A Northwestern University environmental engineer has received a U.S. patent for a treatment device that renders perchlorate — a thyroid-damaging ingredient of rocket fuel and a drinking water problem — harmless. The applications extend beyond the safety of drinking water and this one pollutant.
Bruce E. Rittmann, John Evans Professor of Environmental Engineering at the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, received U.S. Patent No. 6,387,262 for a hollow-fiber membra
To help the nature to recover from harmful impacts of the mining industry, Svetlana Mesyats and her team from the Geological Institute of the Kola Research Center RAS offer the method, which implies the application of a thin invisible polymeric film onto the soil surface and provides for a fast and successful minesite recultivation.Polymer Protects Grass
It is not surprising that such a polymeric covering is invented in Apatity. People leaving on the Cola Peninsula often need to dea
The use of key resources such as forests, fisheries and energy is likely to be unsustainable and threaten the ability of SE Asia to build an environmentally and economically stable future in the face of global change, say a group of international scientists meeting in Bali this week.
In the 1980s the rates of deforestation in Southeast Asia ranged between 60,000 hectare per year in Cambodia and 600,000 hectare per year in Indonesia. Twenty years later it became uncontrollable with larger ran
Greening seems to have increased during the 1980s and 1990s in the northern hemisphere from the arctic regions down to the 35th parallel of latitude (roughly southern Europe). This has been shown by measurements from space satellites. Some observers, however, have doubted the reliability of these measurements. In the latest issue of Science, a research team from the Institute for Climatic Impacts Research in Potsdam, the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena, and Lund University presents n
Findings may lead to more effective regulations for protecting public health
Using data from one of the most comprehensive U.S. air pollution studies ever conducted, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as key sources of excess ozone smog in industrial areas of Houston, Texas — which appear to be different from traditional sources of ozone pollution in typical urban areas around the co
Species extinction or `biodiversity loss` has accelerated at an alarming rate over the past century. Although much of the blame has been laid at the door of human activity, biologists are looking at the factors that influence how species-particularly similar species-co-exist, in their efforts to better understand how the balance of species can be maintained.
New research into forest trees by Dr Colleen Kelly of the Division of Ecology and Biodiversity at the University of Southampton has sho
Plymouth researchers will be presenting new research findings at an international conference they are hosting in the city next month.
Professor Paul Worsfold, Co-director of Plymouth Environmental Research Centre (PERC), heads the Plymouth team working on a three-year research project which investigates the role of iron in ocean productivity and climate change. Plymouth is one of 12 European universities taking part in this ‘IRONAGES’ project.
Professor Worsfold commented: “We are
Researchers from the University of East London (UEL) have embarked on a project to investigate the ecology of the atmosphere, one of the last great frontiers of biological exploration on Earth. In an eighteen-month pilot project launched today, a team of microbiologists led by Dr Bruce Moffett aims to discover whether airborne microbes play an active role in forming clouds and causing rain to fall.
The researchers are using a revolutionary `cyclonic cloud catcher`, based on vacuum cleaner te
A plastic “energy flower” that collects solar and wind energy that can then be used to power appliances in the home for free has won a Northumbria University student a top award.
Paul Richardson, a third year design student, won a £1,750 Design International Attachment Award from the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce).
Paul’s award will give him the chance to work with DCA International to research and develop his interest in design.
With the help of biologists and in a radical reversal of roles, the environment could exploit free trade. But with the World Trade Organisation`s legitimacy being challenged as never before, this opportunity is at risk.
“In the prevailing climate, trade protectionism gets equated with environmental protection, free trade with freedom to plunder”, says Dr Douglas Yu at the University of East Anglia`s School of Biological Sciences. “But the WTO could actually drive fundamental environmental re
Marine reserves have rapid and lasting impacts on organisms inside reserves, according to scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
In a paper published in the current issue of ECOLOGY LETTERS, the researchers reviewed 80 studies from `no-take` reserves, where it is illegal to extract organisms in any way. These showed that density, biomass, average size and diversity of organisms inside these reserves reach much higher levels within a short period of time, usually one to th
Research funded by the European Space Agency into ways of feeding future astronauts on missions to Mars is about to find a very down-to-earth application – how to dispose of the sewage sludge left over after wastewater treatment.
The MELISSA (Micro-Ecological Life Support Alternative) project, which ESA is funding in companies and research institutes throughout Europe, is developing a system of recycling as much of the waste as possible produced by astronauts on long-duration space missions
High-energy bubbles scour municipal water filters.
Sound waves could provide a greener way to make tap water taste better.
Ultrasound can make bubbles in water that could clean ceramic filters quickly and cheaply, say Linda Weavers and colleagues of Ohio State University, Columbus 1 . When the bubbles burst, they release energy that makes tiny, but fiercely powerful, jets of water that scour the filter’s surface and flush away debris.
Most municipa
Record low numbers of highly-prized squid have devastated the Falkland Islands fishery this year. Less than 10,000 tonnes have been caught so far, making this the worst year since the fishery began in 1987. As described in this week`s SCIENCE British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists believe unfavourable oceanographic conditions in squid spawning grounds caused the slump in the fishery which is normally worth £17 million ($US 25 million) in licence fees.
The flying squid Illex argentinu
The Italian government recently decided to move forward with planning for the construction of underwater, mobile floodgates to mitigate flooding in Venice, situated on islands in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. The soundness of the plan is discussed by several scientists in the May 14 issue of Eos, published by the American Geophysical Union.
The approved plan to protect Venice, called MOSE (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico, or Experimental Electromechanical Module), involves the construct
Invasive alien plants are causing havoc in our natural landscape, but gardeners can play a key part in stopping their spread.
That`s the view of Imperial College Wye which will be exhibiting at this year`s Chelsea Flower Show, opening 20 May. The College stand (LL23) will outline the threat caused by alien or non-native plants introduced intentionally from overseas, usually as garden plants. The main culprits – including rhododendron ponticum, giant hogweed and Japanese knotweed – are not on
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