Quebec Increases Penalties
Quebec's Environmental Department has updated penalties for not complying with the province's environmental quality standards in order to protect waterways, forests, wetlands, and natural areas from pollution. The department now has the power to impose fines between $250 and $10,000 on individuals and companies not respecting environmental quality laws, and can also stop or suspend work if it is deemed unsafe to human health or the environment.
2-Feb-2012
Wales Plans New Decision Making Process
The Welsh Government has proposed a new protocol for making environmental decisions. This new protocol, will take an overarching approach to decide if any actions in areas such as agriculture, forestry, and tourism will benefit the environment and economy for the better. The goal is to secure “productive ecosystems that provide for society as a whole.”
2-Feb-2012
Ford Ups Eco Friendly Cars
Shortly following Ford's announcement to use recycled bottles in their new Focus Electric, the company has also announced the use of kenaf plant fibers in the new Ford Escape. The kenaf fibers will be blended with polypropylene to create a mixture 25% lighter than other materials increasing fuel economy and will offset 300,000 lbs of oil based resins used annually in the US. The Escape will also use recycled bottles, soy foam, and scrap cotton.
2-Feb-2012
Electricity Needed for UN Goals
The International Energy Agency estimates that within the last 20 years, approximately two billion people gained access to electricity, but 1.3 billion still lack access. At least 2.7 billion people also lack modern fuels for cooking and heating, usually relying on traditional biomass sources. These two statistics will play a major role in achieving UN goals of combating HIV/AID, malaria, and other diseases and reducing poverty and hunger.
2-Feb-2012
Manila Declaration to Protect Oceans
At the Global Conference on Land-Ocean Connections, hosted by the Philippines Government, 65 countries agreed upon the Manila Declaration, an agreement to step up efforts to protect the world's oceans from land based activities. Actions include reducing and controlling wastewater, marine litter and pollution from fertilizers and must be made by 2016.
1-Feb-2012
Earth Still Warming
Scientists at NASA have confirmed that the global warming trend is primarily affected by human greenhouse gas emissions, not variations in solar activity. The study, which began in 2005, found that despite a decrease in solar activity, the earth continued to absorb more energy than it sent back into space. This imbalance, calculated at 0.58 watts per sq. m. (10 sq. ft.), is more than double the amount of the reduction of solar activity at the lowest point in the study.
1-Feb-2012
South Sudan Signs Montreal Protocol
The world's newest nation, South Sudan, has become the 197th nation to sign the Vienna Convention and Montreal Protocol, two treaties aimed at reducing chlorofluorocarbons released into the atmosphere to protect the ozone layer. The treaties have reduced over 98% of all global production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances, and the UN hopes to have a total phase out of all of these substances in 2012.
1-Feb-2012
Environment and Cancer
The Institute of Medicine, U.S., has conducted a study that ties a strong connection between the environment, defined as all factors not directly inherited through DNA, and breast cancer. The study found that many typical household products, including microwaves, cosmetics, hairsprays, and refrigerators, release carcinogenic pollutants. The IOM suggests exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet, and reducing exposure to these pollutants.
1-Feb-2012
Industrial Cooling Lagoon
Crystal Lagoons is developing a closed circuit system in Persian Gulf countries to recycle the waste water used to cool industrial plants, which is usually dumped back in the gulf, damaging the fragile wildlife. The United Arab Emirates alone uses 4 trillion L (1 trillion gal) of Gulf water annually. The new system would prevent the waste water from being dumped back into the ocean by harvesting the energy from the hot water and reusing the cooled water.
1-Feb-2012
Environmental Danger of Concordia
More than two weeks after the January 13 capsizing of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy, officials have all but abandoned the search for finding anyone alive and have turned the majority of their efforts to preventing a major environmental disaster by pumping out the fuel still contained on the ship. Residents on the nearby Italian island of Giglio are becoming ever more worried as rough storms halt the removal of the nearly 500,000 gal (1.9 mil L) of oil.
31-Jan-2012
Hydrokinetic Turbines in NYC
Verdant Power, a manufacturer and installer of hydroelectric systems, has been given the go ahead by the US government to install several turbines in New York City's East River. The hydrokinetic turbines do not rely on the creation of a dam, but rather run off the natural power of the current. Some hail this technology because the turbines can make use of industrial waste water flow, while others fear the impacts on wildlife in the waterways.
31-Jan-2012
Biofuels not as Clean as Thought
The European Commission has released unofficial estimates of greenhouse gas emissions of fuels when deforestation and peatlands degradation are considered. Tar sands oil ranked the worst at 107 g of CO2 equivalent per megajoule; however, several biofuels were ranked worse than conventional gasoline, including palm oil, soybeans, and canola. Second generation biofuels ranked the cleanest with an approximate average of 18 CO2e/mj.
31-Jan-2012
Industrial Cooling Lagoon
Crystal Lagoons is developing a closed circuit system in Persian Gulf countries to recycle the waste water used to cool industrial plants, which is usually dumped back in the gulf, damaging the fragile wildlife. The United Arab Emirates alone uses 4 trillion L (1 trillion gal) of Gulf water annually. The new system would prevent the waste water from being dumped back into the ocean by harvesting the energy from the hot water and reusing the cooled water.
