CCS), and thus limit the amount of CO2, a greenhouse gas, emitted into the atmosphere by coal-fired power plants. http://www.physorg.com/news177940311.html Space & Earth - Environment Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:54:44 EST news177940311 (AP) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Thursday for all countries to fix binding climate change targets next year at the latest, acknowledging that no such deal is likely at global talks in Copenhagen next month. http://www.physorg.com/news177868179.html Space & Earth - Environment Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:10:01 EST news177868179 Sustainable farming, initially adopted to preserve soil quality for future generations, may also play a role in maintaining a healthy climate, according to researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge and Los Alamos national laboratories. http://www.physorg.com/news177864926.html Space & Earth - Environment Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:20:06 EST news177864926 The Dutch government said Wednesday it had approved the experimental below-ground storage of excess CO2 to curb damaging emissions, dismissing concerns of residents who live on top of the project. http://www.physorg.com/news177784093.html Space & Earth - Environment Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:28:54 EST news177784093 A new generation of "green" automobile tires that can boost fuel efficiency without sacrificing safety and durability is rolling their way through the research pipeline. The new tires could help add an extra mile or two per gallon to a car's fuel economy. That's the topic of the cover story of the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News, (C&EN) ACS' weekly newsmagazine. http://www.physorg.com/news177772433.html Space & Earth - Environment Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:20:01 EST news177772433 (PhysOrg.com) -- A recently published Pacific Northwest National Laboratory study of a naturally bioreduced sediment sample from a former uranium mill tailings site reveals insights that enhance understanding of the long-term persistence of uranium in groundwater. The study provides the first-ever evidence of a useful pyrite mineral formation within the sample. http://www.physorg.com/news177778022.html Space & Earth - Environment Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:49:17 EST news177778022 Scientists are reporting evidence that air pollution - a well-recognized problem at major airports - may pose an important but largely overlooked health concern for people living near smaller regional airports. Those airports are becoming an increasingly important component of global air transport systems. The study, one of only a handful to examine airborne pollutants near regional airports, suggests that officials should pay closer attention to these overlooked emissions, which could cause health problems for local residents. It appears online in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology. http://www.physorg.com/news177772475.html Space & Earth - Environment Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:40:03 EST news177772475 (PhysOrg.com) -- According to research published this week in Nature Geoscience, emissions of carbon dioxide continue to outstrip the ability of the world`s natural ‘sinks` to absorb carbon. http://www.physorg.com/news177768715.html Space & Earth - Environment Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:30:01 EST news177768715 Alarmed by a substantial oversight in the global climate talks leading up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen next month, more than 60 of the world's most prominent agricultural scientists and leaders underscored how the almost total absence of agriculture in the agreement could lead to widespread famine and food shortages in the years ahead. http://www.physorg.com/news177763490.html Space & Earth - Environment Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:10:03 EST news177763490 (AP) -- The battle against global warming could be helped if the world slowed population growth by making free condoms and family planning advice more widely available, the U.N. Population Fund said Wednesday. http://www.physorg.com/news177759813.html Space & Earth - Environment Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:44:18 EST news177759813 (PhysOrg.com) -- While politicians debate the best ways to cut global carbon dioxide emissions, researchers at Idaho National Laboratory's Center for Advanced Energy Studies are charging ahead on a strategy to defuse the CO2 the world already produces. They want to inject the greenhouse gas deep underground, where it would react with rocks and remain, entombed, for thousands of years. http://www.physorg.com/news177686379.html Space & Earth - Environment Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:40:02 EST news177686379 The strongest evidence yet that the rise in atmospheric CO2 emissions continues to outstrip the ability of the world's natural 'sinks' to absorb carbon is published this week in the journal Nature Geoscience. http://www.physorg.com/news177686530.html Space & Earth - Environment Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:23:40 EST news177686530 Plans to be discussed at the forthcoming UN climate conference in Copenhagen to cut deforestation in developing countries could save some species from extinction but inadvertently increase the risk to others, scientists believe. http://www.physorg.com/news177610833.html Space & Earth - Environment Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:40:02 EST news177610833 A new paper just published in Global Change Biology examines the potential of a REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) mechanism to provoke ecological damage and/or promote ecological cobenefits. Such analysis is key as negotiations and discussions continue between now and early December when the United Nation's Framework Convention on Climate Change holds its 15th Conference of the Parties, where an agreement on REDD may emerge. Scientists and research staff from the Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC), the Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia (IPAM), and the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) authored the paper. http://www.physorg.com/news177606171.html Space & Earth - Environment Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:30:02 EST news177606171 (PhysOrg.com) -- It's the year 2060, and 75 percent of drivers in the Greater Los Angeles area have hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that emit only water vapor. http://www.physorg.com/news177606050.html Space & Earth - Environment Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:01:40 EST news177606050 Kansas State University's Joseph Craine, research assistant professor in the Division of Biology, and KC Olson, associate professor in animal sciences and industry, have teamed up with some other scientists from across the United States to look into the possible effects of climate change on cattle nutrition. http://www.physorg.com/news177603445.html Space & Earth - Environment Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:30:02 EST news177603445 Researchers in MIT's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering believe they have pinpointed a pathway by which arsenic may be contaminating the drinking water in Bangladesh, a phenomenon that has puzzled scientists, world health agencies and the Bangladeshi government for nearly 30 years. The research suggests that human alteration to the landscape, the construction of villages with ponds, and the adoption of irrigated agriculture are responsible for the current pattern of arsenic concentration underground. http://www.physorg.com/news177515521.html Space & Earth - Environment Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:52:45 EST news177515521 (AP) -- Jenn Boneza remembers when the white sandy beach near the boat ramp in her hometown was wide enough for people to build sand castles. http://www.physorg.com/news177493998.html Space & Earth - Environment Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:30:01 EST news177493998 Less than half of Britons believes that human activity is to blame for global warming, according to a poll carried out for The Times newspaper and published on Saturday. http://www.physorg.com/news177493814.html Space & Earth - Environment Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:10:01 EST news177493814 China can become the world's top exporter of "green technology" if it carries out crucial energy and ecological reforms, leading environmental campaigners said here Saturday. http://www.physorg.com/news177394676.html Space & Earth - Environment Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:40:02 EST news177394676 (AP) -- Hawaii officials are appealing to the state's tourism authority for funds to restore part of world-famous Waikiki Beach. http://www.physorg.com/news177394157.html Space & Earth - Environment Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:10:08 EST news177394157 How much is nature worth? £1 billion? £100 billion? £1 trillion? The loss of our forests and biodiversity in general could cost us between £1.2-2.8 trillion a year, according to Pavan Sukhdev, who is giving this year`s Annual Science Lecture at the Natural History Museum on Monday. http://www.physorg.com/news177347346.html Space & Earth - Environment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:30:01 EST news177347346 A "catastrophic accumulation" of dozens of millions of tonnes of "e-waste" from computers, cellphones and television sets is fuelling a global pile of hazardous waste, an international body warned Friday. http://www.physorg.com/news177336945.html Space & Earth - Environment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:16:09 EST news177336945 (AP) -- Next month's climate change summit in Copenhagen is not likely to produce a legally binding treaty to cut the greenhouse gas emissions that are widely blamed for global warming, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday. http://www.physorg.com/news177312133.html Space & Earth - Environment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:40:02 EST news177312133 (AP) -- Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon dropped nearly 46 percent from August 2008 to July 2009 - the biggest annual decline in two decades, the government said Thursday. http://www.physorg.com/news177271650.html Space & Earth - Environment Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:30:01 EST news177271650 (PhysOrg.com) -- Rich countries need to pay the full incremental cost of low carbon technology for developing countries to avoid dangerous climate change, say Oxford University researchers. http://www.physorg.com/news177264134.html Space & Earth - Environment Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:05:51 EST news177264134 Continued improvement of climate forecasts is resulting in better information about what rainfall and streamflow may look like months in advance. A researcher from North Carolina State University has developed an innovative water management framework that would take advantage of these forecasts to plan for droughts or excess rain in order to make the most efficient use of an area's water resources. http://www.physorg.com/news177247476.html Space & Earth - Environment Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:25:58 EST news177247476 In an advance that could help ease health and environmental concerns about the emerging nanotechnology industry, scientists are reporting development of technology for changing the behavior of nanoparticles in municipal sewage treatment plants - their main gateway into the environment. Their study will be published online November 12 in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology. http://www.physorg.com/news177242892.html Space & Earth - Environment Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:09:08 EST news177242892 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Columbia University have successfully discovered a beneficial use for carbon dioxide in the conversion of organic materials, such as grass and bark, into fuel. Their findings show that if utilized on a broad scale, their technique could help significantly reduce overall carbon emissions, both from the use of carbon dioxide in biofuel production and the creation of a more energy-efficient production process. The study appears this week on the website of the Journal of Environmental Science & Technology. http://www.physorg.com/news177179481.html Space & Earth - Environment Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:31:39 EST news177179481