Pollution
hidePollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms . Pollution can take the form of chemical substances, or energy, such as noise, heat, or light energy. Pollutants, the elements of pollution, can be foreign substances or energies, or naturally occurring; when naturally occurring, they are considered contaminants when they exceed natural levels. Pollution is often classed as point source or nonpoint source pollution. The Blacksmith Institute issues annually a list of the world's worst polluted places. In the 2007 issues the ten top nominees are located in Azerbaijan, China, India, Peru, Russia, Ukraine and Zambia.
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News tagged with pollution
Physicist makes new high-res panorama of Milky Way
Oct 28, 2009 |
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Cobbling together 3000 individual photographs, a physicist has made a new high-resolution panoramic image of the full night sky, with the Milky Way galaxy as its centerpiece. Axel Mellinger, a professor at ...
Researcher uses bacteria to make radioactive metals inert
Sep 08, 2009 |
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The Lost Orphan Mine below the Grand Canyon hasn't produced uranium since the 1960s, but radioactive residue still contaminates the area. Cleaning the region takes an expensive process that is only done in ...
The first evidence of pre-industrial mercury pollution in the Andes
May 18, 2009 |
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The study of ancient lake sediment from high altitude lakes in the Andes has revealed for the first time that mercury pollution occurred long before the start of the Industrial Revolution.
Report: Most Americans in areas with unhealthy air
Apr 29, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Sixty percent of Americans live in areas with unhealthy air pollution levels, despite a growing green movement and more stringent laws aimed at improving air quality, the American Lung Association ...
Scientists trace the human role in Indonesian forest fires
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Feb 22, 2009 |
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Severe fires in Indonesia - responsible for some of the worst air quality conditions worldwide - are linked not only to drought, but also to changes in land use and population density, according to a new study ...
Tree deaths have doubled across the western US
Jan 22, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study led by the U.S. Geological Survey and involving the University of Colorado at Boulder indicates tree deaths in the West's old-growth forests have more than doubled in recent decades, ...
Blue whales singing with deeper voices
3 hours ago |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Blue whales, the largest animals on earth, are singing with deeper voices every year, but scientists are unsure of the reason.
Tadpoles Used to Rapidly Detect Water Pollution
Dec 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Research conducted by University of Wyoming Professor Paul Johnson and others demonstrates that genetically modified tadpoles work well as sensitive monitors for rapidly detecting water pollution.
Researchers reveal key to how bacteria clear mercury pollution
Oct 01, 2009 |
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Mercury pollution is a persistent problem in the environment. Human activity has lead to increasingly large accumulations of the toxic chemical, especially in waterways, where fish and shellfish tend to act as sponges for ...
Are Magnetically Levitating 'Sky Pods' the Future of Travel?
Sep 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- As a society, we are increasingly interested in finding new ways of transportation that are cleaner for the environment. New concepts in mass transit seem to be one of the main ways to move ...
New NASA Image Shows Extent of Station Fire Burn
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 09, 2009 |
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On September 6, 2009, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra satellite captured this simulated natural color image of the Station fire, burning ...
Romantic, candle-lit dinners: An unrecognized source of indoor air pollution
Aug 19, 2009 |
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Burning candles made from paraffin wax -- the most common kind used to infuse rooms with romantic ambiance, warmth, light, and fragrance -- is an unrecognized source of exposure to indoor air pollution, including ...
Water quality improves after lawn fertilizer ban, study shows
Aug 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In an effort to keep lakes and streams clean, municipalities around the country are banning or restricting the use of phosphorus-containing lawn fertilizers, which can kill fish and cause ...
We have a 'right to starlight,' astronomers say
Aug 15, 2009 |
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The public's "right to starlight" is steadily being eroded by urban illumination that is the bane of astronomers everywhere, the International Astronomical Union said on Friday.
The Sky Is Not Falling: Pollution in eastern China cuts light, useful rainfall
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Aug 14, 2009 |
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New research shows that air pollution in eastern China has reduced the amount of light rainfall over the past 50 years and decreased by 23 percent the number of days of light rain in the eastern half of the country. The results ...
