The oceans absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide emissions each day. As a result, their pH has declined by 30 percent since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. This rapid change in ocean chemistry, called ocean acidification, is already threatening habitats like coral reefs, and the future of shellfish like oysters, clams, and mussels is […]
22 October 2012 (Trinity College Dublin) – More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and rising temperatures cause rice agriculture to release more of the potent greenhouse gas methane (CH4) for each kilogram of rice it produces, new research published recently in the online edition of Nature Climate Change reveals. “Our results show that rice agriculture […]
Inadequate access to water and sanitation also hinders progress on achieving gender equality. In most households, women and girls are the primary carriers of water, and often need to travel more than 30 minutes round trip to collect water (see Figures 1 and 2); this is particularly true in sub-Saharan Africa. The resultant ‘time poverty’ […]
Over 100 scientists and economists signed a letter to both presidential candidates warning about the dangers of rising sea levels in Florida. Anna Werner reports. Economists, scientists warn of rising sea level in Fla. Technorati Tags: Florida,flood,coastal erosion,sea level,global warming,climate change,climate refugees,North America
By Rhian Waller of NG Explorers18 October 2012 (National Geographic) – Unbeknownst to most scientists until a few days ago, two hundred thousand pounds of iron sulphate were dumped into North Pacific Ocean in July, with the aim to trigger a large plankton bloom. This experiment was conducted by the Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation, under […]
16 October 2012 (ReliefWeb) – Flash floods prompted by monsoon rains across Pakistan in the third week of August 2012 affected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Gilgit Baltistan (GB) provinces, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ & K) state. A second spell of monsoon rainfall started over the southern parts of the country from the end […]
By David Malmquist, VIMS 16 October 2012 A new study by emeritus professor John Boon of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science shows that the rate of sea-level rise is increasing at tidal stations along the Atlantic coast of North America, including those in Norfolk, Baltimore, New York, and Boston. Boon’s findings, published online in […]
Caption by Mike Carlowicz, including reporting from Holli Riebeek20 September 2012 A deep and persistent drought struck vast portions of the continental United States in 2012. Though there has been some relief in the late summer, a pair of satellites operated by NASA shows that the drought lingers in the underground water supplies that are […]
By Sean Poulter12 October 2012 Families are giving up their traditional Sunday roast as the cost of both meat and vegetables soar. In fact, many are cutting back on fresh food altogether. Farmers and supermarkets are blaming the meat price explosion – which is likely to continue beyond Christmas – on the rising cost of […]
This graph illustrates lead concentrations in spinach grown in Varanasi, India. (Singh, et al., 2010) Domestic wastewater comprises dissolved and suspended impurities from households. Untreated or insufficiently treated wastewater is typically contaminated with human excreta, which can cause traditional health risks. In recent years, domestic wastewater has been observed to contain trace quantities of pharmaceutical […]
