Argonne points the way to a sustainable circular economy for plastics
Argonne National LaboratoryArgonne scientists are studying the environmental and economic impact of plastic bottles using mechanical, chemical and upcycling recycling approaches.
Argonne scientists are studying the environmental and economic impact of plastic bottles using mechanical, chemical and upcycling recycling approaches.
Businessman and international investor Arif Efendi shares his thoughts on the positive implications of global renewable energy efforts.
Air pollution, a warm bedroom, and high levels of carbon dioxide and ambient noise may all adversely affect our ability to get a good night’s sleep, suggests a study from researchers with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Louisville.
The high seas have been colonized by a surprising number of coastal marine invertebrate species, which can now survive and reproduce in the open ocean, contributing strongly to the floating community composition.
University Hospitals (UH) Cleveland Medical Center is interested in sustainability with two primary goals: to raise sustainability and climate change awareness among employees through educational events, and to set manageable sustainability and net zero emissions goals that lead to a broader impact on health and the environment.
Using a new detection method, UC Riverside scientists found a massive amount of methane, a super-potent greenhouse gas, coming from wildfires — a source not currently being accounted for by state air quality managers.
Plastic debris particles smaller than 5 mm in size, known as microplastics (MPs), are a serious environmental concern.
PCB has been banned in most countries since the 1970s, but that doesn't mean it no longer exists. Now, deep-sea researchers report that they have found PCB at the bottom of the Atacama Trench in the Pacific Ocean.
The Virginia Tech media relations office has the following experts available for interviews surrounding the environment, energy, and sustainability. To schedule an interview, please contact [email protected]. Rising seas threatens U.S. coastlines and cities A recently released report from the U.N. on climate change found that rising sea levels are "unavoidable for centuries to millennia due to continuing deep ocean warming and ice sheet melt, and sea levels will remain elevated for thousands of years.
A new analysis of the carbon footprint of products used in the five most common surgical operations carried out in the NHS in England shows that 68% of carbon contributions come from single-use items, such as single-use gowns, patient drapes and instrument table drapes.
The demand for precious metals and rare earths is expected to continue increasing in the future. Due to limited production areas, recycling from precision equipment and recovering from seawater and hot spring water are needed to ensure a stable supply.
Methamphetamine, nicotine, caffeine and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) were detected in downtown Auckland air in the first study of its type in New Zealand and Australia.
Nitrogen dioxide is one of the criteria air pollutants that plays an important role as a precursor gas of fine particulate matter and ozone. NO2 emissions are known to be primarily generated by industrial facilities or vehicle exhausts.
A University of Adelaide-led study will investigate if mixing a variety of compounds, including biserrula, into cow feed that contains seaweed, can reduce the amount of methane produced by livestock.
Since the 1950s, humanity has produced an estimated 8.3bn tons of plastic, adding a further 380m tons to this amount each year. Only 9% of this gets recycled.
In Applied Physics Letters, researchers in the U.K. introduce a novel imaging method to detect gold nanoparticles in woodlice. Their method, known as four-wave mixing microscopy, flashes light that the gold nanoparticles absorb. The light flashes again and the subsequent scattering reveals the nanoparticles’ locations. With information about the quantity, location, and impact of gold nanoparticles within the organism, scientists can better understand the potential harm other metals may have on nature.
Nearly 20 percent of today’s electricity in the United States comes from nuclear power. The U.S. has the largest nuclear fleet in the world, with 92 reactors scattered around the country. Many of these power plants have run for more than half a century and are approaching the end of their expected lifetimes.
A research team led by Dr. Jiwon Lee and Youngtak Oh of the Sustainable Environment Research Center at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST, President Seok-Yeol Yoon) announced that they developed an activated carbon manufacturing technology that dramatically improves the removal of four representative nitrogen-containing odorous compounds (NOCs) from air: ammonia, ethylamine, dimethylamine, and trimethylamine.
A team of air-quality researchers at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) expects to receive vital data from a new NASA instrument launched into space on Space X’s Falcon 9 rocket toward its host geostationary satellite, Intelsat 40e, on Friday, April 7.The Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) is the first spectrometer instrument that will collect hourly daytime observations of major air pollutants over greater North America, revolutionizing scientific capabilities to monitor air quality.
Human activities emit many kinds of pollutants into the air, and without a molecule called hydroxide (OH), many of these pollutants would keep aggregating in the atmosphere. How OH itself forms in the atmosphere was viewed as a complete story, but in new research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a research team that includes Sergey Nizkorodov, a University of California, Irvine professor of chemistry, report that a strong electric field that exists at the surface between airborne water droplets and the surrounding air can create OH by a previously unknown mechanism.
