Lab-on-a-Chip the Latest Weapon Against Pollution
WASHINGTON, DC, February 18, 2009 (ENS) – Israeli scientists have developed a tiny laboratory, complete with a microscopic workbench, to measure water quality in real time. This lab-on-a-chip can detect pollutants and pathogens, and the Pentagon hopes it may detect the intrusion of a biological weapon into a U.S. water supply. Funded by a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense Projects Agency, this new lab-on-a-chip could become a defensive weapon that protects America from biological warfare.
The Environmental Food Crisis: A Crisis of Waste
NAIROBI, Kenya, February 17, 2009 (ENS) – Over half of the food produced globally is lost, wasted or discarded as a result of inefficiency in the human-managed food chain, finds a new study by the United Nations Environment Programme released today. This staggering amount of waste plus environmental degradation is putting an end to a 100-year trend of falling food prices, the study warns, saying food prices may increase by 30 to 50 percent within decades.
Obama Shifts U.S. Policy to Back Global Mercury Control Treaty
NAIROBI, Kenya, February 16, 2009 (ENS) – The Obama administration has reversed the former U.S. position on limiting mercury pollution worldwide. Before astonished environment ministers attending the United Nations Environment Programme Governing Council opening session in Nairobi today, the U.S. delegation endorsed negotiations for a new global treaty to control mercury pollution, to begin this year.
Marine Life Explorers Find Same Species at Both Poles
WASHINGTON, DC, February 16, 2009 (ENS) – Gray whales are one of at least 235 species that live in both polar seas despite a distance of more than 13,000 kilometers (8,000 miles) between them, Census of Marine Life explorers said today. After centuries of whaling, these whales had been thought to remain only in the North Pacific and along the west coast of North America. Scientists also found that both poles share in common many birds, worms, crustaceans, and snail-like pteropods.
Climate Could Cross Critical Threshold by 2100, Expert Warns
CHICAGO, Illinois, February 16, 2009 (ENS) – Without decisive action, global warming in the 21st century is likely to accelerate at a much faster pace and cause more environmental damage than predicted, warns a leading member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In a business-as-usual world, higher temperatures could ignite tropical forests and melt the Arctic tundra, releasing billions of tons of greenhouse gas that could raise global temperatures even more, Dr. Chris Field told the AAAS annual meeting.
February 18, 2009
New York City Prepares for Higher Temperatures, Rising Sea Levels
Marin County Sewage Spill Closes Bay Area Beaches
America’s Climate Choices: The Process and The Summit
Doctors Fight Planned Corpus Christi Coke-Fired Power Plant
Giant Composter Starts Digesting Ohio University Waste
Appeals Court Reverses Limits on Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining
Alliance Aims to Open Fragile Areas to Oil and Gas Drilling
Low Impact Development Ordered for Puget Sound Cities, Large and Small