8/2/2014
Household air pollution puts more than one in three people worldwide at risk of ill health, early death
About a third of the worlds population uses plant-based solid fuels such as wood or charcoal, or coal,to cook,heat,and light their homes, especially in Asia and Africa. Studies have shown that more than one in three people worldwide can be at risk of ill health or maybe even early death. Using simple stoves in poorly ventilated house could cause indoor pollution. Not only does this affect people with average wealth but this also affects people living in poverty. Household air pollution can affect women and children living in poverty and harm severely since they may not be able to afford treatments needed for the respiratory illness and cancer caused by household air pollution. Estimates say that in 2010 household air pollution killed 3 to 4 million people.
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140902205230.htm
Household air pollution puts more than one in three people worldwide at risk of ill health, early death
About a third of the worlds population uses plant-based solid fuels such as wood or charcoal, or coal,to cook,heat,and light their homes, especially in Asia and Africa. Studies have shown that more than one in three people worldwide can be at risk of ill health or maybe even early death. Using simple stoves in poorly ventilated house could cause indoor pollution. Not only does this affect people with average wealth but this also affects people living in poverty. Household air pollution can affect women and children living in poverty and harm severely since they may not be able to afford treatments needed for the respiratory illness and cancer caused by household air pollution. Estimates say that in 2010 household air pollution killed 3 to 4 million people.
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140902205230.htm
9/6/2014
Low-carbon energy future is clean, feasible
A recent study was made because researchers said very little information is known about the environmental costs of a widespread global shift to renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar power, and what the effect of this shift might have on material requirements. To receive this information a international team led by Edgar Hertwich and Thomas Gibon conducted the first ever global comprehensive life cycle assessment of the long term, wide-scale implementation of electricity generation from renewable resources. Researchers are looking ahead to predict how to make our future cleaner by using low-carbon energy. two different scenarios were used as well to assess how renewable energy would perform. A study performed says "A future where electricity comes mostly from low-carbon sources is not only feasible in terms of material demand, but will significantly reduce air pollution". In my opinion Low carbon energy is something they should keep doing research in because we need our environment to become cleaner not dirtier.
Source:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141006152126.htm
Low-carbon energy future is clean, feasible
A recent study was made because researchers said very little information is known about the environmental costs of a widespread global shift to renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar power, and what the effect of this shift might have on material requirements. To receive this information a international team led by Edgar Hertwich and Thomas Gibon conducted the first ever global comprehensive life cycle assessment of the long term, wide-scale implementation of electricity generation from renewable resources. Researchers are looking ahead to predict how to make our future cleaner by using low-carbon energy. two different scenarios were used as well to assess how renewable energy would perform. A study performed says "A future where electricity comes mostly from low-carbon sources is not only feasible in terms of material demand, but will significantly reduce air pollution". In my opinion Low carbon energy is something they should keep doing research in because we need our environment to become cleaner not dirtier.
Source:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141006152126.htm
9-20-14 Here's Why We Haven't Quite Figured Out How to Feed Billions More People
Summary: During the last 20 years the yield improvement has become slower. Many nations have flattened while many parts of the world were suffering through history-making droughts that have emptied reservoirs and damaged crops. Also as many as 400,000 acres of food-growing lands have been left fallow in California. Due to a report made in 2012 the factor causing flattering yields and rising food prices is the decline in Public Support for Agricultural Research, Researches say "Getting higher yields of corn and soybean from U.S. farms to feed more meat animals is not the problem. The main challenge for agricultural research is to get usable knowledge to farmers in places such as sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia, so they can raise enough food for themselves and others, make money, and protect the land and water on their farms". So overall in order to provide more food to feed billions of people more research needs to be done in order to succeed. They are planning to create a climate-smart-agriculture which would help farmers respond to climate change and also reduce greenhouse gas emission from agriculture which is what makes climate change happen.
Source:http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/10/141004-agriculture-research-borlaug-food-farming-green-revolution/
Summary: During the last 20 years the yield improvement has become slower. Many nations have flattened while many parts of the world were suffering through history-making droughts that have emptied reservoirs and damaged crops. Also as many as 400,000 acres of food-growing lands have been left fallow in California. Due to a report made in 2012 the factor causing flattering yields and rising food prices is the decline in Public Support for Agricultural Research, Researches say "Getting higher yields of corn and soybean from U.S. farms to feed more meat animals is not the problem. The main challenge for agricultural research is to get usable knowledge to farmers in places such as sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia, so they can raise enough food for themselves and others, make money, and protect the land and water on their farms". So overall in order to provide more food to feed billions of people more research needs to be done in order to succeed. They are planning to create a climate-smart-agriculture which would help farmers respond to climate change and also reduce greenhouse gas emission from agriculture which is what makes climate change happen.
