-
-
10 audacious ideas to save the planet
To rescue the Earth, we need bold engineering ideas that go beyond simple recycling. Making a dent in the climate crisis is going to take more than solar panels and recycled toilet paper. Scientists are finding ever more creative ways (pig pee! DIY tornadoes! mini nuclear reactors!) to clean up the Earth. To rescue the Earth, we need bold engineering ideas that go beyond simple recycling. Making a dent in the climate crisis is going to t... more
-
Hawaii man invents solar cooker
A Hawaii inventor has developed something he believes could change the world.
Inventor John Grandinetti cooked lunch for friends Sunday out on the lawn in Kahala. His heat source, a solar oven, looks more like a children's slide, but it will fry foods, bake bread and boil water.
The oven is really a long, double-walled vacuum tube filled with vegetable oil that sits in a reflective-compound parabolic curve -- a fancy name for a solar funnel that focuses sunlight on the tube. The outside of the tube is cool to the touch. But the inside reaches temperatures as high as 400 degrees -- 300 degrees on a cloudy day. A Hawaii inventor has developed something he believes could change the world. ... more -
Will polar bears finally get on the endangered species list?
A federal judge ruled April 28 that the U.S. Department of the Interior must stop delaying its decision about whether to add the polar bear to the endangered species list. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken set the deadline for the department to publish the decision as May 15, more than four months after the decision was originally expected.
After a lawsuit, DOI announced a proposal at the end of 2006 to add the polar bear to the federal list in the threatened species category. The timetable for listing allows a year for deliberations. When January 2008 arrived, though, DOI’s Fish and Wildlife Service said that it needed at least a month more before issuing a final decision.
The delay has lengthened, and the latest government target for the decision, included in court documents, had been June 30.
A federal judge ruled April 28 that the U.S. Department of the Interior must stop delaying its decision about whether to add the polar... more -
US Post Office says NO to reusing boxes
A Castle Rock man has been warned that reusing a United States Postal Service "Priority Mail" cardboard box is against federal law.
Gary Adler said he was just recycling a box that was going to be thrown in the trash, but the Postal Service said that kind of repurposing is illegal. Adler uses the boxes to mail sports memorabilia for his nonprofit organization Pro-Players Association.
"We recycle old boxes that we get at the grocery store or from other merchants, and Dumpster dive sometimes," said Adler.
Sometimes, Adler used the "Priority Mail" boxes that were left in the trash near the P.O. boxes.
"We took off the tape and we took off the old label that was on there originally," said Adler, describing a box he recently sent that was returned by the Postal Service.
"And we re-taped this box that was originally this way and we made it this way," showing how he turned the box inside-out so it's brown on the outside and not white.
But the Postal Service said what Adler did is against postal regulations. He is being warned not to do it again, but if he continues to reuse "Priority Mail" boxes, he could be charged with misuse of postal property. A Castle Rock man has been warned that reusing a United States Postal Service "Priority Mail" cardboard box is against federal law. ... more -
Flowers' Fragrance Diminished By Air Pollution
Air pollution from power plants and automobiles is destroying the fragrance of flowers and thereby inhibiting the ability of pollinating insects to follow scent trails to their source, a new University of Virginia study indicates. This could partially explain why wild populations of some pollinators, particularly bees -- which need nectar for food -- are declining in several areas of the world, including California and the Netherlands. "The scent molecules produced by flowers in a less polluted environment, such as in the 1800s, could travel for roughly 1,000 to 1,200 meters; but in today's polluted environment downwind of major cites, they may travel only 200 to 300 meters," said Jose D. Fuentes, a professor of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia and a co-author of the study. "This makes it increasingly difficult for pollinators to locate the flowers."
Air pollution from power plants and automobiles is destroying the fragrance of flowers and thereby inhibiting the ability of pollinati... more -
New York City artist photographs garbage on the street, turns it beautiful.
A photoblog documenting garbage on the streets of New York City. Adds fictional story from previous owner or environmentally friendly message. Witty, smart and informative. A photoblog documenting garbage on the streets of New York City. Adds fictional story from previous owner or environmentally friendly ... more
-
'Revolutionary' CO2 maps zoom in on greenhouse gas sources
A new, high- resolution, interactive map of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels has found that the emissions aren't all where we thought. "For example, we've been attributing too many emissions to the northeastern United States, and it's looking like the southeastern U.S. is a much larger source than we had estimated previously," says Kevin Gurney, an assistant professor of earth and atmospheric science at Purdue University and leader of the project. The maps and system, called Vulcan, show CO2 emissions at more than 100 times more detail than was available before. Until now, data on carbon dioxide emissions were reported, in the best cases, monthly at the level of an entire state. The Vulcan model examines CO2 emissions at local levels on an hourly basis.
A new, high- resolution, interactive map of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels has found that the emissions aren't all wh... more -
Energy thermostats could assist in reducing home energy use
Today's consumers want tools to help them keep track of the energy they use. Products that measure the amount of energy you use, and have the ability to automatically adjust your appliances for maximum conservation, may soon be available for home use. "Consumers lower their energy bills and can get detailed reports on their usage trends, such as which devices in the home consume the most power. There are also significant benefits for the utility and the transmission grid. By dialing down consumption at peak times, utilities can avoid turning on costly--and typically very polluted--auxiliary power plants."
Today's consumers want tools to help them keep track of the energy they use. Products that measure the amount of energy you use, and h... more -
White House Overrules EPA on Air Quality Standards
The chief of the Environmental Protection Agency has authority to set the air quality standards to protect public health and the environment. But the White House is now interfering with new efforts by EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson.
Have a listen, tell me what you think.
The chief of the Environmental Protection Agency has authority to set the air quality standards to protect public health and the envir... more
-
related topics
Envrionment
Contributors (49)
Envrionment
