environment

Environment may refer to:

For more information about environment check the Wikipedia article here

ZME Science posts about environment

How roads could help protect the environment instead of destroying it

Fri, Mar 22, 2013

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Rapidly expanding road networks are causing massive direct and indirect damage to forests but proper infrastructure planning and implementation could actually turn them into a net positive for the environment, argue researchers writing in the journal Science. William Laurance and Andrew Balmford have studied the severe negative environmental issues caused by expanding road networks in [...]

Biochar stoves could save millions of lives, improve soil and air quality

Fri, Feb 1, 2013

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Open-fire stoves represent the biggest domestic environmental threat today, killing 3.5 million people a year—more deaths than caused by malaria and HIV/AIDS combined. But now, cookstoves that produce biochar could provide a viable alternative, saving millions of lives and giving a boost to local agriculture. Cookstoves are common in many parts of the world, from [...]

China braces for intensifying smog

Wed, Jan 30, 2013

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Remember how a few days ago, the entire media and popullation of China was outraged by the smog covering a significant part of China, including Beijing ? The extent of the smog was so big you could easily see it from outer space. Well, predictions claimed the smog will dissipate in a few days, but [...]

Beijing pollution seen from outer space – before and after pics

Tue, Jan 15, 2013

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A few days ago I was telling you about the drastic state of pollution taking place in China these days – pollution levels are so high that all newspapers, even communist ones started pressing the government into environmental protection. To see how much the Beijing pollution evolved – take a look at the picture of [...]

The case for an International Standard for RoHS

Fri, Sep 28, 2012

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One has to wonder if the time hasn’t arrived when the world’s politicians need to get together and agree a plan to harmonise environmental regulations when it comes to the manufacture of mass-market goods. The complexity of complying with different regulatory requirements in a multitude of different markets places considerable burdens on manufacturers which act, [...]

4 Amazing Australian Eco Houses

Wed, Sep 12, 2012

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We aren’t 100% sure of the reality of the situation regarding Global Warming, but whether it exists or not, we can still benefit the environment by thinking green. Even the houses being built as we speak aren’t taking full advantage of the eco technology available. These are four Australian houses that the modern designer/architect could [...]

Global warming? Sea otters to the rescue!

Sat, Sep 8, 2012

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Growing populations of hungry sea otters can become one of our powerful allies in the fight against global warming; why? Because they like to eat sea urchins. Global warming is reaching new records, ice caps continue to melt at an alarming rate, and measures taken by authorities are as rare as they are questionable. But [...]

Video: the hidden environmental cost of hamburgers

Fri, Aug 3, 2012

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Americans love hamburgers – probably too much. The average American eats 3 hamburgers a week – do the math, and that’s over 48 billion hamburgers per year – in the US alone! Furthermore, even though hamburgers are cheap, what you don’t pay at the counter is charged in other ways: on your body, your health, [...]

5 Amazing Eco Ski Wonderlands

Tue, May 1, 2012

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Skiing is about connecting with Mother Nature, unfortunately however ski resorts can have a negative effect on the environment because of the energy consumption of the chairlifts, grooming and snow-making machines. In recent years more ski resorts have begun to understand the importance of being eco friendly and protecting the environment where they can. The Ski Club [...]

Mexico promises green climate law

Mon, Apr 16, 2012

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Mexico, one of the biggest countries in the world, has followed suit with neighboring California and wants to adopt the green climate law, which already passed the chamber of deputies by an overwhelming 128-10 vote, and is heading towards the Senate with excellent chances. Having a country like Mexico, with some 120 million people, of [...]

Stinky Frogs to Give Their Human Predators Clues to Survive Diseases

Mon, Dec 26, 2011

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Hyderabad, Dec 10, 2011: Believe it or not. Foul smelling frogs not only offer clues to prepare a new range of antibiotics but boost human immune system against bacterial attacks. This is despite the fact that human beings continue to haunt the frogs and butcher them for a variety of cuisine like ‘jumping legs’ in [...]

Delaying measures against anthropic climate change will mean higher costs

Thu, Nov 24, 2011

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If the current pledges under the UN flag to cut carbon emissions are not improved, then it is estimated that the cost of meeting the world’s targets regarding global warming will rise by half, according to OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). Basically, these things have to be done, sooner or later, until it [...]

