Feature Channels: Pollution

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Thirty-eight Chinese cities have reduced their emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide (CO2) despite growing economies and populations for at least five years - defined as proactively peaked cities, a new study reveals.

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Citizen scientists spent thousands of hours observing trash on beaches in Washington and Oregon. Their surveys show that certain beaches, and certain areas of a single beach, are “sticky zones” that accumulate litter. Finding patterns for where litter lands could help to better prevent and remove trash in the marine environment.

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Today, scientists report preliminary work calculating how inequities in pollution exposure fluctuate daily across 11 major U.S. cities. And in some places, climate change could exacerbate these differences. They will present their results at ACS Fall 2022.

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Berkeley Lab scientists first identified thirdhand smoke as a potential health hazard a decade ago. Their newest study shows that concentrations of toxic chemicals lingering in indoor environments where cigarettes have been smoked can exceed safety guidelines, meaning that non-smokers can be exposed to health risks by living in contaminated spaces.

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From fecal bacteria to blue-green algae to red tides, Southwest Florida’s water quality has declined as its population has increased. Multiple lines of evidence from a multi-year microbial source tracking study points to septic systems as a contributing source for this decline. The study is one of few to connect downstream harmful algal blooms with nutrient loading from upstream septic systems. These water quality issues are caused by aging septic systems installed in high densities in areas with shallow water tables. Septic systems may actually be sitting in groundwater during certain times of the year, which means that they cannot function properly.

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Plant-based alternatives to beef have the potential to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but new economic models show their growth in popularity could disrupt the agricultural workforce, threatening more than 1.5 million industry jobs.

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Journalists who register for the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society will have access to nearly 11,000 presentations on topics including food, energy, pollution mitigation, health and more. ACS Fall 2022 is a hybrid meeting being held virtually and in-person in Chicago on Aug. 21–25.

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Excessive carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel consumption lead to serious climate and environmental problems, such as increasing global average temperature and sea-level rise.

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California’s McKinney Fire grew to become the state’s largest fire so far this year. The risk of wildfire is rising globally due to climate change. Below are some of the latest articles that have been added to the Wildfires channel on Newswise.

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West Virginia University researchers are exploring the potential for certain grasses planted on reclaimed mine land to help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. A grant will support the two-year study at WVU’s West Virginia Water Research Institute.

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A study of 29 European lakes has found that some naturally-occurring lake bacteria grow faster and more efficiently on the remains of plastic bags than on natural matter like leaves and twigs.

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Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are tackling a global water challenge with a unique material designed to target not one, but two toxic, heavy metal pollutants for simultaneous removal.

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New research refining the amount of sunlight absorbed by black carbon in smoke from wildfires will help clear up a long-time weak spot in earth system models, enabling more accurate forecasting of global climate change.

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Air pollution remains a silent killer in Massachusetts, responsible for an estimated 2,780 deaths a year and for measurable cognitive loss in Bay State children exposed to fine particulate pollutants in the air they breathe, according to a new study by researchers at Boston College’s Global Observatory on Planetary Health.

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The latest research news in Climate Science on Newswise.

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Factory farming for meat production is harmful to the environment. In addition to its direct emissions of methane, its use of liquid manure releases climate-damaging nitrogen compounds such as ammonia and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere and pollutes the groundwater with nitrates. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have analyzed how the liquid manure produced by livestock farming, which is often used as fertilizer, affects its nitrogen footprint. They showed that the nitrogen pollution caused by liquid manure from the production of beef is three times higher than that for pork and eight times higher than that for poultry

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A new study led by the University of Washington has added evidence showing that both prenatal and postnatal exposure to air pollution can harm kids.

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A sound scientific basis exists for climate liability claims between individual countries, according to a Dartmouth study.

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New research published today in the peer-reviewed journal Science examines the potential for underwater noise pollution from seabed mining operations, which could affect the understudied species that live in the deep sea—the largest habitat on Earth.

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Many people are familiar with the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica, but what is less well known is that occasionally, the protective ozone in the stratosphere over the Arctic is destroyed as well, thinning the ozone layer there. This last happened in the spring months of 2020, and before that, in the spring of 2011.

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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought the threat of nuclear warfare to the forefront. But how would modern nuclear detonations impact the world today? A new study published today provides stark information on the global impact of nuclear war.

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Mayo Clinic recently joined the Better Climate Challenge, an initiative launched by the Department of Energy that encourages organizations to set ambitious goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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Roasting green chile is a cultural touchstone in New Mexico, but burning propane to roast the peppers leads to a seasonal emission of approximately 7,800 metric tons of carbon dioxide — the equivalent of driving 1,700 cars for a year.

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Activities beyond campus – such as business air travel, student commutes and purchases of goods like lab equipment – account for more than 60% of Cornell University’s carbon emissions, according to new research that analyzed the university’s greenhouse gas consumption through the lens of the COVID-19 pandemic.