Nov 25 2013

80,000 acres swallowed up

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The United States has lost approximately 80,000 acres of coastal wetlands between 2004 and 2009 according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Much of this loss is blamed on development and has occurred in freshwater regions. Additionally, more than 70% of the loss is from the Gulf of Mexico. According to the EPA wetland loss in the eastern U.S. is happening at a rate double that of what is being restored.
Categories: News
Nov 18 2013

Atmosphere locked in time

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Amber has long been appreciated for its ability to preserve a moment in time as it encapsulated plant matter, bugs and other organisms. As a tool for ecosystem reconstruction, scientists have learnt a great deal. But recently researchers led by Ralf Tapper of the University of Innsbruck, have begun using amber and other fossil plant resins to reconstruct the composition of Earth's atmosphere from the last 220 million years. The results suggest that atmospheric oxygen was considerably lower in the Earth's geological past than previously assumed.
Categories: News
Nov 14 2013

Ooo, la la! Meet Bouba!

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The Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) Queen's Zoo in Flushing, NY has a new resident today. His name is Bouba and he is an Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus) most commonly found in the Andes Mountains of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru western Bolivia and northwestern Argentina.
Categories: News
Nov 11 2013

Transforming the Solar Discussion

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The sun’s energy has been a central component of the renewable energy cache, including several harnessing technologies such as solar heating, photovoltaics, thermal, architecture and artificial photosynthesis. Researchers at the University of Cincinnati are bringing forth a new method of solar capture and storage called SmartLight that includes the use of electrofluidic cells in concert with embedded photovoltaics placed at the top of a building’s windows. These solar capture elements are then used to project light into the building through a continuous grid-strip of electrofluidic cells. Lead researcher, Jason Heikenfeld envisions these cell channels running across the top of a room and through room adjoining transom windows for distribution as needed within any of the office building’s rooms regardless of its position within the building.
Categories: News
Nov 08 2013

Plan It for the Planet! November 15th America Recycles Day

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So maybe America Recycles Day isn't as well known as Thanksgiving, New Years or the Fourth of July, but it is potentially becoming equally as significant for our planet's future! While our national recycling rate has increased each year for the past 30 years there is still great opportunity for recycling. America Recycles Day is the only nationally recognized day and community-driven awareness event dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling in the U.S.
Categories: News
Oct 31 2013

Wind Turbine Arrangement: Staggering Results

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Location and organization apparently matters after all! Or at least that is what Cristina Archer, Assistant Professor at the University of Delaware has discovered with regard to wind turbine efficiency. Dr. Archer headed up a team of researchers from UD's College of Earth, Ocean and Environment to conduct studies on the effects of various wind turbine organizational placement patterns. Using a wind farm near Sweden for the basis of their study, they compared existing tightly paced, grid-like layouts to six alternate configurations. They tried multiple spacing distances in various styles of rows: straight arrays, linear but equal offsets and a staggered theatre style where any turbine in front does not obstruct the view from any one behind.
Categories: News
Oct 28 2013

A Green Halloween Starts with a Green Pumpkin

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Pumpkins are a huge part of the Halloween experience. We exhume the contents of our pumpkins and carve spirited faces into their walls for delightfully festive jack-o-lanterns. But what we do with the insides and the actual jack-o-lantern at the end of the season is often tragically wasteful. More often than not we toss our pumpkin guts, seeds and later on the actual jack-o-lantern into our household trash causing a huge volume increase in our household waste. With a little forethought though, a pumpkin can be much more beneficial to our environment and our tummies. Below are some suggestions for what to do with your pumpkin—all of it—both before and after Halloween.
Categories: News
Oct 28 2013

Fossil Toes

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Anthony Martin, paleontologist at Emory University in Atlanta, GA recently discovered two fossilized footprints presumably made by a landing bird during the Early Cretaceous period at Dinosaur Cove in Victoria, Australia. This discovery marks the oldest known bird tracks in Australia.
Categories: News
Oct 24 2013

Introduction to Persistent, Bioaccumulative, Toxic (PBT) Compounds in the Environment

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Global chemical contamination is a worldwide concern affecting every being on earth. Chemical exposure, whether it is through air, water, plants, soil or our modern living environment is unavoidable. But certain chemicals and compounds having Persistent, Bioaccumulative, Toxic (PBT) characteristics are more dangerous to our environment than others because of their inability to break down easily, are easily transferred throughout all forms of environmental media, and posing risks to human health and the ecosystem due to their toxicity at low concentrations.
Categories: News
Oct 21 2013

Red Smog alert chokes northern China

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A red alert has been issued for several cities in northern China including Changchun and Harbin. A red alert is the highest level on the four-tiered alert system and is defined as serious air pollution for three consecutive days. According to Xinhuanet News, "the density of PM 2.5 -- airborne particles measuring less than 2.5 microns in diameter, exceeded 500 micrograms per cubic meter on Monday morning." Visibility is presently less than 50 meters in the downtown capital city of Harbin of Heilongjiang Province.
Categories: News
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