Irene Makes Her Case

Mon, Nov 21, 2011

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The 2011 Hurricane Irene (there was an Irene in 1999 too) was formed on August 20 and eventually dissipated nine days later. It’s stint affected the Caribbean and eastern North America. The storm, which developed and escalated quickly, sent many scrambling for hardware, catastrophic health insurance, food supplies and evacuation. Irene devastated caused quite a [...]

The United States of the environment – how does your state fare

Mon, Nov 7, 2011

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I recently came across this remarkable post from the Mother Nature Network (MNN), depicting the best and worst environmental affairs of each US state. So I figured it would be interesting for Americans to see where their state excels, and, on the contrary, where it fares the worst.

Brazil’s government approves of rainforest destruction. Next day, two environmental activists get shot

Mon, May 30, 2011

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It’s a black period for Brazil’s environment, and things will get even worse in days to follow; the government just applied a reform of the forestry code which will make it extremely easy to cut down massively on the rainforests in Brazil. Money money money After several delays and a desperate, but outnumbered resistance, the [...]

Settlement between US government and environmentalists to speed endangered species reviewal

Wed, May 11, 2011

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Various animals and plants faced with the danger of extinction may be one step closer to making the official endangered species list, which according to the Endangered Species Act puts them under government protection, as part of a legal settlement plan announced on Tuesday by the government and environmentalists. Under the agreement, species that the [...]

Biosphere 2 still unsuccessful after 20 years

Wed, Apr 27, 2011

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When Biosphere 2 was launched in 1991, the idea seemed to be absurd. A few years after that, it suddenly seemed to be a great idea, and the results were eagerly awaited; but the results didn’t came… Biosphere 2: the making The point was to make a terrarium, connect it with some other enclosures, and [...]

Study unexpectedly supports the science behind global warming

Mon, Apr 11, 2011

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The Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project was launched by physics professor Richard Muller, a long time critic of studies led by the government regarding global warming. So he and a team of physicists and statisticians set out to challenge the general consensus on global warming, and prove that skeptics have good reasons to doubt. But [...]

Record High Greenhouse Emission Rates for 2010

Mon, Nov 22, 2010

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A week before the UN Copenhagen climate summit, a disheartening new study conducted by scientists from University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, along with the University of East Anglia, shows that the world greenhouse gas emissions could reach record high in 2010, outranking the previous 2008 high. The data supports the idea that as [...]

Hungary: the toxic red sludge has reached the Danube

Thu, Oct 7, 2010

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In case you don’t know, a few days ago a toxic red sludge “broke free” from a Hungarian metal plant reservoir, and the damage it has done is huge. Several people have been killed, over a hundred have been injured, and the damage done to the nearby houses and the environment is very significant. But [...]

Extremely rare baby seahorse sighting

Thu, Sep 9, 2010

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Seahorses are just as elusive as they are cute, so diver Neil Garrick-Maidment, the executive director of the Seahorse Trust was absolutely thrilled when he spotted a 1.5 inch long baby female seahorse “clinging onto a piece of seagrass”. This trule remarkable sighting was made in the waters of Great Britain, in the Dorset waters, [...]

Ecuador will receive 3.6 billion $ not to drill for oil in a historic pact

Fri, Aug 6, 2010

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The race for oil drilling is tougher than ever, and the effects are quite often extremely damaging for the environment (I’m sure pretty much everybody knows about the BP oil spill already). However, the UN has come up with an initiative, the first of its kind, that promises to protect at least a handful of [...]

Ethiopia’s forest area triples

Fri, Jul 23, 2010

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Ethiopian authorities announced that thanks to large-scale reforestation campaigns the forest cover of their country has tripled since 2000. The African country has suffered from severe droughts in the past, and their solution to this problem turned out to be just great. “Ethiopia was able to increase its forest coverage to nine percent now from [...]

Bill Gates is paying for artificial clouds to fight greenhouse gases

Tue, May 11, 2010

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To be quite honest, I was never really fond of the man, but ever since he quit his executive positions at Microsoft, I’m starting to like him more and more. The reason is not that he’s giving money away, but the causes he’s giving the money for. I’m not really sure how practical this idea [...]