Source:http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/10/141004-agriculture-research-borlaug-food-farming-green-revolution/
Hawaiian Lava Invading Village Homes 10-10-14
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October 2014
Should U.S Government kill 16,000 cormorants to save salmon?
November 2014
Salmon rates seem to be increasing. Observers say the reason why the rate of Salmon is decreasing is because there is a large population of Cormorants. U.S government states that the cormorants dispatch about 20 million Salmon and Steal head trout smolts every year. The reason why the government wants to take this action is because there is a specific location, east sand island, where these cormorants come to breed. This time of season where they come to breed overlaps the time where the juvenile fish come to the island to migrate down the Colombia to the Pacific. In my opinion I think that such a large amount of birds should be killed to save the salmon. I believe there should be another way around this problem and have to sacrifice 16,000 birds.
November 2014
Salmon rates seem to be increasing. Observers say the reason why the rate of Salmon is decreasing is because there is a large population of Cormorants. U.S government states that the cormorants dispatch about 20 million Salmon and Steal head trout smolts every year. The reason why the government wants to take this action is because there is a specific location, east sand island, where these cormorants come to breed. This time of season where they come to breed overlaps the time where the juvenile fish come to the island to migrate down the Colombia to the Pacific. In my opinion I think that such a large amount of birds should be killed to save the salmon. I believe there should be another way around this problem and have to sacrifice 16,000 birds.
November 2014
Natural Gas Cars?
A new research is being held where researchers find the perfect metal framework to store natural gas for cars. Many plans are being thrown out there but there are some qualities that are being looked for int he framework. First of all the framework should be able to hold natural gas at a low pressure,as well as room temperature.Having a lower pressure tank means it would be able to fit in the car since it is lighter. A bio engineer Deem states that soon they will able to provide customer a service where they could tank up from household gas supply lines.
source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141218131933.htm
Natural Gas Cars?
A new research is being held where researchers find the perfect metal framework to store natural gas for cars. Many plans are being thrown out there but there are some qualities that are being looked for int he framework. First of all the framework should be able to hold natural gas at a low pressure,as well as room temperature.Having a lower pressure tank means it would be able to fit in the car since it is lighter. A bio engineer Deem states that soon they will able to provide customer a service where they could tank up from household gas supply lines.
source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141218131933.htm
November 2014
Many in China able to have second child but many say no
If having one child in Child is suffer enough imagine two. In recent news in China a policy states that couples could now have a second child. Although this is something couple always wanted, now, its not wanted as much. Couples are realizing that the results of having a second child are not being able to have enough to give them an education. They state that they wont take advantage of having a second child because of "the rising cost of child-rearing." They are mainly afraid of ending up bankrupt. In interviews that have being conducted most couple blame the high rising cost of living. In overall many will avoid having a second child mainly because it would just bring more worries into the family.
Many in China able to have second child but many say no
If having one child in Child is suffer enough imagine two. In recent news in China a policy states that couples could now have a second child. Although this is something couple always wanted, now, its not wanted as much. Couples are realizing that the results of having a second child are not being able to have enough to give them an education. They state that they wont take advantage of having a second child because of "the rising cost of child-rearing." They are mainly afraid of ending up bankrupt. In interviews that have being conducted most couple blame the high rising cost of living. In overall many will avoid having a second child mainly because it would just bring more worries into the family.
December 2014
Teen Elephant Mothers
A recent study conducted results show that elephants that get pregnant in their teenage years have a shorter life average. elephants that have their babies at and older age tend to live a bit longer. Although the teenage elephants live less they tend to raise a larger family throughout their lifetime. Throughout the research, researchers found that these Asian Elephants could live up to their 70's and could possibly give birth at the age of five. This research showed "a unique analysis of the ageing process in a similarly long-lived mammal."
