Month: February 2016

  • Scientists fight deadly banana fungus

    Around the world, banana farmers are fighting a losing battle against Tropical Race 4, a soil fungus that kills Cavendish bananas, the only type grown for the international market. The disease was first spotted in the early 1990s in Malaysia, but has now started to wipe out crops in large parts of South-East Asia as well as…

  • Beavers return to Britain

    Beavers are Britain's native aquatic engineers and their return to sites in Scotland and England is doing wonders for the local environment, write Nigel Willby & Alan Law: restoring wetlands, recreating natural river dynamics and ecology, filtering farm pollutants from water, and improving habitat for trout and other fish.In Knapdale, damming by beavers transformed a…

  • New Heat Wave Formula Can Help Public Health Agencies Prepare for Extreme Temperatures

    Extreme heat can pose several health risks, such as dehydration, hyperthermia and even death, especially during sustained periods of high temperatures. However, a uniform definition of a heat wave doesn’t exist. As a result, public health agencies may be unsure of when to activate heat alerts, cooling centers and other protective measures. A University of…

  • Consumers have huge environmental impact

    The world's workshop — China — surpassed the United States as the largest emitter of greenhouse gases on Earth in 2007. But if you consider that nearly all of the products that China produces, from iPhones to tee-shirts, are exported to the rest of the world, the picture looks very different.

  • VW Emissions cheating scandal update

    Volkswagen is still struggling to move past the emissions-software scandal that has plagued its reputation for the better part of a year. Ever since the news officially broke that an array of its diesel passenger cars were outfitted with deceptive software, VW’s reputation has been pretty much at bottom ratings.It’s not like the company hasn’t tried to regain public…

  • What happened to the Red Delicious apple

    If you’re like most people, when looking for apples among the plethora of offerings at your local supermarket, perhaps you choose the most visually appealing.You may have noticed that in comparison with varieties that may be smaller, slightly mottled or have a brown spot or two, the Red Delicious easily wins the blue ribbon for…

  • Urban soils release surprising amounts of carbon dioxide

    In the concrete jungle at the core of a city, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are dominated by the fossil fuels burned by the dense concentrations of cars and buildings. Boston University researchers now have shown, however, that in metropolitan areas surrounding the city core, plant roots and decomposing organic material in soil give off enough…

  • Rutgers University Study finds sea level rise in the 20th Century was fastest in 3,000 years

    Global sea level rose faster in the 20th century than in any of the 27 previous centuries, according to a Rutgers University-led study published today.Moreover, without global warming, global sea level would have risen by less than half the observed 20th century increase and might even have fallen.Instead, global sea level rose by about 14 centimeters, or 5.5…

  • Scientists unlock key to turning wastewater and sewage into power

    As renewable energy sources goes, solar rays have historically hogged the limelight. But two Virginia Tech researchers have stolen the spotlight from the sun by discovering a way to maximize the amount of electricity that can be generated from the wastewater we flush down the toilet. 

  • The impacts of a warming climate on Russian agriculture

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says last month was the warmest January on record. That sets off alarm bells for climate scientists, but for the average person living in a northern climate, it might not sound so bad.That's what many people are saying these days in Russia, where the expected icy winter has failed…