31-Jan-2012
Marine Mammal Harvesting
A three-year study conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Okapi Wildlife Associates finds that 114 countries consume one or more of at least 87 species of marine mammals. Many of these species are endangered or near threatened, including polar bears, narwhals, and South Asian river dolphins. The WCS believes that improved monitoring is needed in more remote areas in order to protect these species.
30-Jan-2012
Presurgery Fasting
Researchers at Harvard University in Massachusetts, US, have found that reducing calorie intake before a surgery can protect organs from postsurgical damage. When organs are deprived of oxygen, the cells begin to die; however, when oxygen is reintroduced, inflammation can occur causing even more damage. By cutting the calories ingested by mice by 30% for 4 weeks, their organs were better protected after a surgery than mice that ate normally.
30-Jan-2012
Controlling Cell Aging
Researchers at the University of Sheffield, UK, have found that females from a variety of species can lower the metabolic rate of sperm, allowing sperm cells to be stored for up to 30 years. All cells age as they are damaged by reactive oxygen molecules called free radicals. If the researchers can figure out how females in the animal kingdom are able to destroy free radicals, they could apply those methods to other cells, extending life spans.
30-Jan-2012
Originial vs. Restored Wetlands
Scientists at the University of California Berkley, US, studied 621 wetlands across the world to compare original wetlands with restored wetlands. The study found that 50-100 years after the wetlands were restored they stored, on average, 23% less carbon, and had 26% fewer plant species than pristine wetlands. Many countries allow wetlands to be destroyed as long as they are restored elsewhere, but these restored wetlands do not have the same benefits.
30-Jan-2012
Peru's Fishing Woes
A recent study by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has found that many fishing companies in Peru have been cheating the quotas which has caused the overfishing of many species. This can severely hurt Peru's economy as the fish industry brings in nearly USD$1.6 billion annually through the trading of fishmeal, a feed for farmed fish and cattle.
27-Jan-2012
Ocean pH Lowering
An international team of scientists have found that an increase in CO2 emissions from human beings has raised ocean acidity far beyond the natural range of the carbon cycle. An increased acidity, lower pH, can result in a loss of many major ecosystems by altering the calcification rate of corals and mollusks. Between 1751 and 1994 the pH of ocean water dropped from approximately 8.25 to 8.14, since then it has dropped to 8.07.
27-Jan-2012
Walnuts Slow Tumor Growth
Scientists at the University of California Davis, US, have found that a walnut rich diet slowed the growth of tumors in mice over a 28 week period. The mice were genetically programmed to develop prostate cancer; some mice were on a walnut diet, while others were on a soybean diet with equal nutrients, fat levels, and fatty acid profiles. After 18 weeks, the mice that ate walnuts had tumors half the size, with an overall rate of growth 28% lower than the other mice.
27-Jan-2012
Better Place Releases Electric Cars
Better Place, an Israeli electric vehicle manufacturer, has made its first 100 cars available to consumers in Israel. The cars, all Renault Fluences, were made available to be purchased by individuals and by rental car companies to allow tourists and locals to test drive the cars. As Better Place continues to produce more electric cars, the company also plans to build charging and battery exchange stations all over the world.
27-Jan-2012
Magnetic Soap
Scientists at the University of Bristol, UK, have dissolved iron rich salts in water to create a soap that can be affected by magnetic fields. This new surfactant could be used in oil spills at sea with a reduced concern of lingering soap residue, as a large portion of the soap could be removed with the use of magnets.
26-Jan-2012
Risk of Cancer from Arsenic in Chile Still High
Researchers at the University of the Andes, Chile, have found that patients exposed to high levels of arsenic in the late 1950s in Antofagasta, when levels reached between 800 and 900 mcg/L in the drinking water due to heavy mining and a move to make two local rivers the area's main drinking water sources, are still showing a higher than normal risk for bladder cancer.
26-Jan-2012
Nature's Speed Limits
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), US, have studied the northern goshawk in an attempt to discover what allows the bird to fly at such high speeds, 38 mph (61 km/h), without crashing into obstacles. The data showed that rather than reacting to seeable objects, the goshawk judged the density of the trees and used intuition to determine a safe speed. This data is expected to help create safer guidance systems for UAVs.
26-Jan-2012
Sumatran Elephant Critically Endangered
The Sumatran elephant population has declined by 50% since 1985 prompting the IUCN to update its Red List of Threatened Species to list the elephant as critically endangered on Jan. 24, 2012. The decline of the Sumatran elephant's population correlates with the loss of nearly 70% of Indonesia's forests, mostly to oil palm estates, timber plantations for pulp and paper production, and other agricultural uses.
26-Jan-2012
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World Wetlands Day
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The Costa Concordia and the Plight of the Mediterranean Monk Seal
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Week in Review | 28-Jan-2012
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Who is Responsible for the State of the Environment?
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New, Interactive Map Showing U.S. Plant Hardiness Zones Released
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Rare Earth Processing Plant Granted License in Malaysia
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Quantum Dots Increase Solar Cell Efficiency
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Cooler 2011 Still the Ninth Warmest Year on Record
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Update: Cape Cod Dolphin Strandings Continue
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Nearly 60 Dolphins Stranded on Cape Cod
