EarthScape

A senior United Nations chief has praised the measures taken by the UK to ensure that the London Summer Olympic Games are environmentally sustainable. Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Program (UNEP), says the eco achievements of the London 2012 Games should act as an inspiration for following organizers. “London’s clean-up of an…

The answer is yes, and now we know why. According to a recently published UCLA study, practicing a certain form of chanting yogic meditation for at least 12 minutes a day for 8 weeks will reduce the biological mechanism responsible for increasing the immune system’s inflammation response. When that inflammation response is constantly active, it…

A house fly couple settles down on the ceiling of a manure-filled cowshed for a romantic night of courtship and copulation. Unbeknownst to the infatuated insects, their antics have attracted the acute ears of a lurking Natterer’s bat. But this eavesdropper is no pervert—he’s a predator set on a two-for-one dinner special. As a new…

The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is often considered a symbol of the pristine Arctic. An analysis of newly sequenced polar bear genomes is providing important clues about the species’ evolution, suggesting that climate change and genetic…

The greatest climate change the world has seen in the last 100,000 years was the transition from the ice age to the warm interglacial period. New research from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen indicates that, contrary to previous opinion, the rise in temperature and the rise in the atmospheric CO2 follow…

The mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, is an iron sulfide. This mineral’s metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue have earned it the nickname fool’s gold because of its resemblance to gold. As sulfur cycles through Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and land, it undergoes chemical changes that are often coupled to changes in other such elements as…

Oxidation is the process of breaking down. Just like metal rusting when exposed to oxygen, so too do our bodies deteriorate. The presence of free oxygen radicals in the body is believed to be the cause of aging at the molecular level. Oxygen radicals are reactive molecules that damage cellular components, resulting in oxidative stress.…

Heat waves and droughts magnified by global warming are exacting an economic tax on America’s middle class through higher prices and increased health care costs. Now this global warming tax is hitting the stock valuations of American companies.

From the flight deck to the wheel brakes, new generations of aircraft that produce far less pollution increasingly rely on imported raw materials which are themselves dirty to produce. EurActiv reports from the Farnborough International Airshow. China and Russia are dominant suppliers of some forms of titanium – a lightweight metal used in airframes and…

As the Earth’s surface warms, climate models predict that the amount of fresh water for human consumption will likely decrease in parts of the globe. While that prospect looms for many cities around the world, a new study finds a more imminent threat to water supplies of cities in the tropical Andes, such as Lima,…