Teen Elephant Mothers
A recent study conducted results show that elephants that get pregnant in their teenage years have a shorter life average. elephants that have their babies at and older age tend to live a bit longer. Although the teenage elephants live less they tend to raise a larger family throughout their lifetime. Throughout the research, researchers found that these Asian Elephants could live up to their 70's and could possibly give birth at the age of five. This research showed "a unique analysis of the ageing process in a similarly long-lived mammal."
January 2015-Official test Grey Goo connected with 125 bird deaths
Earlier in the month many birds where found dead in the bay area. Experts have gathered some birds to discover what substance is to blames for the cause of 100+ bird deaths. The mysterious substance seems to be like and looks like dirty rubber cement. This goo like substance covers their feathers which prevents them from insulating their bodies. Therefore they freezing to death. This substance is not a danger towards humans at all but research is still being done to discover what the substance is. It may take some time until they find out what the substance is. "You can't rush science" says Hughan said.
February 2015
A new species of algae has been discovered in reef corals of the Persian (Arabian) Gulf where it helps corals to survive seawater temperatures of up to 36 degrees Celsius,temperatures that would kill corals elsewhere. Researchers from the University of Southampton and the New York University Abu Dhabi identified the symbiotic algae in corals from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the world's warmest coral reef habitat.Reefs are made up of many coral species, most of which live in a mutually beneficial relationship with microscopically small algae hosted in their tissue.This algae produce sugars that contribute to the diet of the coral in return for shelter and nutrients that are vital for algal growth. However, the symbiotic association is vulnerable to changes in environmental conditions, in particular to increases in seawater temperature."We monitored the symbiotic partnership over several seasons to ensure that this association was stable through a range of thermal conditions," comments Professor John Burt from the New York University Abu Dhabi."It gives hope to find that corals have more ways to adjust to stressful environmental conditions than we had previously thought," adds Professor Wiedenmann."However, it is not only heat that troubles coral reefs.Pollution and nutrient enrichment, overfishing and coastal development also represent severe threats to their survival.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150227084726.htm
Earlier in the month many birds where found dead in the bay area. Experts have gathered some birds to discover what substance is to blames for the cause of 100+ bird deaths. The mysterious substance seems to be like and looks like dirty rubber cement. This goo like substance covers their feathers which prevents them from insulating their bodies. Therefore they freezing to death. This substance is not a danger towards humans at all but research is still being done to discover what the substance is. It may take some time until they find out what the substance is. "You can't rush science" says Hughan said.
February 2015
A new species of algae has been discovered in reef corals of the Persian (Arabian) Gulf where it helps corals to survive seawater temperatures of up to 36 degrees Celsius,temperatures that would kill corals elsewhere. Researchers from the University of Southampton and the New York University Abu Dhabi identified the symbiotic algae in corals from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the world's warmest coral reef habitat.Reefs are made up of many coral species, most of which live in a mutually beneficial relationship with microscopically small algae hosted in their tissue.This algae produce sugars that contribute to the diet of the coral in return for shelter and nutrients that are vital for algal growth. However, the symbiotic association is vulnerable to changes in environmental conditions, in particular to increases in seawater temperature."We monitored the symbiotic partnership over several seasons to ensure that this association was stable through a range of thermal conditions," comments Professor John Burt from the New York University Abu Dhabi."It gives hope to find that corals have more ways to adjust to stressful environmental conditions than we had previously thought," adds Professor Wiedenmann."However, it is not only heat that troubles coral reefs.Pollution and nutrient enrichment, overfishing and coastal development also represent severe threats to their survival.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150227084726.htm
February 2015
"Corals are non-selective feeders and our results show that they can consume microplastics when the plastics are present in seawater," says Dr Mia Hoogenboom, a Chief Investigator with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University."If microplastic pollution increases on the Great Barrier Reef, corals could be negatively affected as their tiny stomach-cavities become full of indigestible plastic," Dr Hoogenboom says. As part of the study the researchers put corals collected from the Great Barrier Reef into plastic contaminated water."Corals get energy from photosynthesis by symbiotic algae living within their tissues, but they also feed on a variety of other food including zooplankton, sediment and other microscopic organisms that live in seawater," says study lead author Nora Hall, a James Cook University Masters graduate. The conclusion of this research done in Austrailia is that Great Barrier Reef will eat micro-plastic pollution
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150224104158.htm
