If you’ve been on or near the water, you’ve seen it—the plastic trash that litters oceans, lakes, and streams worldwide. But visible plastic—soda bottles, lighters, flip-flops, combs, rope—may be the least of the problem. Scientists are beginning to realize that what you can’t see, tiny bits of polyethylene or polypropylene called “microplastics,” likely pose a greater threat to marine ecosystems.
Ultra-light aircraft are being deployed in both Switzerland and Russia as part of the Léman-Baïkal project. Lake Geneva, the largest lake in the Alps, and Lake Baikal, the world’s largest lake, will be studied using new airborne analysis methods.
EPFL researchers have detected microplastic pollution in one of Western Europe’s largest lakes, Lake Geneva, in large enough quantities to raise concern. While studies in the ocean have shown that these small bits of plastic can be harmful to fish and birds that feed on plankton or other small waterborne organisms, the full extent of their consequences in lakes and rivers is only now being investigated.
After a major fall-off in carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution from coal-fired electric power plants of 13.1 percent between 2005 and 2012, the first quarter of 2013 has seen a substantial jump in carbon dioxide emissions from coal – a 7.1 percent increase in the first three months of 2013 compared to the same period last year, according to a new Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) analysis of recent data from the U.S Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Academic researchers have found that breathing motor vehicle emissions triggers a change in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, altering its cardiovascular protective qualities so that it actually contributes to clogged arteries.
Analysis by the nonprofit American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) confirms the release of oil into the waters of the Caspian Sea off Turkmenistan, and demonstrates an innovative new use of publicly available imaging technology.
University of Manchester scientists, writing in the journal Nature Geoscience, have shown that natural emissions and manmade pollutants can both have an unexpected cooling effect on the world’s climate by making clouds brighter.
Toxic waste sites with elevated levels of lead and chromium cause a high number of “healthy years of life lost” in individuals living near 373 sites located in India, Philippines and Indonesia, according to a study by a Mount Sinai researcher published online today in Environmental Health Perspectives.
Billions of people worldwide burn animal dung, crop residues, wood and charcoal to cook their meals. And the chemicals produced and inhaled sicken or kill millions. At particular risk are women who prepare their families’ food and children 5-years-old or younger.
A University of Manchester researcher has been crowned Postdoctoral winner of the Environment Agency's Pollution Challenge competition, wowing judges with his bold and innovative vision to tackle pollution.
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