Tag: environment
GOP-backed transportation bill slashes funding for cycling, pedestrian facilities
A Republican transportation bill seeks to eliminate the $1.6 billion in federal transportation funds that has been used to add bike lanes, improve sidewalk, create curb cuts and otherwise enhance roadways to make them more friendly to cyclists and pedestrians....
Kansas student researching how plant waste could become building material
The substance that gives plant cells their rigid nature, the same substance that binds trees together, is typically discarded as waste in the agricultural process. But a Kansas State University student is researching how that waste, lignin, may be used in construction....
University professor developing environmentally conscious cement
A Drexel University professor is trying to reduce the environmental impact of cement — one of the most ubiquitous materials on earth. So far, he's had success in all of the areas that matter....
Norway's musk oxen provide warning of climate change consequences
Norway's musk oxen are doing well today, but just a few years ago, when temperatures reached record highs, they died in unprecedented numbers. Now scientists say that may have been a warning of what is to come if the Earth's temperature continues to rise....
Dutch company turns cremation remains into global charity
When a body is cremated, if it has any metal parts, like a titanium hip, those metal parts are left behind. For years it was either buried in graves or sent to the dump. But a Dutch company, OrthoMetals, has a business that gathers those materials and processes them for industrial reuse, sending the proceeds to charity....
Farmers in Mozambique trying to adapt farming to climate change
As the rain and water in Mozambique becomes less predictable and less suited to subsistence farming, aid groups and the local government are trying to help some change the way they farm so they're not so paralyzed by a flood or a drought. But there's a lot of work to do....
Maldives working to be carbon-neutral by 2020
About two years ago, the Maldives announced the nation would be carbon-neutral by 2020. That's a tall order for a country that spends 15 percent of GDP on diesel fuel, but work is progressing toward that goal....
Nitrogen pollution an increasing problem globally
Nitrogen fertilizers have been crucial to feeding the increasing number of mouths on earth, but the pollution they leave behind has real consequences that have costs of their own....
Despite tepid demand, automakers rushing hybrids to market
Hybrid cars account for just 2.5 percent of the car market despite being on the market for about a decade. But automakers continue to offer more, perhaps in hopes they'll help balance out their fuel efficiency average....
VIDEO: Solar storm, radiation lashing earth's atmosphere
After a lengthy quiet period, activity on the surface of the sun is picking up again and it's sending radiation toward Earth. Though there's no risk on the ground, certain satellites and high-flying airplanes could be at risk to communications breakdowns....
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