"Corals are non-selective feeders and our results show that they can consume microplastics when the plastics are present in seawater," says Dr Mia Hoogenboom, a Chief Investigator with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University."If microplastic pollution increases on the Great Barrier Reef, corals could be negatively affected as their tiny stomach-cavities become full of indigestible plastic," Dr Hoogenboom says. As part of the study the researchers put corals collected from the Great Barrier Reef into plastic contaminated water."Corals get energy from photosynthesis by symbiotic algae living within their tissues, but they also feed on a variety of other food including zooplankton, sediment and other microscopic organisms that live in seawater," says study lead author Nora Hall, a James Cook University Masters graduate. The conclusion of this research done in Austrailia is that Great Barrier Reef will eat micro-plastic pollution
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150224104158.htm
March 2015
A new study reveled that the thickness of the Antarctic's floating ice shevles have recently decreased. These ice shelved have decreased as much as 18%. James Edmund Scripps graduate student Fernando Paolo, Scripps glaciologist Helen Amanda Fricker, and oceanographer Laurie Padman of Earth & Space Research (a non-profit institute specializing in oceanography research) constructed a new senior high school -firmness record of frosting shelf heaviness based on orbiter radar altimetry missionary work of the European Space Way from 1994 to 2012. "And with information span X s, we can understand some of the most important changes and their significance for sea-degree rising ." Fricker said future subject will concentrate on the causes behind changes in ice shelf mass , including the consequence of the atmosphere and ocean. "Overall, we show not only the total ice shelf volume is decreasing, but we see an acceleration in the last decade." While melting ice shelves do not contribute directly to sea-level rise, the researchers indicate that there is an important indirect effect.
April 2015
In the years between the Exxon Valdez and the Deepwater Horizon spills, Scholz's team discovered that compounds found in oil called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons -- PAHs for short -- target the developing heart of fish embryos and larvae. After the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, researchers at NOAA's Auke Bay Laboratory in Alaska showed that larval fish exposed to oil as embryos suffer a spectrum of developmental defects including heart, jaw, eye, and other deformities. But in the five years since, Scholz and other scientists have shown that oil damages the still-forming hearts of fish embryos and larvae, and they have discovered the causes for that injury at a molecular scale. But in the five years since Deepwater Horizon, scientists from NOAA, in collaboration with the Barbara Block lab at Stanford University, made a breakthrough: they isolated individual heart cells from tunas and demonstrated that crude oil disrupts the normal rhythmic cycle of excitation and contraction in those cells. NOAA is using this science to conduct its Natural Resource Damage Assessment in the Gulf of Mexico, including estimating losses of bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, and other species that spawned in the northern Gulf during the Deepwater Horizon spill.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150423130323.htm
In the years between the Exxon Valdez and the Deepwater Horizon spills, Scholz's team discovered that compounds found in oil called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons -- PAHs for short -- target the developing heart of fish embryos and larvae. After the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, researchers at NOAA's Auke Bay Laboratory in Alaska showed that larval fish exposed to oil as embryos suffer a spectrum of developmental defects including heart, jaw, eye, and other deformities. But in the five years since, Scholz and other scientists have shown that oil damages the still-forming hearts of fish embryos and larvae, and they have discovered the causes for that injury at a molecular scale. But in the five years since Deepwater Horizon, scientists from NOAA, in collaboration with the Barbara Block lab at Stanford University, made a breakthrough: they isolated individual heart cells from tunas and demonstrated that crude oil disrupts the normal rhythmic cycle of excitation and contraction in those cells. NOAA is using this science to conduct its Natural Resource Damage Assessment in the Gulf of Mexico, including estimating losses of bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, and other species that spawned in the northern Gulf during the Deepwater Horizon spill.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150423130323.htm
April 2015
Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey have used satellites to track the population of loggerheads that nest in the Dry Tortugas -- the smallest subpopulation of lunkhead in the northwestward Atlantic and discovered that the turtleneck actually spend a considerable portion of their lives in the Bahama Islands.Meanwhile returning to the Dry Tortugas to nest every two-to-five years. "Collaborative conservation efforts focused on protecting important loggerhead residence and foraging orbit between the United State and Bahamas could offer significant shelter for the Dry Tortugas loggerheads," said USGS Research Ecologist Kristen Hart, lead author of the work . "Two other subpopulations of loggerheads that nest in Northern and Peninsular Florida and also travel to residence areas in the Bahamas would benefit from this protection as well." The current estimation of the subpopulation of loggerheads that nest in the Dry Tortugas is between 258-496 females. Scientist remain concerned about the ongoing threat to this population which includes departure or debasement of nesting habitat from coastal development and beach armoring; disorientation of hatchlings by beachfront firing ; nest predation by native and non-native predators; degradation of foraging habitat; marine contamination and debris ; watercraft smasher ; disease ; and incidental take from channel dredging and commercial trawling, longline and gill net fisheries. Many loggerhead sea polo-neck that nest in Dry Tortugas National Park head to rich feeding sites in the Bahamas after nesting, a discovery that may help those working to protect this threatened species to gather information to protect them.