Photosynthesis – not just for plants anymore

Tue, May 11, 2010

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As any fourth grader will tell you, photosynthesis is (in layman terms), the process through which plants (and bacteria, algae, etc) get the sugars and other organic compounds they need using energy from sunlight. However, during last week’s synthetic biology conference in Boston, a biologist from Harvard took things to a whole new level, presenting [...]

Puma replaces shoe box with reusable bags

Thu, Apr 15, 2010

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I had some serious thought on whether to write this or not. It’s not a paid post or anything, and quite frankly, I’ve never owned anything from Puma. But I was absolutely thrilled to find out about their initiative to replace the shoe boxes with reusable bags. It’s exactly this kind of small thing, but [...]

Yet another problem caused by deforestation

Thu, Apr 15, 2010

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Via Pedigree Database

James Lovelock: Humans are too stupid to prevent climate change

Mon, Mar 29, 2010

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James Lovelock is one of the world’s most brilliant minds alive at the moment; he developed numerous technologies for NASA, and currently dedicates most of his efforts to the environment and futurism. He is largely known for the development of the Gaia Hypothetis. Well, according to the man… we’re just too stupid to prevent climate [...]

The March award for awesome animal goes to THE MIMIC OCTOPUS

Mon, Mar 29, 2010

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The mimic octopus, Thaumoctopus mimicus is a species of octopus that grows up to 60 cm (2 feet) in length and is naturally colored with brown and white stripes and spots. So what’s so special about it? The mimic octopus can literally mimic the physical appearance and movement of fifteen different species, that we know of [...]

NASA is stunned to find life beneath 183 of Antarctic ice

Tue, Mar 16, 2010

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At nearly 200 meters below the ice, there is no light, the temperature is way below 0 degrees, and scientists were expecting to find nothing more than a handful of microbes – and for good reason. So it’s easy to understand why they were so surprised to find not a single (evolved) life form, but [...]

Future cars could be partially powered by their bodywork

Thu, Feb 25, 2010

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Parts of the car’s bodywork could double up as it’s batter in a not so far away future; at least that’s what the people involved in the 3.4 million project believe. They are working on a prototype that can store and discharge electrical energy; the material is also light and very hard. Ultimately, this will [...]

Vancouver 2010: probably the greenest Olympics ever

Sat, Feb 13, 2010

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Well I have to say, I’m really thrilled about the Winter Olympics that have just started, and even though they don’t get as much hype as the Summer Olympics, they still attract tens of millions viewers (or even more). It’s also really great to see they’re being held in a city like Vancouver. Why am [...]

How much area would be required to power the world (with solar panels alone)

Wed, Jan 27, 2010

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I came across this particular pic which really made me think. I don’t know if they did the math right, but if they did, with a surface as big as the plastic island floating around in the Pacific covered with solar panels, the whole world could be powered. If we consider other sources of clean [...]

The girl who silenced the world for five minutes

Sat, Jan 23, 2010

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Her name is Severn Suzuki, and here you have one of perhaps the most impressive speeches of all time, delivered by her (only a 12 year old at the time) at a UN meeting, at the Earth Summit in 1992. [After 5 minutes] An incredible story Severn Suzuki was born in a remarkable family, with [...]

The fight for survival – a single bear vs a colony

Sat, Dec 26, 2009

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As we enjoy our peace and quiet (or at least we should be), we shouldn’t forget that how the society we’ve built leads to an ever fiercer fight for survival. Here’s a movie that really touched me, with an ending you don’t (thankfully) see every day.

Taking a look at the ‘mini ice age’ of 1810

Mon, Dec 14, 2009

1 Comment

Global warming is the main concern on everybody’s lips, causing more and more damage to the environment every year, sometimes in ways that seem hard to believe; everyday there seems to be a new report about something that went, is going, or will be going terribly wrong. However, in the early 1800s, the situation was [...]

Siberian tigers face dramatic decline, drawing near extinction

Wed, Nov 25, 2009

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The Siberian tiger is the biggest feline on the face of the Earth at the time, but if things continue to move in the same direction, that will change in the not so far future; and not because other species will grow bigger, but because it will become extinct. There were around 300 tigers living [...]

