By David BielloSep 1, 2010 06:00 AM For decades, apocalyptic environmentalists (and others) have warned of humanity’s imminent doom, largely as a result of our unsustainable use of and impact upon the natural systems of the planet. After all, the most recent comprehensive assessment of so-called ecosystem services—benefits provided for free by the natural world, […]
New Rochelle, NY, August 30, 2010—Anger, depression, and helplessness are the main psychological responses being seen in response to the catastrophic Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and they are likely to have long-lasting effects, according to an interview in Ecopsychology, a peer-reviewed, online journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com). […]
By Ben Raines, Press-Register Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 5:00 AM Lumpy, degraded oil collected in the Mississippi Sound has tested positive for several of the main ingredients in the Corexit dispersant used in connection with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, according to scientists working for a New Orleans-based lawyer. Officials with the federal government and […]
By Jeffrey Jones; editing by Rob Wilson and Janet GuttsmanMon Aug 30, 2010 5:31pm EDT CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – Canada’s vast oil sands operations are polluting the Athabasca River system, researchers said on Monday, in a report that is bound to fuel the environmental battle over developing the resource. Contradicting Alberta government assertions that […]
By Ray RingFrom the August 20, 2010 issue of High Country News Lander, Wyoming — Ask Tom Bell, the man who founded High Country News 40 years ago, what keeps him going these days, and he rattles off a list of pills for dizziness, blood pressure and cholesterol, plus a diuretic and an antidepressant. “Don’t […]
www.mongabay.com August 27, 2010 The number of fires burning in Brazil has more than doubled compared with the same period last year. Surprisingly, the news has sparked a Twitter sensation, with more than 120,000 users “tweeting” messages with the hashtag “#chegadequeimadas” about the fires in a 48 hour window. The phenomenon emerged after analysis of […]
ScienceDaily (Aug. 27, 2010) — Fertilizer chemicals may pose a bigger hazard to the environment — specifically to creatures that live in water — than originally foreseen, according to new research from North Carolina State University toxicologists. In a study published in the Aug. 27 edition of PLoS ONE, the NC State researchers show […]
WASHINGTON, D.C.//August 26, 2010//Days before the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) kicks off a series of regional hearings across the United States on whether and how to regulate toxic coal ash waste from coal-fired power plants, a major new study identifies 39 additional coal-ash dump sites in 21 states that are contaminating drinking water or […]
Corvallis, Ore. (UPI) Aug 26, 2010 – Much of the world’s electronic waste ends up in China for recycling, an activity creating significant health and environmental hazards, researchers say. Scientists from China and Oregon State University have identified toxic elements in the emissions from cottage-industry recycling workshops in southern China that use low-tech methods […]
By GARANCE BURKE and JASON DEAREN, Associated Press WritersWed, Aug. 25, 2010 02:06 AM The cleanup of history’s worst peacetime oil spill is generating thousands of tons of oil-soaked debris that is ending up in local landfills, some of which were already dealing with environmental concerns. The soft, absorbent boom that has played the biggest […]
