Feature Channels: Pollution

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Researchers in the U.S. and Germany decided to explore which pathways transport debris to the middle of the oceans, causing garbage patches, as well as the relative strengths of different subtropical gyres and how they influence long-term accumulation of debris. In Chaos, they report creating a model of the oceans' surface dynamics from historical trajectories of surface buoys. Their model describes the probability of plastic debris being transported from one region to another.

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If you’re looking for an indoor space with a low level of particulate air pollution, a commercial airliner flying at cruising altitude may be your best option. A newly reported study of air quality in indoor spaces such as stores, restaurants, offices, public transportation — and commercial jets — shows aircraft cabins with the lowest levels of tiny aerosol particles.

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George Peridas, director of carbon management partnerships, and staff scientist Briana Schmidt from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, will be available to discuss results from a new report titled “Permitting Carbon Capture and Storage in California” that examined the regulatory framework for authorizing carbon capture and storage in California and offers options for government and project developers to enable robust, transparent and efficient project permitting in line with the state’s goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2045 or earlier.

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To reach economy-wide carbon-neutrality by 2045 or earlier, California will likely have to capture, transport and geologically store tens of millions of tons per year of carbon dioxide (CO2) from large sources and from the atmosphere. California has an extensive regulatory framework that is rigorous, robust and will safeguard the environment, public health and safety during these activities. However, this framework cannot handle the timely permitting and deployment of sufficient projects to protect the rapidly worsening climate and support achieving the state’s climate goals, according to a report by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).

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Takeaway coffees – they’re a convenient start for millions of people each day, but while the caffeine perks us up, the disposable cups drag us down, with nearly 300 billion ending up in landfill each year. While most coffee drinkers are happy to make a switch to sustainable practices, new research from the University of South Australia shows that an absence of infrastructure and a general ‘throwaway’ culture is severely delaying sustainable change.

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Rutgers scientists for the first time have pinpointed the sizes of microplastics from a highly urbanized estuarine and coastal system with numerous sources of fresh water, including the Hudson River and Raritan River. Their study of tiny pieces of plastic in the Hudson-Raritan Estuary in New Jersey and New York indicates that stormwater could be an important source of the plastic pollution that plagues oceans, bays, rivers and other waters and threatens aquatic and other life.

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Eminent scientists warn that key ecosystems around Australia and Antarctica are collapsing, and propose a three-step framework to combat irreversible global damage.

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Measuring carbon nanotubes taken up by plants

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In a long-term study in a Salt Lake-area building, researchers found that the amount of air pollution that comes indoors depends on the type of outdoor pollution. Wildfires, fireworks and wintertime inversions all affect indoor air to different degrees.

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Increasingly, scientists are recognizing that negative emissions technologies (NETs) to remove and sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere will be an essential component in the strategy to mitigate climate change. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), a multidisciplinary Department of Energy research lab, is pursuing a portfolio of negative emissions technologies and related research.

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There are millions of unplugged oil wells in the United States, which pose a serious threat to the environment. Using drones, researchers from Binghamton University, State University of New York have developed a new method to locate these hard-to-locate and dangerous wells.

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The first global-scale assessment of the role ecosystems play in providing sanitation finds that nature provides at least 18% of sanitation services in 48 cities worldwide, according to researchers in the United Kingdom and India.

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On Tuesday in an interview on Fox News with Sean Hannity, Texas Governor Greg Abbott blamed the outages on wind turbines and on the "Green New Deal." Rolling blackouts have ravaged Texas after a winter storm created a sudden spike in energy demand and hamstrung production of natural gas, coal, nuclear, and wind energy.

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Most Chinese working in the cities return to work today after a 7-day public holiday of Spring Festival.

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The 10 year anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident occurs in March.

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A pioneering study of U.S nitrogen use in agriculture has identified 20 places across the country where farmers, government, and citizens should target nitrogen reduction efforts. The 20 nitrogen "hotspots of opportunity"--which appear on a striking map--represent a whopping 63% of the total surplus nitrogen balance in U.S. croplands, but only 24% of U.S. cropland area. Nitrogen inputs are so high in these areas that farmers can most likely reduce nitrogen use without hurting crop yields.

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Rutgers Poison expert discusses the need for increased precautions around gas appliances and other CO sources

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An international group of leading fertiliser and soils experts have published a major review of the status of the toxic heavy metal cadmium in agricultural systems around the world.

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A new study finds that California's commuters are likely inhaling chemicals at levels that increase the risk for cancer and birth defects.

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After a mysterious and sharp increase between 2012 and 2017 that could be traced to eastern China global emissions of a potent (and banned) substance notorious for depleting the Earth’s ozone layer – the protective barrier that absorbs the Sun’s harmful UV rays – have fallen rapidly in recent years and are now as low as never before since measurements began in this region in 2008, according to new atmospheric analyses published in "Nature" today.

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Adopting policies that are consistent with achieving the Paris Agreement and prioritize health, could annually save millions of lives due to healthier diets, cleaner air, and increased physical activity.

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Global emissions of a potent substance notorious for depleting the Earth’s ozone layer – the protective barrier which absorbs the Sun’s harmful UV rays – have fallen rapidly and are now back on the decline, according to new research.

