Browsing environmental news sources so you don't have to. Contact Laura Barnes (lbarnes@istc.illinois.edu) with questions, comments, and suggestions.
Follow ENB on TwitterRead the full post in Gristmill.
Below is a complete listing of the articles in “How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic,” a series by Coby Beck containing responses to the most common skeptical arguments on global warming. There are four separate taxonomies; arguments are divided by:
Individual articles will appear under multiple headings and may even appear in multiple subcategories in the same heading.
Read the full post at Earn on the Side.
I’ve been seeing a lot of commercials lately for Chrysler’s new “Refuel America” incentive program. In case you haven’t, the deal is that if you purchase a qualifying Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep you will be able to purchase gas for the next 3 years at a price of $2.99 per gallon. Seems too good to be true, doesn’t it?
I started doing a little research and have come to the conclusion that while this may not be a bad deal, it definitely isn’t the amazing deal that you think it is. Let’s look at the fine print a little closer.
Read the full post at Planet Save.
It’s not only the Gulf of Mexico that’s suffering from “dead zones” caused by excess nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus used as fertilizers.
Marine dead zones are spreading in the Baltic sea, and that could cause the entire ecosystem to collapse for lack of oxygen. Dire warnings from Lasse Gustavsson, Swedish head of the World Wildlife Funds branch in Sweden.
Via NPR.
Weekend Edition Sunday, June 29, 2008 · Sci-fi writer Paolo Bacigalupi uses real environmental science as a starting point for his stories. His collection, called Pump Six, describes a near future where massive droughts create a black market for calories. Listen Now
Read the full story in Environmental Protection.
A new partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) and the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at the University of Vermont will help decision makers more accurately determine the costs and benefits of actions that alter ecosystem services — the goods and services of nature such as clean air and water, erosion and flood control, soil enrichment, and food and fiber. Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems.
Read the full story in Environmental Protection.
Electrical engineering, electronics and information technology representatives of Unite, the largest union in the United Kingdom, are calling for statutory rights for union representatives to gain access to environmental impact information on companies, among other things.
The sector also is calling for company executives to have their pay and bonuses linked to meeting environmental targets. The union has published a report “How Green Is My Workplace?” The publication gives guidance on how union representatives can raise awareness of environmental issues to make workplaces greener.
Read the full story in Environmental Protection.
Only 3 percent of people recycle their mobile phones despite the fact that most have old devices lying around at home that they no longer want, according to a global consumer survey released by Nokia.
Three out of every four people added that they don’t even think about recycling their devices and nearly half were unaware that it is even possible to do so.
The survey is based on interviews with 6,500 people in 13 countries including Finland, Germany, Italy, Russia, Sweden, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, United States, Nigeria, India, China, Indonesia, and Brazil. It was conducted to help Nokia find out more about consumers’ attitudes and behaviors toward recycling and inform them about the company’s take-back programs and efforts to increase recycling rates of unused mobile devices.
Today, EPA is proposing a rule that supports promising technologies to prevent industrial emissions of carbon dioxide. Secure, long-term underground storage of the greenhouse gas is one way scientific innovation could lessen the effects of climate change.
“Today’s proposal paves the way for technologies that would protect public health and help reduce the effects of climate change,” said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. “With proper site selection and management, geologic sequestration could play a major role in reducing emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.”
EPA’s proposed regulation creates a consistent, national framework for the injection of carbon dioxide underground and protection of underground drinking water resources. The rule would create a new class of injection wells under the authority of the Safe Drinking Water Act’s Underground Injection Control (UIC) program.
The proposed rule builds on the existing UIC program, including extensive requirements to ensure wells are appropriately located, constructed, tested, monitored, and ultimately, closed with proper funding. It would apply to owners and operators of wells that will be used to inject carbon dioxide into the subsurface for the purpose of long-term storage.
Carbon capture and storage is part of a portfolio of technologies available to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. EPA is coordinating with the Department of Energy on carbon sequestration research and development.
EPA is requesting public comments on the proposed rule for 120 days.
Proposal and information about geologic sequestration activities and the UIC program at: epa.gov/safewater/uic/wells_sequestration.html
Read the full story in Occupational Health & Safety.
A team of researchers in Auburn University’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering has produced new antimicrobial coatings with potential to prevent diseases from spreading on contaminated surfaces — possibly solving a growing problem not only in hospitals but also in schools, offices, airplanes and elsewhere.
Led by Virginia Davis, assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, and Aleksandr Simonian, professor of materials engineering in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Auburn researchers mixed solutions of lysozyme, a natural product with antimicrobial properties found in egg whites and human tears, with single-walled carbon nanotubes, or SWNTs, which are strong, microscopic pieces of carbon. SWNTs, at one nanometer in diameter, are a perfect cylinder of carbon and keep the lysozyme intact in the coating.
Read the full story in Occupational Health & Safety.
The American National Standards Institute announced the launch of ANSI iPackages, an online tool that allows organizations to share, annotate, and personalize standards for internal use. The Web site was launched with six collections from the ISO 14000 series of environmental management system (EMS) standards.
The August 2008 issue of Biodiesel Magazine is now available. Highlights include:
Green Seal is developing a new environmental leadership standard for Stains and Finishes, GS-47. The Proposed Standard is open for comment until August 15th 2008. Visit http://www.greenseal.org/certification/gs47_stains_clear_finishes.cfm for information on how to participate.
