Greenhouse gases are emitted every day in the daily generation of power used to power our economy, businesses, buildings and homes. These gases are considered by many scientists to cause climate warming. However, airborne pollution also includes particulates, and scientists are now saying that while some particulates add to warming, others have a cooling effect.
According to a recent study, it seems that climate change and the subsequent melting of the polar ice caps may result in a blossoming of the kinds of life found in the Arctic Ocean. However, it may not be as exciting for humans as it sounds, as the results of the survey were determined by studying mud cores from the region just before the dinosaurs became extinct.
The Ghanaian rainforest has been decimated over the past 50 years, losing about 80% of its size in that period. Paired with the fact that deforestation is responsible for roughly one-fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions each year, and there is a serious problem brewing on Africa’s western coast.
Given that more than 45 million Americans live within 300 feet of a four-lane road, airport or railroad, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), together with the University of Michigan, will spend the next two years studying the health effects of air pollution on children living near the country’s busiest roads.
Scientists are concerned about the contribution hydroflurocarbons (HFCs) will have to climate warming, especially given that in the next few decades developing countries are expected to use HFCs exponentially more than developed countries have to date. While HFCs do not deplete the ozone layer, they are greenhouse gases that contribute to radiative climate warming.
Scientists at the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) have ranked as many as 30 spots around the world where human activities are causing the most damage to coastal marine ecosystems.
Biofuels have come under a lot of scrutiny lately do to their environmental and social consequences. Most studies of the impacts are on air quality, land use, and net energy yield.
The latest edition of Greenpeace’s "Guide to Greener Electronics" reveals that the world’s biggest PC manufacturers, Hewlett Packard, Dell and Lenovo, each failed to improve their low scores from the previous year.
The American Pyrotechnics Association, estimates that 18,000 fireworks shows will occur across the U.S. this Fourth of July. This does not include backyard fireworks which have seen a tremendous growth in sales. Since 2000, the sales of backyard fireworks have doubled resulting in over 238 million pounds of fireworks being fired off each year.
Various states have received guidelines on how to apply for the nine billion dollars of Federal stimulus money dedicated to building a series of high speed rail corridors. The Department of Transportation stated that the Federal Railroad Administration would hand out the first round of grants around mid-September.