Water in California’s Central Valley contains enough manganese to cause cognitive disabilities and motor control issues in children, and Parkinson’s-like symptoms in adults.
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced today that Monica P. Medina, the first diplomat in the U.S. designated to advocate for global biodiversity, has been named WCS President and CEO, effective June 1, 2023.
Being the most abundant and persistent greenhouse gas emitted, carbon dioxide (CO2) is the key driver of climate change.
The health and environmental harms of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are well-known, but a new peer-reviewed study calls into question their touted stain-fighting benefits.
Current methods to monitor red tide are limited. Using AUTOHOLO, a new autonomous, submersible, 3D holographic microscope and imaging system, a study is the first to characterize red tide in the field and breaks new ground for monitoring harmful algal blooms.
A new analysis has found rapidly increasing emissions between 2010 and 2020 of five ozone-depleting chemicals whose production for most uses had been banned under the Montreal Protocol.
As Earth’s population grows, the demands of modern lifestyles place mounting strain on the global environment. Proposed solutions to preserve and promote planetary sustainability can sometimes prove more harmful than helpful. However, technologies that harness natural processes could be more successful.
New analysis has found increasing emissions of several ozone-depleting chemicals despite their production being banned for most uses under the Montreal Protocol – and a loophole in the rules is likely responsible.
Lehigh Engineering researcher Arup SenGupta has developed a novel way to capture carbon dioxide from the air and store it in the “infinite sink” of the ocean.
Media are invited to participate in a teleconference discussing the upcoming launch of TEMPO on Wednesday, April 5. TEMPO will soon provide the first-ever hourly scans of air pollution over greater North America.
A large portion of the nearly 200 million tons of single-use plastic produced globally ends up discarded as waste. The eventual breakdown of this plastic into microplastics–0.1–1000 µm-sized particles–is a cause for concern.
Research published today shows how countries have contributed to global warming through their emissions of key greenhouse gases since 1850 - marking a new effort to track impacts in a critical decade for climate policy.
The Institute for the Cooperative Upcycling of Plastics (iCOUP) is helping to address the plastic waste accumulation problem by developing the science needed to turn used plastic into valuable materials.
Recordings of media briefings will be posted by 10 a.m. Eastern Time on each day. Watch recorded media briefings at: www.acs.org/ACSSpring2023briefings.
The road to a net-zero future must be paved with greener concrete, and Rice University scientists know how to make it.
Researchers at the University of Toronto, Indiana University and University of Notre Dame have detected levels of toxic PFAS chemicals—short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—for the first time in Canadian fast-food packaging, specifically water-and-grease repellent paper alternatives to plastic.
Colorful microplastics — less than 5 mm wide — drift along under the surface of most waterways. Now, a team reports a two-stage device made with steel tubes and pulsing sound waves to remove these potentially harmful particles from water samples. They will present their results at ACS Spring 2023.
If you live along one of the major interstate highways running through Chicago or directly next to Lake Michigan, you are regularly exposed to more air pollution than the rest of the city, a new Northwestern University study has found.
See how CSU faculty and students are studying ways to capture stormwater and strengthen drought resilience.
In an effort to improve understanding of pulmonary fibrosis (PF) and interstitial lung disease (ILD), data from the PFF Registry is presenting researchers with opportunities to accelerate understanding of PF and ILD to improve patient outcomes.
More than 1 million Californians live near active oil or gas wells, potentially exposing them to drilling-related pollution that can contribute to asthma, preterm births and a variety of other health problems.
A study has found that infrastructure worldwide is widespread in sites that have been identified as internationally important for biodiversity, and its prevalence is likely to increase.
Wetlands occupy about 6% of the Earth's surface but store one-third of global soil organic carbon. Increasing evidence shows that climate warming is altering the function and service of wetland ecosystems.
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have developed a new method that can easily purify contaminated water using a cellulose-based material.
Research published in Environmental Research Letters has shown that methane emissions from urban areas are underestimated by a factor of three to four and that untreated wastewater may be a contributing factor.
Seven Berkeley Lab scientists contributed to research behind a new United Nations report that says limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels requires cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 – and that we have the tools to make a difference now.
A global treaty called the Minamata Convention requires gold-mining countries to regularly report the amount of toxic mercury that miners are using to find and extract gold, designed to help nations gauge success toward at least minimizing a practice that produces the world’s largest amount of manmade mercury pollution.
Rising temperatures and higher CO₂ levels are fueling longer and more intense pollen seasons, negatively impacting the health of those with allergies. A medical expert and public health scientist both offer strategies to fight back.