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New York City’s transit system exposes riders to more inhaled pollutants than any other metropolitan subway system in the Northeastern United States, a new study finds. Yet even its “cleaner” neighbors struggle with enough toxins to give health-conscious travelers pause.

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A new study in Frontiers in Communication has demonstrated the powerful impact that subtle messaging and cues, or 'nudges', can provide on encouraging people to show socially desirable behaviors.

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Rivers and lakes at high latitudes are considered to be major sources for greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere, but these losses are poorly constrained.

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A 30-year high in East African rainfall during 2018 and 2019 resulted in rising water levels and widespread flooding.

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Some cities’ self-reported emissions are as much as 145 percent below standardized estimates, distorting the data on which climate change policy actions are based.

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That is the question that Prof. Alan Deidun, resident academic within the Department of Geosciences of the Faculty of Science, along with a cohort of high-profile co-authors, posed within a study recently published in the Microplastics and Nanoplastics journal.

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In a new study published this week in the journal Hypertension, researchers at University Hospitals (UH) and Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Medicine found intensive BP lowering is effective in reducing cardiovascular risk in patients exposed to high levels of air pollution.

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NIH researchers and their collaborators found that inhaling unfragmented hyaluronan improves lung function in patients suffering from severe exacerbation of COPD. Hyaluronan is a sugar secreted by living tissue that acts as a scaffold for cells. Utilized as a treatment, hyaluronan decreased the number of days in the hospital.

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In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers discovered that light pollution leads to more than just wasted energy and washed-out starlight--it can increase the likelihood of a preterm birth by almost 13%.

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Methane emissions from coal mining are likely much higher than previously calculated, according to new research. That’s due mainly to emissions from abandoned mines and higher methane content in deep coal seams.

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Irvine, Calif., Jan. 27, 2021 — One of President Joe Biden’s first post-inauguration acts was to realign the United States with the Paris climate accord, but a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Irvine demonstrates that rising emissions from human land-use will jeopardize the agreement’s goals without substantial changes in agricultural practices.

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The Ganges River - with the combined flows of the Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers - could be responsible for up to 3 billion microplastic particles entering the Bay of Bengal every day, according to new research.

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Living near an abundance of green vegetation can offset the negative effects of air pollution on blood vessel health. The first-of-its-kind study is published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology.

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Just how close are the world's countries to achieving the Paris Agreement target of keeping climate change limited to a 1.5°C increase above pre-industrial levels?

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Oxygen levels in the ancient oceans were surprisingly resilient to climate change, new research suggests.

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Cars, trains, planes: For two thirds of the European population, traffic noise is part of everyday life. However, the right environment can have a major impact on this nuisance, as Empa researchers have found out. Green spaces in urban areas help to make road and railroad noise less of a nuisance. Only in the case of aircraft noise does this seem counterproductive: the greener the surroundings, the more disturbing the aircraft noise.

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“Swiss Army knife” catalyst can bring the combustion temperature of methane down by about half – from above 1400 degrees Kelvin down to 600 to 700 degrees Kelvin.

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Positive "tipping points" could spark cascading changes that accelerate action on climate change, experts say.

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The American Thoracic Society opposes the EPA’s final rule on Data Transparency issued in the waning days of the Trump Administration. The final rule, which is the focus of a press conference today, is a continuation of the Trump Administration's persistent attack on the science showing the adverse health effects of environmental pollution. This rule would exclude vital scientific data from future EPA decision-making and make patient confidential information more vulnerable to public disclosure.

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A fast, green and one-step method for producing porous carbon spheres, which are a vital component for carbon capture technology and for new ways of storing renewable energy, has been developed by Swansea University researchers.

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Mussels, oysters and scallops have the highest levels of microplastic contamination among seafood, a new study reveals.

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Air pollution in India resulted 1.67 million deaths in 2019 - the largest pollution-related death toll in any country in the world - and also accounted for $36.8 billion (US) in economic losses, according to a new study led by researchers from the Global Observatory on Pollution and Health at Boston College, the Indian Council of Medical Research, and the Public Health Foundation of India.

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By examining tiny particles of gold with powerful X-ray beams, scientists hope they can learn how to cut down on harmful carbon monoxide emissions from motor vehicles.

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• Exposure to higher amounts of fine particulate air pollution was associated with a greater likelihood of having chronic kidney disease. • This link was stronger in urban areas, males, younger adults, and adults without comorbid diseases.

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Since 2014, the University of Utah has maintained research-grade suites of air quality instruments installed on light rail trains. These mobile sensors cover the same area as 30 stationary sensors, providing the Salt Lake Valley with a highly cost-effective way to monitor its greenhouse emissions and fill in gaps in emissions estimates.

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In an effort to understand the potential risks associated with exposure to micro/nanoplastics, the Emerging Risks of Micro/nanoplastics: Perspectives From Diverse Sectors symposia at the 2020 Society for Risk Analysis virtual Annual Meeting, December 13-17, 2020, aims to highlight the current state of knowledge associated with physical and chemical transformation, hazard characterization, environmental effects, social implications and policy limitations.  

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Study examines the positive effects of wetlands on water quality and the potential for using wetland restoration as a key strategy for improving water quality, particularly in the Mississippi River Basin and Gulf of Mexico regions