Tag: pollution
New research points to big changes, not necessarily disappearance, for coral reefs
Scientists who study climate change and ocean environments have made several recent discoveries. Their findings have challenged the conventional wisdom that climate change could eliminate coral reefs. What they've found is that they probably won't disappear, but they will see major changes....
Gold mining leads to massive lead contamination, deaths in rural Nigeria
Nigeria's seen a boom in gold mining in recent years, with the sky-high price of gold globally. But in Nigeria, unlike most places, gold runs with lead. As villagers mine the gold, they're also mining lead, leading to massive contamination of their villages and even deaths....
Proposed EPA regulation will make it difficult for new coal power plants to be approved
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a regulation that will require new coal power plants to have dramatically lower carbon dioxide emissions. The standards are so tough that the plants would so expensive that we may not see many new coal plants in the country. But there are a lot of exceptions....
U.S. Clean Air Act is back in court
A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., heard two days of oral arguments in a case pitting coal, oil and steel industry groups against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The coalition that took the EPA to court claims Clean Air Act regulations are unfounded and burdensome for businesses....
A spectacle of biodiversity thrives off the shores of Yemen
The archipelago known as Socotra consists of four small islands located 250 miles off the coast of Yemen. Socotra, known as the “Galapagos of the Middle East,” is populated by hundreds of species that cannot be found anywhere else on the planet — and tourists are flocking there....
VIDEO: Research suggests oceans rapidly becoming more acidic
Scientists at Columbia University have concluded that the Earth's oceans are becoming more acidic at an unprecedented rate — increasing more quickly than in the Earth's history, based on a review of oceanic fossils. It could bring disaster for marine life....
California officials introduce initiative to bring down vehicle emissions
The California Air Resources Board announced an initiative that seeks to bring down vehicle emissions by 15 percent by 2025. The Zero Emission Vehicle initiative should cause car companies to develop new technology for alternative fuel sources....
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....
Online community seeks to enable documentation of environmental conditions
At Eye on Earth, scientists are collaborating to share data about environmental conditions, but they want help from the community to help broaden their base of information and hopefully improve the world....
