Category: Environment

A UK supermarket chain has revealed the use of disposable plastic bags has dropped by 2 billion since August 2006.

A major UK supermarket chain has announced that the use of disposable plastic bags is in steep decline as thousands of shoppers switch to permanent shopping bags.

Threats to marine ecosystems from overfishing, pollution and climate change must be addressed to halt downward trends.

Human activities are cumulatively driving the health of the world’s oceans down a rapid spiral, and only prompt and wholesale changes will slow or perhaps ultimately reverse the catastrophic problems they are facing.

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During a recent research expedition to Kiritimati, or Christmas Island, Jeremy Jackson and other researchers documented a coral reef overtaken by algae, featuring murky waters and few fish. The researchers say pollution, overfishing, warming waters or some combination of the three are to blame.

Birds in the Northeastern United States are moving their breeding ranges north, adding to concerns about the planet's changing climate.

A study by researchers at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) has documented, for the first time in the northeastern United States, that a variety of bird species are extending their breeding ranges to the north, a pattern that adds to concerns about climate change.

An environmental web site has added a graphic presentation that should demonstrate to every American that using plastic bags is just an insane idea that has to stop immediately.

The environmental web site GoingGreenResources.com has added a graphic presentation that should demonstrate to every American that using plastic bags is just an insane idea that has to stop immediately.

A lot of farmers are considering harvesting crop residues to be turned into ethanol. However, according to researchers at Washington State University, that's not a good idea, unless your purpose is to create a new dust bowl.

In the rush to develop renewable fuels from plants, converting crop residues into cellulosic ethanol would seem to be a slam dunk.

Global warming is likely to increase the proportion of the population affected by kidney stones by expanding the higher-risk region known as the “kidney-stone belt” into neighboring states, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center and UT Dallas have found.

Dehydration is one of the risk factors linked to kidney-stone disease, and a new research paper suggests global warming will exacerbate this effect. The researchers predict that by 2050, higher temperatures will cause an additional 1.6 million to 2.2 million kidney-stone cases, representing up to a 30 percent growth in some areas.

A new mathematical model indicates that dust devils, water spouts, tornadoes, hurricanes and cyclones are all born of the same mechanism and will intensify as climate change warms the Earth's surface.

A new mathematical equation, developed by University of Michigan atmospheric and planetary scientist Nilton Renno, could allow scientists to more accurately calculate the maximum expected intensity of a spiraling storm based on the depth of the troposphere and the temperature and humidity of the air in the storm's path. The troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere.

Swine production generates large amounts of waste. While this waste contains nutrients that may serve as fertilizer when applied to agricultural fields, the ratio of nutrients in the waste is different than what a crop requires.

Swine production generates large amounts of waste. While this waste contains nutrients that may serve as fertilizer when applied to agricultural fields, the ratio of nutrients in the waste is different than what a crop requires. Application of waste to meet the nitrogen needs of a crop results in application of excess phosphorus which increases the potential for environmental contamination. Swine fed corn diets with more highly available phosphorus produce waste that has a nitrogen to phosphorus ratio closer to what a crop needs than swine fed traditional corn diets.

Climate change could have a major impact on the environment of Costa Rica, upsetting delicate mountain cloud forests, and causing a decrease in plant and animal species in a region famous for its biodiversity. Regional climate models predict that the area will become warmer and drier as climate change accelerates.

While melting Arctic sea ice and glaciers have become a symbol of climate change, new research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst indicates that highland forests in Costa Rica could also be seriously affected by future changes in climate, reducing the number of species in a region famous for its biodiversity.

California's native plant species are so vulnerable to global climate change that two-thirds of them could suffer 80 percent reduction in their geographic range by the end of the 21st century.

Two-thirds of the plants native to the state of California could suffer more than an 80 percent reduction in geographic range by the end of the century, according to a recent study.