Science Daily
Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey have used satellites to track the population of loggerheads that nest in the Dry Tortugas -- the smallest subpopulation of lunkhead in the northwestward Atlantic and discovered that the turtleneck actually spend a considerable portion of their lives in the Bahama Islands.Meanwhile returning to the Dry Tortugas to nest every two-to-five years. "Collaborative conservation efforts focused on protecting important loggerhead residence and foraging orbit between the United State and Bahamas could offer significant shelter for the Dry Tortugas loggerheads," said USGS Research Ecologist Kristen Hart, lead author of the work . "Two other subpopulations of loggerheads that nest in Northern and Peninsular Florida and also travel to residence areas in the Bahamas would benefit from this protection as well." The current estimation of the subpopulation of loggerheads that nest in the Dry Tortugas is between 258-496 females. Scientist remain concerned about the ongoing threat to this population which includes departure or debasement of nesting habitat from coastal development and beach armoring; disorientation of hatchlings by beachfront firing ; nest predation by native and non-native predators; degradation of foraging habitat; marine contamination and debris ; watercraft smasher ; disease ; and incidental take from channel dredging and commercial trawling, longline and gill net fisheries. Many loggerhead sea polo-neck that nest in Dry Tortugas National Park head to rich feeding sites in the Bahamas after nesting, a discovery that may help those working to protect this threatened species to gather information to protect them.
Science Daily
May 2015
People living or workings near active voice natural gases may be exposed to certain pollutants at higher levels than the Environmental Security Agency considers safe for lifetime exposure. According to a scientist from Oregon State University and the University of Cincinnati . "We shuffle these calculations to put our determination in context with other, similar peril assessments and to comparability the levels we found with the EPA 's acceptable risk level." The study has other caveats, Phil Sherwood Anderson said," the main one being the small number of non-random sampling used." The study, in which appears in the journal Environmental Science & Technology's online variant , is part of a larger project co-LED by the University of Cincinnati's Erin Haynes, OSU's Anderson, her alumnus student Blair Paulik and Laurel Kincl, director of OSU's Environmental Health Science Center. The researchers found that hydraulic fracturing, a technique for releasing natural gas from below-ground rock formations, emits pollutants known as PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), which includes some that are linked with increased risk of cancer and respiratory ailment . Anderson and her workfellow collected air samples from site near active natural gas wells in Charles Dodgson County, Ohio, over a three-calendar week geological period last February. By looking at the ratios of individual PAHs detected by the taste tester , Anderson and her team were able to discern whether they came directly from Earth -- a "petrogenic" source -- or from "pyrogenic" sources like the burning of fossil fuels.
People living or workings near active voice natural gases may be exposed to certain pollutants at higher levels than the Environmental Security Agency considers safe for lifetime exposure. According to a scientist from Oregon State University and the University of Cincinnati . "We shuffle these calculations to put our determination in context with other, similar peril assessments and to comparability the levels we found with the EPA 's acceptable risk level." The study has other caveats, Phil Sherwood Anderson said," the main one being the small number of non-random sampling used." The study, in which appears in the journal Environmental Science & Technology's online variant , is part of a larger project co-LED by the University of Cincinnati's Erin Haynes, OSU's Anderson, her alumnus student Blair Paulik and Laurel Kincl, director of OSU's Environmental Health Science Center. The researchers found that hydraulic fracturing, a technique for releasing natural gas from below-ground rock formations, emits pollutants known as PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), which includes some that are linked with increased risk of cancer and respiratory ailment . Anderson and her workfellow collected air samples from site near active natural gas wells in Charles Dodgson County, Ohio, over a three-calendar week geological period last February. By looking at the ratios of individual PAHs detected by the taste tester , Anderson and her team were able to discern whether they came directly from Earth -- a "petrogenic" source -- or from "pyrogenic" sources like the burning of fossil fuels.
May 2015