Increased melting of glaciers and snow in the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau threatens the food security of millions of people in Asia, a study shows, with Pakistan likely to be among the nations hardest hit. A team of scientists in Holland studied the impacts of climate change on five major Asian rivers on which about…

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. In its waters are abundant marine life but the environment is changing. The shells of young oysters in Chesapeake Bay are not getting as thick as they’ve been in the past, and higher…

In summer 2009, my small church started a Green Team. We felt a pioneering spirit as non-conforming liberals accepting responsibility for our modern environmental crisis. We were, as corporations and other NGOs have similarly done, positioning ourselves as problem solvers, eager to take on our collective environmental mess. But this venture, new to our congregation,…

Weaknesses in the way LEED certification measures adverse health impacts of building materials gives a false impression of the safety of “environmentally friendly” buildings, according to a new study. The study, “LEED Certification: Where Energy Efficiency Collides with Human Health,” by non-profit Environment and Human Health, Inc., recommends that LEED certification be measured separately in…

If you’re headed to a freshwater stream this summer and a friend dares you to eat a raw crayfish – don’t do it. You could end up in the hospital with a severe parasitic infection. Physicians at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have diagnosed a rare parasitic infection in six people who…

The shares of BP Plc continued falling on Thursday on concerns about the costs the British company will face in the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The shares opened trading in London 11 percent down before recovering to trade down 4.0 percent, one day after BP depositary shares plummeted to a 14-year low in…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking action to end all uses of the insecticide endosulfan in the United States. Endosulfan, which is used on vegetables, fruits, and cotton, can pose unacceptable neurological and reproductive risks to farm workers and wildlife and can persist in the environment. Endosulfan has been used in agriculture around…

By now most know about the oil gushing out in the Gulf of Mexico. Certainly it is floating on the surface but what is the effect underwater? One way is to measure the relative concentrations of PAHs (Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) independent analysis of water samples collected during the May…

Humans have their difficulty communicating with each other in the same language. Using a different language multiplies the difficulties ten fold. Now dolphins have their own way of communicating and, at times, seem to vaguely understand humans. The scientific community had thought that whistles were the main sounds made by these mammals, and were unaware…

China and Nepal sign a Memorandum of Understanding on environment and biodiversity conservation, made between the State Forestry Administration of the People’s Republic of China and the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation of the Government of Nepal. The WWF notes that this is a historic moment for both countries as their governments have joined…