Better designed oil filters and less frequent oil changes are two ways to reduce the health and environmental threats of used motor oil, according to a new study published in the Jan. 15 issue of Environmental Science & Technology, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.
The approximately one billion gallons of used oil generated in the United States each year comes primarily from lubricating oils — motor and transmission oils —
Study shown fallen leaves play a role in the food web
Aquatic plants form the base of the food web. The energy they create supports aquatic life, from invertebrates to the largest sport fish. Now, a study shows that aquatic plants are receiving a little help from trees. In a paper in this week’s issue of the journal Nature, Michael Pace and Jonathan Cole of the Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York, along with colleagues from Wisconsin and Sweden, indicate that a
Civil engineer Heather MacLean examines environmental impact of automobiles from plant to scrapyard
Although she leads a national research team on automotive life-cycle assessments, studies the future of hybrid electric and hydrogen fuel cell cars and takes the subway to work, the car sitting in her driveway is a rusty 1987 BMW. And although she rarely drives it, her attachment to the vehicle speaks volumes about the challenges of shifting to newer, low-emission vehicles. “I like my
Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast will be helping to develop the automotive engines of the future, thanks to a new £1 million facility which opens on Friday.
Work in the Engine Test Laboratories will include developing and improving engines for better fuel economy and reducing harmful exhaust emissions which contribute to global warming.
The new facility is part of the University’s world class Virtual Engineering Centre (VEC), which carries out cutting edge research focusing
Eating salmon may pose health risks
A study of more than two metric tons of North American, South American and European salmon has shown that PCBs and other environmental toxins are present at higher levels in farm-raised salmon than in their wild counterparts.
Researchers at Indiana University and five other research centers say increased toxin levels in farm-raised salmon may pose health risks to people who eat the economically important fish. Their study, which appears in
Less than five years after being removed from the endangered species list, peregrine falcons could be facing a new threat. A Swedish study found that eggs of peregrine falcons in that country contain high levels of a popular flame retardant, deca-BDE, which scientists have long thought could not get into wildlife. Falcons in North America are likely to face the same threat, the researchers say.
The birds’ eggs contained some of the highest levels of BDEs (brominated diphenyl ethers) ev
Climate change could drive more than a quarter of land animals and plants into extinction, according to a major new study published in tomorrow’s edition of the journal Nature
The study estimates that climate change projected to take place between now and the year 2050 will place 15 to 37 percent of all species in several biodiversity-rich regions at risk of extinction. The scientists believe there is a high likelihood of extinctions due to climate change in other regions, as well.
Big ideas for reducing the impacts of climate change are being evaluated by an international line-up of leading scientists from the US, mainland Europe and the UK at a symposium in Cambridge this week. The scientists are coming together to evaluate which large-scale bio-engineering, geo-engineering and chemical engineering ideas to combat global warming are worthy of further investigation, and which are best left on the drawing board. The meeting is being jointly hosted by the Tyndall Centre for Clim
New Caledonia harbours 45% of species of the family Araucariaceae, belonging to the conifers, recorded in the world, divided between the two genera Araucaria (columnar pines) and Agathis (kaoris). These species are valuable for their ecological, economic and heritage interest, but some are under threat. IRD botanists, who have been studying the flora of New Caledonia for many years, jointly with the Natural Resources Department of the Southern Province of New Caledonia, have just published the first
Designing underground fuel tanks that don’t leak rather than replacing MTBE with alternative fuel additives could be a better way to prevent groundwater contamination, according to new research that will appear in the Jan. 1 issue of Environmental Science & Technology, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.
The study, which involved more than 850 leaking underground fuel tanks in the Los Angeles area, suggests that expande
Russian scientists’ efforts targeted to recover European bison (Bison bonasus) which are exterminated everywhere have succeeded. According to the results of the all-Russian accounting of the bison quantity, their population has grown by 20% within the last five years. Herds of these relic ungulates living at large is a dream that has good chances to come true.
The last wild bison were exterminated by 1927, only 48 animals remained scattered all over the Zoos of different countries, although
As a new outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever strikes northwestern Congo, ESA is set to gather satellite data to help resolve the scientific enigma of this deadly disease.
Whenever Ebola strikes Central Africa it can kill in large numbers. More than two dozen people have so far died during the latest epidemic, centred on the town of Mbomo in the Cuvette West region of Congo, near the Gabon border.
The disease causes runaway internal bleeding in humans and also apes. The Ebola virus
Scientist plans similar studies on tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay
A study released in early December by a group of scientists shows that hormones leaking into streams from cattle feedlots are altering the sexual characteristics of wild fish.
Edward Orlando, assistant professor of biology at St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM), was the leading author in the study that included researchers from five U.S. institutions. The scientists examined minnows in three streams
Assuming that oil spills such as the one that devastated Alaska’s Prince William Sound almost 15 years ago and other toxic insults to the environment have only short-term impacts on coastal marine ecosystems has been a big mistake, a new study shows.
Oil’s negative effects last far longer, scientists now say, and the findings should be a wake-up call for better environmental research and protection.
The study, conducted by a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill res
It’s hardly an appealing thought but the overpowering fragrance of mothballs in a large wind tunnel could provide the key to improving air quality in our towns and cities.
The tests will improve our understanding of how pollution and heat behave at street level so that more effective ventilation methods can be developed.
The research will be carried out by scientists at the University of Reading in collaboration with EnFlo, based at the University of Surrey, with funding from the
New evidence from satellites, models, and ground observations reveal urban areas, with all their asphalt, buildings, and aerosols, are impacting local and possibly global climate processes. This is according to some of the world’s top scientists convening in a special session at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.
To study urban impact on local rainfall, Dr. J. Marshall Shepherd of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., and Steve Burian of the
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