News tagged with environmental
Climate change models find staple crops face ruin on up to 1 million square km of African farmland
Jun 03, 2009 |
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A new study by researchers from the Nairobi-based International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the United Kingdom's Waen Associates has found that by 2050, hotter conditions, coupled with shifting rainfall patterns, ...
International scientists set boundaries for survival
Sep 23, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (28) |
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Human activities have already pushed the Earth system beyond three of the planet's biophysical thresholds, with consequences that are detrimental or even catastrophic for large parts of the world; six others ...
Nature? Nurture? Scientists say neither
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Jul 20, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (25) |
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It's easy to explain why we act a certain way by saying "it's in the genes," but a group of University of Iowa scientists say the world has relied on that simple explanation far too long.
Debunking myths about warm-ups, eggs
May 29, 2009 |
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There are so many things to worry about these days. Wouldn't it be nice to cross something off the list? Turns out you can. Researchers have been busy debunking some common medical myths that have been repeated so many times, ...
Clean fuels could reduce deaths from ship smokestacks by 40,000 annually
Jul 08, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (17) |
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Rising levels of smokestack emissions from oceangoing ships will cause an estimated 87,000 deaths worldwide each year by 2012 -- almost one-third higher than previously believed, according to the second major ...
Australian town in 'world-first' bottled water ban
Sep 26, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (17) |
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An Australian town pulled all bottled water from its shelves Saturday and replaced it with refillable bottles in what is believed to be a world-first ban.
Dead Ahead: Similar Early Warning Signals of Change in Climate, Ecosystems, Financial Markets, Human Health
Sep 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- What do abrupt changes in ocean circulation and Earth's climate, shifts in wildlife populations and ecosystems, the global finance market and its system-wide crashes, and asthma attacks and ...
Plastics in oceans decompose, release hazardous chemicals, surprising new study says
Aug 19, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (15) |
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In the first study to look at what happens over the years to the billions of pounds of plastic waste floating in the world's oceans, scientists are reporting that plastics -- reputed to be virtually indestructible ...
Obama unveils historic power grid reform
Oct 27, 2009 |
3.9 / 5 (14) |
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President Barack Obama Tuesday announced the largest modernization of the US electricity grid in history, in a 3.4-billion-dollar bid to launch a new era of renewable energy consumption.
Choosing a Low Radiation Cell Phone
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Sep 10, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (12) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- An Environmental Working Group (EWG) team has released a consumer guide on the radiation levels emitted by over 1,000 cell phones sold in the U.S. The guide is the most comprehensive ever ...
U.S. Chamber of Commerce pushes for 'Scopes Monkey Trial' of global warming science
Aug 25, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (12) |
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The nation's largest business lobby wants to put the science of global warming on trial. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, trying to ward off potentially sweeping federal emissions regulations, is pushing the Environmental Protection ...
From ecological Soviet-era ruin, a sea is reborn
Oct 25, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Standing on the shore under the relentless Central Asian sun, Badarkhan Prikeyev drew on a cigarette and squinted into the distance as one fishing boat after another returned with the day's catch.
'Blue energy' seems feasible and offers considerable benefits
Oct 30, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (10) |
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Generating energy on a large scale by mixing salt and fresh water is both technically possible and practical. The worldwide potential for this clean form of energy - 'blue energy' or 'blue electricity' - is enormous. However, ...
Trapped! Scientists Immobilize Bacteria in Fibrous Hydrogel
Aug 04, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (9) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Bacteria play a role in myriad industrial processes from fermentation to cleaning up environmental pollution. But floating freely in solution, the microbial cells constantly multiply, generating ...
Toxic legacy seeps from melting Alpine glaciers: study
Oct 14, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (12) |
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Swiss researchers have found that Alpine glaciers melting under the impact of climate change are releasing highly toxic pollutants that had been absorbed by the ice for decades.