A new species of chameleon discovered

Mon, Nov 23, 2009

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Dr Andrew Marshall, from the Environment Department at the University of York is the first who spotted a member of the species (and reported it) while surveying monkeys. The meeting however was extremely unfortunate for the chameleon, which was shortly after eaten by a snake. The specimen was collected (I really have no idea how), [...]

Roofs that change colour to save energy

Mon, Oct 26, 2009

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When it’s really hot and sunny outside, a black roof gets really hot, while a white roof reflects rays from the sun and keeps the house cooler. During the wintertime, a black roof absorbs more heat and helps you save more energy, but in the summer, that can be a really pain. Luckily enough, some [...]

Reply for all – a signature for a greener good

Thu, Jul 9, 2009

3 Comments

Every once in a while we come across a campaign that manages to have a big impact that you just have to notice it and get involved. Just a week ago we told you how just one dollar can save 50 lives. In a way, reply for all is even more interesting, because you can [...]

Take your canvas bags – viral green

Wed, Jun 17, 2009

4 Comments

As you may or may not know, I sometimes also write music stuff here. While I was looking around for something, I stumbled upon this particular video, by music and comedy genius Tim Minchin. The message is pretty obvious, and it’s really great to see talented people taking interest in the environment and doing something [...]

Friday Round-up

Fri, Apr 24, 2009

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Because of insufficient time and man power (if you want to help, just look at the banner in the right), we can’t tackle all the topics; but there’s so much going on in the world right now, something just had to be done. So I’m going to start this weekly round-up, in which I’ll just [...]

‘Upside down rainbow’ caused by freak weather

Wed, Sep 17, 2008

12 Comments

Every once in a while we get a sign that the weather around the planet is changing, and not for the good. This kind of rainbow needs very specific conditions to form, similar to those in the North Pole, and it appeared above Britain. Rainbows are formed in a very simple way (details), when light [...]

Turning waste material into ethanol

Fri, Aug 15, 2008

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Biofuels seems to be the word on everybody’s lips today, and for good reason. It’s necessary that people understand the benefits and importance of this development, as it could be a huge step in protecting our resources and planet. Fortunately, some breakthroughs have been made which give us confidence that things are moving (slowly, but [...]

Junk Mail around the world produces as much CO2 as 9 million cars

Mon, Aug 11, 2008

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Who here doesn’t spam? No, not the damn meat, I’m talking about spam mail. Yup, there you go. You go to your inbox every morning to check your mail, hoping to find that letter from your ant in Brussels, but instead you get flood with loads of trash mail. Well, besides the fact that junk [...]

Money in the Earth’s Bank: Preservation of Canada’s Boreal Forest

Thu, Jul 31, 2008

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Whether we want to accept it or not, mankind has caused significant (to say the leased) damage to the amount of forests and habitats around the world. That’s why it’s so important for people, especially those in leading positions to take standing positions in protecting and increasing the area of forests around the world. It’s [...]

Oregon prepares for the larges wind farm in the world

Wed, Jul 30, 2008

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Renewable energy has found a considerable support in wind farms, as more and more people seem to be adopting this green and cheap solution as a better alternative towards traditional energy. For example, Samsø, an island near Denmark, gets all its energy from renewable sources; the huge number of wind farms in which are being [...]

Remember last year’s G8 summit??

Sat, Jul 26, 2008

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It’s hard to say that during last year’s G8 summit the “world leaders” made promises and predictions that were just words for the voters without feeling ridiculous; I’m not one to fall for fine words that sounds identical to what you want to hear, but I was expecting at least few of those I heard [...]

Mexican mangroves ‘vital for fishing industry’

Sat, Jul 26, 2008

1 Comment

A few days ago, I wrote about the damage that a well intended, but wrongly conducted mangrove restoration could cause; the article itself was focusing on the Philippines. It is time to underline (again) the importance that they have on ecosystems which rely on them way more than you would probably guess.Just a few days [...]

The price of oil without water

Thu, Jul 24, 2008

1 Comment

The environmental challenges we have to overcome (fast) cover virtually every field in human activity. Focuses such as finding green fuels, renewable and sustainable sources of energy and other related findings attract more people, more ideas, and visible steps are made towards the right direction. Probably the only concern is how fast and how effective [...]

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