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Pee is for power

By Sid Perkins / May 16, 2013

Adebola Duro-Aina (left), Oluwatoyin Faleke (center) and Zainab Bello (right) designed a system that uses urine to produce a fuel. Generators that run on this fuel, rather than gasoline, would avoid spewing carbon monoxide, a toxic pollutant. Credit: Patrick Thornton, SSP

The water in urine can be a source of hydrogen for electrical generators

Posted in Environment & Pollution, Young Scientists | Tagged Adebola Florish Duro-Aina, carbon monoxide, Doregos Private Academy, electric power, electrical generator, electricity generation, getinvolved, hydrogen, Intel ISEF, intelisef, International Science and Engineering Fair, ISEF, Lagos, Nigeria, Oluwatoyin Eunice Faleke, renewable energy, sustainability, urine, wastes to energy, Zainab Eniola Bello

Fungi as carbon keepers

By Stephen Ornes / April 11, 2013

A recent study of forested Swedish islands found that tiny fungi in the soil store most of the carbon found in the forest floor. Credit: Photo courtesy of Karina Clemmensen

A common type of fungus stores most of a forest floor’s carbon underground

Posted in Environment & Pollution, Microbes, Fungi & Algae | Tagged carbon, carbon dioxide, ecology, Erik Hobbie, fungus, getinvolved, global warming, greenhouse gas, Karina Clemmensen, roots, soil, Sweden, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, trees, University of New Hampshire, Uppsala

Bad for breathing

By Stephen Ornes / March 8, 2013

Researchers have connected exposure to high levels of pollutants called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, to a greater likelihood of having asthma and allergies. Caption: Photo courtesy of the EPA

New study connects pollution to several common diseases that affect the lungs and airways

Posted in Body & Health, Environment & Pollution | Tagged air pollution, allergy, asthma, biochemistry, cells, combustion, getinvolved, immune system, immunity, inflammation, Kari Nadeau, lungs, medicine, Ohio University, PAHs, Pollution, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, Stanford University, swelling, T-regs, T-regulatory cells, Todd Rambasek, topstories

Predators as climate helpers

By Janet Raloff / February 18, 2013

This freshwater stickleback eats the tiny animals in stream water that graze on plants and algae. This predation allows those plants and algae to collect and store carbon, rather than letting it escape into the atmosphere. Credit: Nicole Bedford, UBC

In lakes and streams, fish and insects can help protect aquatic plants that gobble up greenhouse gas

Posted in Earth & Sky, Environment & Pollution, Weather & Climate | Tagged algae, bromeliad, carbon dioxide, climate, damselfly, ecology, ecosystem, food chain, food web, getinvolved, global warming, grazers, greenhouse gases, James Estes, John Richardson, phytoplankton, ponds, predators, primary production, Santa Cruz, stickleback, stonefly, streams, topstories, Trisha Atwood, trophic levels, University of British Columbia, University of California, zooplankton

Trees on the edge

By Stephen Ornes / December 14, 2012

A dead beech tree in Scotland. The majority of the world’s trees, including this type, would be pushed close to the point of death in a serious drought, a new study reports. Credit: Dr. Hervé Cochard (INRA, Clermont-Ferrand, France)

Serious drought is a threat to most trees, worldwide survey finds

Posted in Environment & Pollution | Tagged Brendan Choat, climate change, David Breshears, drought, ecology, getinvolved, global warming, plant physiology, plants, University of Arizona in Tucson, University of Western Sydney, xylem

Exhaled air: A problem in buildings?

By Janet Raloff / October 30, 2012

Classrooms are one environment where carbon dioxide levels can be high. They’re also one of the last places anyone would want to risk harming reasoning abilities and thought processes. Credit: iStockphoto

New studies suggest carbon dioxide that accumulates in classrooms could limit how well the brain processes information, lead to more student absences

Posted in Environment & Pollution | Tagged air pollutant, air pollution, air quality, Architectural Energy Corp., brain, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, carbon dioxide, CO2, cognition, concentration, decision making, Environmental Health Perspectives, exhale, getinvolved, indoor air, László Kajtár, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Mark Mendell, office buildings, Roger Hedrick, room air, school absences, schools, sickness, topstories, ventilation, William Fisk

Cool Jobs: Planet protectors

By Alison Pearce Stevens / June 21, 2012

Greg Nielson holds a smattering of solar glitter, tiny cells that harness the sun’s energy and could one day power everything from laptops to lights.
Photo courtesy of Sandia National Laboratories

Scientists develop new technologies that will make future cities more sustainable

Posted in Environment & Pollution, STEM Careers | Tagged architect, Arjen Hoekstra, cool jobs, environment careers, feature, Gabrielle Fladd, gray water, Greg Nielson, living walls, solar energy, solar glitter, Susan Loh, sustainability, water footprint

Water’s worldwide travels

By Stephen Ornes / April 2, 2012

Scientists track the movement of ‘virtual water,’ used in the production of goods and exchanged among nations

Posted in Environment & Pollution | Tagged getinvolved

Suffocating waters

By Cecile LeBlanc / March 29, 2012

Coastal animals around the world are spending more time in or around waters with too little oxygen

Posted in Environment & Pollution | Tagged bacteria/protists/fungi, dead zones, eutrophication, feature, oceanography, phytoplankton

Climate coolers

By Stephen Ornes / January 25, 2012

Reducing methane, soot in the atmosphere could curb climate change

Posted in Environment & Pollution | Tagged climate change, ecology, fossil fuel, getinvolved, global warming, methane, natural gas

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