The now-ubiquitous imagery of plastic mounting in oceans and in the bellies of wildlife has sparked a dialogue about plastic pollution. But there’s a missing link, notes a new report from the Center for International Environmental Law. Plastic products result from a long…
The planet reached a terrifying milestone on Saturday. For the first time in human existence, CO2 concentrations surpassed 415 parts-per-million, according to a reading from the historic Mauna Loa Observatory, The Independent reports.
A reputation as cursed and unholy became the saving grace of India’s Chambal River—helping it escape a fate like the sacred, yet heavily polluted Ganges. People gave the Chambal wide berth, ultimately sparing it from heavy development and polluting factories. In 1979,…
“Ears evolved in an acoustic environment that was nothing like the one we live in today”—and the disconnect is causing serious health problems, writes David Owen. For decades, researchers around the globe and under the sea have been dedicated to measuring noise and its wide…
Baby teeth collected in 5 Los Angeles neighborhoods showed high amounts of lead traced to recycled car batteries at a nearby Exide plant—shuttered for hazardous waste violations in 2015.
The banned refrigerant CFC-12 is a heavy hitter in climate destruction. Existing “banks” still litter the world and disposing of just the known canisters could equate to a savings of 17 years of US CO2 emissions. CFCs can be disposed of in a special kiln, but collecting and…
Resistant to water, oil and heat, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are ubiquitous in everything from clothing to nonstick cookware—and now soil, drinking water and the human body. Yet scientists know precious little about the so-called “forever chemicals” and…
As environmental change increasingly puts global health at risk, The Lancet is marking Earth Day by asking clinicians to put their commitment to planetary health in writing, and use their voices to galvanize individual and collective action.
Students and professors at the University of Alabama are assessing the scope of “straight pipe” sewer systems across 17 counties in Alabama’s Black Belt. The rural region has dense, black soil that restricts water flow, and many homes that are far from municipal sewer lines…
From 1949-1963, some 1.5 million people were exposed to fallout from above-ground nuclear testing at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan. Among the tests was a nuclear weapon detonation 25X stronger than the bomb dropped at Hiroshima. High winds on the Kazakh steppe…
