Chemistry: Thermodynamics Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

What really matters in multi-story building design?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The impact of multi-story building design considerations on embodied carbon emissions, cost, and operational energy has been revealed.

Biology: Biochemistry Chemistry: Biochemistry Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

At least 80% of the world's most important sites for biodiversity on land currently contain human developments      (via sciencedaily.com) 

At least 80% of sites identified as being internationally important for biodiversity on land currently contain infrastructure -- of which more than 75% contain roads. In the future, more sites that are important for biodiversity could contain powerplants, mines and oil and gas infrastructure.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Closed loop for circular economy: New polymer recycling strategy ensures both high stability and complete recyclability      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Large amounts of plastic waste are incinerated or deposited in landfills. This degrades the environment and depletes valuable resources. In this light, recycling plastics such as polymers is promising. However, recycling diminishes their quality. Recently, researchers have proposed a 'closed-loop' recycling process based on polymer microparticles. It produces fully recyclable polymer films with high mechanical stability and fracture energy, which they retain upon recycling.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

New wood-based technology removes 80% of dye pollutants in wastewater      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed a new method that can easily purify contaminated water using a cellulose-based material. This discovery could have implications for countries with poor water treatment technologies and combat the widespread problem of toxic dye discharge from the textile industry.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Without this, plants cannot respond to temperature      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have significantly advanced the race to control plant responses to temperature on a rapidly warming planet. Key to this breakthrough is miRNA, a molecule nearly 200,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular Ecology: Endangered Species Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Genome of a drought-tolerant plant: Many genes are involved in 'resurrection'      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Some plants can survive months without water, only to turn green again after a brief downpour. A recent study shows that this is not due to a 'miracle gene.' Rather, this ability is a consequence of a whole network of genes, almost all of which are also present in more vulnerable varieties.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Drought, heat waves worsen West Coast air pollution inequality      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study found drought and heat waves could make air pollution worse for communities that already have a high pollution burden in California, and deepen pollution inequalities along racial and ethnic lines. The study also found financial penalties for power plants can significantly reduce people's pollution exposure, except during severe heat waves.

Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Physics: Optics
Published

Global experts propose a path forward in generating clean power from waste energy      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have created a comprehensive 'roadmap' to guide global efforts to convert waste energy into clean power.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Road noise makes your blood pressure rise -- literally      (via sciencedaily.com) 

If you live near a busy road you might feel like the constant sound of roaring engines, honking horns and wailing sirens makes your blood pressure rise. Now a new study confirms it can do exactly that.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Towards reducing biodiversity loss in fragmented habitats      (via sciencedaily.com) 

By combining lab experiments and mathematical modelling, researchers have found a way to predict the movement of species that could guide conservation efforts to reconnect fragmented habitats.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

New water treatment zaps 'forever chemicals' for good      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Engineers have developed a new water treatment that removes 'forever chemicals' from drinking water safely, efficiently -- and for good.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Sea ice will soon disappear from the Arctic during the summer months -- and it has happened before      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In a new study, an international team of researchers warn that the Arctic Sea ice may soon be a thing of the past in the summer months. This may have consequences for both the climate and ecosystems. Ten thousand years ago, the ice melted at temperatures similar to those we have today.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Mercury emission estimates rarely provide enough data to assess success in eliminating harmful global gold mining practice      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A global treaty called the Minamata Convention requires gold-mining countries to regularly report the amount of toxic mercury that miners are using to find and extract gold, designed to help nations gauge success toward at least minimizing a practice that produces the world's largest amount of manmade mercury pollution.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Microbiology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Next epidemic could be spotted early in wastewater      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers behind the UK's first pilot public health surveillance system based on analysis of wastewater say that routine monitoring at sewage treatment works could provide a powerful early warning system for the next flu or norovirus epidemic, alerting hospitals to prepare and providing public health agencies with vital health information.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Energy: Batteries Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

New invention: The oxygen-ion battery      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An oxygen-ion-battery has been invented, based on ceramic materials. If it degrades, it can be regenerated, therefore it potentially has an extremely long lifespan. Also, it does not require any rare elements and it is incombustible. For large energy storage systems, this could be an optimal solution.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Researchers get to the 'bottom' of how beetles use their butts to stay hydrated      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Beetles are champions at surviving in extremely dry environments. In part, this property is due to their ability to suck water from the air with their rear ends. A new study explains just how. Beyond helping to explain how beetles thrive in environments where few other animals can survive, the knowledge could eventually be used for more targeted and delicate control of global pests such as the grain weevil and red flour beetle.

Biology: Zoology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

New animal welfare scoring system could enable better-informed food and farming choices      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have come up with a system of measuring animal welfare that enables reliable comparison across different types of pig farming.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

The devil is in the details: Re-imagining fertilizer precursor synthesis      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have improved the Faradaic efficiency of the nitrogen reduction reaction into ammonia by straightforward optimization of chemical process parameters. They found that trace water was the probable source of the high selectivity by facilitating incorporation of lithium oxide into the solid electrolyte interphase. These findings will also aid optimization of other analogous reactions, and thus help the chemicals industry optimize the sustainability of one of the most carbon-intensive reactions globally.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: Optics
Published

Synthesis gas and battery power from sunlight energy      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Plants use photosynthesis to harvest energy from sunlight. Now researchers have applied this principle as the basis for developing new sustainable processes which in the future may produce syngas (synthetic gas) for the large-scale chemical industry and be able to charge batteries.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Human and ocean health impacts of ocean plastics      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers from the fields of healthcare, ocean science, and social science have collaborated to quantify plastic's considerable risks to all life on Earth. The Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health report presents a comprehensive analysis showing plastics as a hazard at every stage of their life cycle.