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Q: What would have happened without the Clean Air Act?
Today, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. In her testimony the Administrator highlighted the agency’s ongoing efforts to develop sensible standards that update the Clean Air Act, while ensuring that the landmark law continues to provide Americans the protections from dangerous pollution that they deserve. These reasonable steps will…
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Yellowstone bison get Montana governor’s pardon
Montana’s governor on Tuesday barred Yellowstone buffalo exposed to a livestock disease from entering his state, effectively granting a temporary reprieve for the 217 buffalo targeted for slaughter. The order by Governor Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat, cited worries about brucellosis, a bacterial infection that can cause cows to miscarry, to temporarily delay government plans to…
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Sulfur Emissions on the Rise
Sulfur dioxide is a major air pollutant and has significant impacts upon human health. In addition the concentration of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere can influence ecosytems. Sulfur dioxide emissions are a precursor to acid rain and atmospheric particulates. A new analysis of sulfur emissions appearing in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics shows that…
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Why Do People Always Overestimate Slope?
“Holy Crap” is a very common phrase among mountain hikers when confronted by an intimidating slope. After plodding along at a nice five degree incline, a sudden rise in elevation can seem like either a daunting task or an irresistible challenge. I personally like sharp inclines because it means you can get more of the…
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Serengeti World Heritage Site in Grave Danger as Tanzanian Government Moves Forward With Highway
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete directly contradicted his own government’s study by claiming that a planned highway in the Serengeti National Park will not be the environmental disaster conservationists and scientists are claiming it to be.
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New from BBC Earth: The Albatross: A life in the air
A bird that lives as long in legends as it does life: The Albatross remains one of most majestic of all of the Antarctic birds. This rather stunning bird can be traced as far back as the time of the first modern mammals, over 50 million years. And with an average life span of 50…
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Monarch butterfly count bounces back from bad year
Monarch butterfly colonies in Mexico more than doubled in size this winter after bad storms devastated their numbers a year ago, conservationists said on Monday although the migrating insect remains under threat. Millions of butterflies make a 2,000-mile journey each year from Canada to winter in central Mexico’s warmer weather but the size of that…
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Arizona Haze and NOx
Four Corners Power Plant is one of the largest coal-fired generating stations in the United States. The plant is located on Navajo land in Fruitland, New Mexico, about 25 miles west of Farmington. It is located to the west of the Grand Canyon and many other national parks. It was the first mine-mouth generation station…
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Simple changes in fishing gear can save tens of thousands of endangered marine turtles in the Coral Triangle
Thousands of endangered marine turtles could be saved in the Coral Triangle region if the fishing industry started using innovative and responsible fishing gear, a WWF analysis shows. Towards the Adoption of Circle Hooks to Reduce Fisheries Bycatch in the Coral Triangle Region makes a strong case for governments, fishing organizations and fisheries to start…
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Are Anti-oxidants Keeping You Young and Infertile?
It’s a tale with two endings, a conundrum for consumers of antioxidant-rich foods, drinks and facial products. What has been touted as a natural way to slow the aging process by minimizing cell damage via oxidation may be one culprit in female infertility. So suggests Professor Nava Dekel of the Weizmann Institute of Science in…