Environment news

China tipped as global leader in green tech

Space & Earth / Environment

12 hours ago | 2.5 / 5 (2) | 4

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.

Hawaii planning to replenish sand at Waikiki Beach

Space & Earth / Environment

12 hours ago | 3 / 5 (1) | 0

(AP) -- Hawaii officials are appealing to the state's tourism authority for funds to restore part of world-famous Waikiki Beach.

Clinton: No binding climate deal at Denmark talks

Space & Earth / Environment

Nov 13, 2009 | 3 / 5 (2) | 2

(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 ...

Behavior modification could ease concerns about nanoparticles

Space & Earth / Environment

Nov 12, 2009 | 4 / 5 (1) | 0

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 ...

Reducing greenhouse gases may not be enough to slow climate change

Space & Earth / Environment

Nov 11, 2009 | 3 / 5 (8) | 6

Georgia Tech City and Regional Planning Professor Brian Stone publishes a paper in the December edition of Environmental Science and Technology that suggests policymakers need to address the influence of global deforestation ...

Researchers Discover Use for Carbon Dioxide in Conversion of Biomass Into Biofuel

Space & Earth / Environment

Nov 11, 2009 | 3.8 / 5 (13) | 2

(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 ...

NOAA deploys new 'smart buoy' off Annapolis

Space & Earth / Environment

Nov 11, 2009 | 3 / 5 (2) | 1

NOAA deployed the seventh in a series of "smart buoys" to monitor weather conditions and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay today. The buoy, located at the mouth of Severn River near Annapolis, Md., will be used by commercial ...

Controversial new climate change results

Space & Earth / Environment

Nov 10, 2009 | 4.1 / 5 (37) | 78

(PhysOrg.com) -- New data show that the balance between the airborne and the absorbed fraction of CO2 has stayed approximately constant since 1850, despite emissions of CO2 having risen from about 2 billion ...

Electronic Waste Needs to Go Green

Space & Earth / Environment

Nov 10, 2009 | 3 / 5 (2) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Americans love their consumer electronics, but what happens to all the gadgets when their useful life is over? Despite being one of the largest generators of "e-waste" in the world, the U.S. has no federal ...

Additive copper-zinc interaction affects toxic response in soybean

Space & Earth / Environment

Nov 10, 2009 | 3 / 5 (1) | 0

Agricultural soils accumulate trace metals, particularly copper and zinc, as a result of their presence in wastes (sewage biosolids and manures) and fungicides that are applied over long periods of time. Regulations and guidelines ...

Australian scientists call for urgent 'global cooling' to save coral reefs

Space & Earth / Environment

Nov 09, 2009 | 1.8 / 5 (5) | 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- Australian marine scientists have issued an urgent call for massive and rapid worldwide cuts in carbon emissions, deep enough to prevent atmospheric CO2 levels rising to 450 parts per million (ppm).

Scientists seek safe carbon dioxide storage for 'greener' power generation (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Environment

Nov 09, 2009 | not rated yet | 1

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced plans to fund research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Engineering on technologies that would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the capture ...

Making Climate Forecasts More Useful to Farmers

Space & Earth / Environment

Nov 09, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Climate forecasts are becoming more useful to farmers and ranchers, thanks to research by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and their cooperators.

The greening of Willis Tower: Rooftop gardens part of plan to improve efficiency

Space & Earth / Environment

Nov 06, 2009 | 4 / 5 (6) | 0

Growing up in the southwest suburbs, Sara Beardsley had a view of the Chicago skyline from her house. Today, she is transforming that skyline, but you won't find her work glorified on a $6 mug or gracing postcards.

States call on EPA for tougher air pollution regulations

Space & Earth / Environment

Nov 06, 2009 | 3.2 / 5 (5) | 0

Twelve states and the District of Columbia urged the Environmental Protection Agency Thursday to adopt more rigorous national policies so they can meet federal air pollution reduction requirements for the region.

Caribbean, Gulf spared widespread coral damage

Space & Earth / Environment

Nov 06, 2009 | 3 / 5 (2) | 1

(AP) -- Lower-than-feared sea temperatures this summer gave a break to fragile coral reefs across the Caribbean and the central Gulf of Mexico that were damaged in recent years, scientists said Thursday.

The politics of climate fixes

Space & Earth / Environment

Nov 06, 2009 | 2.2 / 5 (13) | 7

In the middle of a day filled with a stream of information-packed PowerPoint displays and alarming projections of what the future holds for our planet and our civilization, Judith Layzer’s talk was something ...

Climate Change, Nitrogen Loss Threaten Plant Life in Arid Desert Soils

Space & Earth / Environment

Nov 05, 2009 | 2.8 / 5 (8) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- In the Mojave Desert winds howl across this hottest place in North America, blowing sands across Death Valley and through empty ghost towns, swirling across treeless land for hundreds of miles. ...