China’s decision to slash export quotas of rare earth elements was a necessary step to protect the country’s environment, commerce minister Chen Deming said following criticism from Japanese officials. “Mass extraction of rare earth will cause great damage to the environment and that’s why China has tightened controls over rare earth production, exploration and trade,”…

Hurricane Danielle weakened to a Category 2 storm on Saturday and was set to pass east of Bermuda by the end of the day, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Danielle, located some 340 miles southeast of Bermuda, had top sustained winds of 110 miles per hour, the Miami-based hurricane center said. The hurricane poses…

A geomagnetic storm (or solar storm) is a temporary disturbance of the Earth’s magnetosphere caused by a massive solar flares or related sun output. A geomagnetic storm is caused by a solar wind shock wave which typically strikes the Earth’s magnetic field 3 days after the event on the sun. The effect on the earth…

Every year an amazing event happens on this small island, owned by Australia, which is 220 miles away from the nearest land mass. Christmas Island’s geographic isolation and history of limited human disturbance has brought about a high level of species not found elsewhere in the world. Among these species is the Christmas Island Red…

At the onset of the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, students and emerging professionals are putting their time towards helping to rebuild New Orleans in a sustainable fashion. The 2010 US Green Building Council Natural Talent Design Competition, in partnership with the Salvation Army’s EnviRenew program, is preparing to have the final student and emerging…

Hurricane Danielle strengthened into a Category 4 storm on Friday as it churned over the Atlantic, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Danielle, the first major hurricane of the season, was located some 545 miles southeast of Bermuda and was moving northwest at 12 miles per hour (19 km per hour). It had top sustained…

The asthenosphere is the highly viscous mechanically weak region of the upper mantle of the Earth on which “float” the continental plates. It lies below the lithosphere, at depths between 60 and 120 miles below the surface, but perhaps extending as deep as 400+ miles. The lithosphere is a complex mixture of layers. For example…

Rachel Carson is widely considered the founder of the modern environmental movement. Through her book, “Silent Spring,” she opened the public’s eyes to the damages caused by the pesticide DDT. From that point on, society realized they have a much greater influence on the environment than previously thought. Borrowing the title from another one of…

As the proposed Cape Wind offshore wind farm in Massachusetts fends off some last ditch legal challenges to become the first offshore wind farm in the U.S., New Jersey passed a law this week that would ultimately make it the leading provider of offshore wind energy in the country.

Distributing new varieties of drought tolerant maize to African farmers could save more than $1.5 billion dollars, boost yields by up to a quarter and lift some of the world’s poorest out of poverty, a study found. The study published on Thursday by the Mexico-based International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), with input from…