Month: April 2012

  • National Park Service touts green themes and waives fees

    It’s not easy being green, but the National Park Service (NPS) has decided it’s worth the effort. On Thursday, the agency that oversees 397 units comprising 84 million acres of land across the country unveiled a new plan to integrate sustainable practices into all aspects of its operations.

  • Rivers flowing into the sea offer vast potential as carbon-free energy source

    A new genre of electric power-generating stations could supply electricity for more than a half billion people by tapping just one-tenth of the global potential of a little-known energy source that exists where rivers flow into the ocean, a new analysis has concluded. A report on the process, which requires no fuel, is sustainable and…

  • Are “improved” Cookstoves in Pakistan better than the traditional ones?

    Programmes to provide rural Pakistani households with so-called improved cookstoves have had a muted response due to a lack of awareness among target communities — particularly among the women who do the cooking, a study has found. The finding comes as separate research suggests that some improved cookstove models actually cause more pollution than traditional…

  • Enzyme Batteries

    New research at Concordia University is bringing the world one step closer to cleaner energy. It is now possible to extend the length of time a battery like enzyme can store energy from seconds to hours, as shown in a study published in the Journal of The American Chemical Society. Concordia Associate Professor László Kálmán…

  • Measuring Microplastics in their Final Resting Place

    Recycling plastics have become much more popular around the world, but large amounts are still thrown away. Through the power of wind, gravity, and moving water, much of the globally produced plastics find their way into the oceans. But the plastic bottles we see washing up along the shoreline only tell a small fraction of…

  • Another Buffett Rule: No Shortcuts on the Environment

    While the Senate attempts to deal with the so called Buffett Rule, which would force rich folks to pay taxes at least at the same rate as their secretaries, the rule’s namesake, the billionaire investor Warren Buffett, has also spoken out on the environment in financial terms.

  • One of the Coldest Months

    There is a lot not clear about the weather. In the US Northeast, it is clearly quite warm and almost hot. The average global temperature for March 2012 made it the coolest March since 1999, yet the 16th warmest since record keeping began in 1880. Arctic sea ice extent during the month was below average…

  • Greenland’s ice cover appears to be sliding into the ocean

    Like snow sliding off a roof on a sunny day, the Greenland Ice Sheet may be sliding faster into the ocean due to massive releases of meltwater from surface lakes, according to a new study by the University of Colorado Boulder-based Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences. Such lake drainages may affect sea-level rise,…

  • Europe announces huge green energy package for developing nations

    The European Commission has announced a new multi-million Euro initiative to support developing countries in their drive towards sustainable energy generation. The green aid programme will prove specialists from across Europe to help poorer nations develop low-carbon sources of energy. And the scheme will provide hundreds of millions of Euros to underwrite the roll-out, which…

  • To Live or Die in the Shade

    Shade avoidance syndrome or SAS. When it is hot most people enjoy the shade but not plants which live for the sun. They have SAS. Now, the molecular details of SAS have been brought to light by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. To step out of their neighbors’ shade, plants switch on…