Tag: environment
Deadly London smog incident recalled on 60th anniversary
Some 60 years ago, London was enveloped by an extraordinary fog, even by that soupy city's standards. And it wasn't just fog, it was smog, from coal furnaces and factories. It was also deadly, killing as many as 4,000 people over a four-day period....
Birds in Mexico use cigarette butts to keep parasites at bay
Birds nests attract pests and parasites, like mites and lice. In Mexico, some birds have identified a way to keep the pests at bay, by taking discarded cigarette butts and weaving them into their nests. It remains to be seen, though, whether there are negative impacts on the birds as well....
CIA closes down intelligence center focused on climate change
The Central Intelligence Agency for a few years has operated a group focused on examining how climate change could affect U.S. National Security. But, recently, the desk has been shutdown, which some environmentalists say is because of opposition from Republicans in Congress....
New report finds people of color disproportionately harmed by coal-fired power
A new report from U.S. researchers has found that of the 378 largest coal-fired power plants in this country, a disproportionate amount are in close proximity to low-income community and communities of people of color....
Warming climate presents grave risk of greenhouse gas release in Arctic
Deep beneath the frozen Arctic are deposits of methane. Lots of methane. And there's even more on the sea floor. As the environment warms, these deposits are being released into the atmosphere, presenting grave risks of runaway warming....
New U.S.-Mexico agreement promises to restore water to Colorado River delta
The Colorado River Delta runs dry before it reaches the ocean in Mexico. It's meant that a once-lush habitat has turned into a large, dry mud flat. But a new water-use agreement between the United States and Mexico seeks to change that....
Architect proposes natural-inspired rethink of New York City waterfront
Rather than build large, immovable concrete and steel structures to hold back rising oceans, architect Adam Yarinsky suggests we focus on shaping the shoreline how nature did, with an emphasis on green space and absorbing the rising tides, rather than just trying to push it back....
Scientist takes inspiration from natural world to create self-filling water bottle
Sometimes, nature knows the best way to solve a problem. There's a beetle that lives in a part of the world where less than .5 inches of rain fall per year. So the beetle draws water from the air, and now a businessman is trying to harness that idea to create, among other things, a self-filling water bottle....
New model says science under-estimates climate change
John Fasullo's trying to get some of the uncertainty out of predicting climate change. He says many of our current models aren't accurate, and are being used to under-represent the consequences of our warming planet....
Climate scientist links Arctic melting to U.S. weather fluctuations
Ask Jennifer Francis about Hurricane Sandy and she'll point north. Ask her about this summer's midwestern drought, she'll point north, all the way to the Arctic. She's linked Arctic ice melting with fluctuations in global weather....
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