Environment

Meat Is Murder On The Environment

A kilogram (2.2 pounds) of beef is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution than driving for 3 hours while leaving all the lights on back home. This, according to New Scientist's Daniele Fanelli, is the conclusion of a study out of the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Japan. The team looked at the effects of beef production on...

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| Wed Jul. 18, 2007 4:55 PM PDT

Elevated Leukemia Rates In Children & Young Adults Near Nuclear Facilities

Leukemia rates in children and young people are elevated near nuclear facilities. The research, published in European Journal of Cancer Care, came from a meta-analysis of 17 research papers covering 136 nuclear sites in the UK, Canada, France, the USA, Germany, Japan and Spain. Death rates for children up to the age of nine were elevated by between five and 24 per cent, depending...

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| Wed Jul. 18, 2007 4:28 PM PDT

The Stork Is The Bird Of War

Worried about too many Homo sapiens? Wanna help with a (gentle) reset button? Check out the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement.. This post comes to you thanks to a blog comment of note (no, not the eejit ones?) JULIA WHITTY...

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| Wed Jul. 18, 2007 3:34 PM PDT

Peruvians Ban GM Potatoes

The government of Cusco in the Peruvian Andes is scheduled to ban all genetically modified varieties of potato. Nature reports the area was the birthplace of many kinds of potatoes, and is still home to thousands of varietals. The move was supported by Peruvian non-profit Association ANDES, along with the London-based International Institute for Environment and Development. The hope is to ensure that genes...

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| Tue Jul. 17, 2007 7:22 PM PDT

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Vines Swamp Southern Forests

A new study in the southeastern U.S. suggests that increased vine growth is changing bottomland hardwood forests. Researchers from Ohio State University charting the growth of grapevines, trumpet vines, poison ivy, and Virginia creeper in two South Carolina forests found as much as a 10-fold increase in just two decades. As the vines increase, the density of small trees decreases, probably because most vines...

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| Tue Jul. 17, 2007 6:47 PM PDT
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Crazy For Yellowcake: Uranium's New Glow

Uranium's new glow: Ghosts of paradox valley

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| Tue Jul. 17, 2007 12:00 AM PDT
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Hot Air On Hot Air: Can Technology Fix Global Warming?

Mad scientists vs. global warming

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| Tue Jul. 17, 2007 12:00 AM PDT
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Market Meltdown: Understanding Climate Economics

Mad Scientists vs. Global Warming

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| Tue Jul. 17, 2007 12:00 AM PDT

UN's Ban Ki-moon To Press Bush on Climate Change

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday he would press President Bush over climate change when they meet in Washington on Tuesday, Reuters reports. "On climate change, I'm encouraged by a high level of expectations as well as representation on that special high level meeting on Sept. 24," Ban said, referring to a conference on the environment that he has called for September...

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| Mon Jul. 16, 2007 5:01 PM PDT

Live Earth Germany Loses Big Euros

I promise I'm not jumping on the Drudge-led Live Earth-bashing "there's no global warming" bandwagon, but this is the story: Billboard.biz reports the German edition of Live Earth on July 7th lost 1.3 million buckaroos. Ticket sales and merchandise added up to about $1.7 million, but costs added up to $2 million, not including the $1 million they paid to the Live Earth organization,...

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| Mon Jul. 16, 2007 2:07 PM PDT

Paris Provides Bikes To Fight Traffic, CO2

The Paris city council is launching a free bike scheme to encourage people to give up the motor in favor of pedal power. The BBC reports this morning that the local authority in Paris is depositing 20,000 heavy-duty bicycles, called Velib, in 750 or so special racks around the city and anyone who wants one simply swipes his or her public transport card and...

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| Sun Jul. 15, 2007 10:59 AM PDT

Canadian Study Reveals New Class of Organic Pollutants

A Canadian team reports in this week's Science that efforts to crack down on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) may have missed an entire set of them. Dioxin, PCBs, and DDT are considered among the most dangerous pollutants on the planet because they don't break down easily, are highly toxic, and build up in the food chain. These chemicals persist in our body fat, and...

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| Fri Jul. 13, 2007 2:36 PM PDT

Chernobyl Hits Birds Hard

Many birds have dwindled because of radiation from the nuclear power plant accident in Chernobyl. Yet a new study in the Journal of Applied Ecology, reported by the AAAS, finds that some species are declining at a far greater rate. The greatest decline is in brightly colored species (orioles, blackbirds, and blue tits) inhabiting high radiation zones. Migrant birds are also faring worse than...

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| Thu Jul. 12, 2007 4:58 PM PDT

Dem Presidential Candidates Compete in a Field of Greens

At MoveOn's climate change town hall, the contenders were asked to explain how their environmental platforms differ from their competitors. They all wound up sounding the same.

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| Thu Jul. 12, 2007 12:00 AM PDT

Weird Weather Watch: Heat Wave Killed Nearly 500 Californians

Last July was a scorcher in California. The state has officially reported that the record temperatures killed about 150 people. But an AP analysis of death counts by county reveals that nearly 500 more people died that month than normally do in July. The study did not find evidence of a cover-up, but that's not good news. States don't yet have the tools to...

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| Wed Jul. 11, 2007 6:36 PM PDT

Weird Weather Watch: Heat Wave Killed Nearly 500 Californians

Last July was a scorcher in California. The state has officially reported that the record temperatures killed about 150 people....

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| Wed Jul. 11, 2007 6:28 PM PDT

Plants Uptake Antibiotics

Routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock may be contaminating the world of plants. Researchers at the University of Minnesota have evaluated whether food crops accumulate antibiotics from soils spread with manure that contains antibiotics. Plant uptake was evaluated in a greenhouse study involving three food crops: corn, lettuce, and potato. Plants were grown on soil modified with liquid hog manure containing Sulfamethazine, a commonly...

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| Wed Jul. 11, 2007 12:25 PM PDT

Organic Farming Can Feed The World

Organic farming can yield up to three times as much food as conventional farming on the same amount of land. A new study from the University of Michigan refutes the long-standing assumption that organic farming methods can't produce enough food to feed the global population. The researchers found that yields in developed countries were almost equal between organic and conventional farms, while food production...

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| Wed Jul. 11, 2007 12:01 PM PDT

Want To Broadcast To Fox News?

Anxious to talk to Fox in language they understand? (Clearly they fail science-speak.) Try dollar-speak. There's enough of us &mdash...

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| Tue Jul. 10, 2007 7:53 PM PDT

Want To Broadcast To Fox News?

Anxious to talk to Fox in language they understand? (Clearly they fail science-speak.) Try dollar-speak. There's enough of us &mdash the 7 out of 10 Americans who know human-caused climate change is real &mdash to get their attention. Check it out. JULIA WHITTY...

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| Tue Jul. 10, 2007 6:31 PM PDT