Could the London smog affect Olympic athletes, competing for gold medals in the 2012 Olympic Games?
The Appearance of Diversity: Do Damaged Wetlands Really Bounce Back?
Biodiversity is a tricky thing. You can walk into a place and feel like you’re in a beautifully diverse landscape, full of a vast array of life. Stand in a marsh, and you’ll feel surrounded by waving reeds and bird song. However, if this marshland ecosystem has been damaged by development, cut off from the […]
Up In the Atmosphere: Mercury From the Sky
Study Reveals Changes to Water Chemistry in Mountaintop Mining Catchment
Mountaintop mining is a controversial issue, generating protests among local communities in West Virginia and other areas. A study released today by scientists at Duke University in North Carolina has focused more closely on the impacts which mountaintop mining can have upon the water chemistry of the surrounding areas. Mountaintop Mining: a Controversial Process Mountaintop […]
Leaping Into the Sun: A Call for Wisdom in the Age of Solar Development
If we’d been able to look into the future of oil, would we have done things differently? What type of energy would power our homes and factories today? If those who first started to use oil to power homes and factories and cars had understood the large-scale environmental implications of their actions, would they have […]
The Tar Sands: Fueling Controversy
Petroleum fuels the world. From ocean-based rigs to new developments in the oil sands, petroleum also fuels local and global controversy about the ways in which we extract and use fossil fuels. To many, oil extraction brings to mind an ecstatic oilman, gleefully watching as free-flowing oil gushes from the ground. While some oil flows […]
A Fresh Start: Hurricanes, Forest Fires, and Renewal Through Disaster
As Hurricane Irene blasts her way through the Bahamas toward North Carolina, and people get ready for the storm season, it’s tempting to think of hurricanes as all bad. Hurricane Damage Let’s be frank. Hurricanes do an amazing amount of damage to ecosystems. At least, they cause what humans perceive to be damage. More about […]
The Ecology of Compromise: The Desert Tortoise and the Solar Farm
The deserts of the world look like an untapped well of nearly unlimited sunshine. As oil reserves gradually deplete and climate change becomes even more of a reality, the push for renewable energy has become more urgent. Just like oil needs to come from oil deposits and wind farms work best in places that are […]
Carbon Neutral Housing Takes a Step Forward
Zero-carbon is trendy just now – as emphasis on building and design shifts towards sustainability the world is competing to produce zero carbon theaters, football matches, even a zero-carbon bra. In the UK, energy company SSE has developed a series of ten dwellings where zero carbon living has become a reality. What are Zero Carbon […]
Exxon Valdez, the Notorious Alaskan Oil spill of 1989
The Prince William Sound oil spill has become a by-word for environmental catastrophe. Although the slick generated by the tanker was by no means the largest in terms of volume – it discharged only around one-fortieth of the largest accidental spill on record, a well blowout off Mexico in 1979 (Times Online) – the impacts […]