Archive for the 'Environment' Category
Magnesium: Mineral Content of Vegetables Has Declined 80–90% Last 100 Years
September 14th, 2019This is from 2018. Via: Nutrients: Magnesium is a critical mineral in the human body and is involved in ~80% of known metabolic functions. It is currently estimated that 60% of adults do not achieve the average dietary intake (ADI) and 45% of Americans are magnesium deficient, a condition associated with disease states like hypertension, […]
Worms Fail to Thrive in Soil Containing Microplastics
September 14th, 2019Via: Guardian: Worms fail to thrive in earth containing microplastics, new research has shown, adding to the growing body of evidence of impacts from the increasingly widespread contaminants on the natural world. The rosy-tipped earthworm, Aporrectodea rosea, is one of the most common found in farmland in temperate regions. Scientists found that worms placed in […]
Japan May Be Forced to Dump Radioactive Fukushima Water Into the Pacific
September 10th, 2019Via: U.S. News and World Report: Radioactive water from Japan’s destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant may have to be dumped into the ocean, the country’s energy minister reportedly said Tuesday, igniting concern and anger from nuclear safety experts and Japan’s neighbors in the region. The electric utility overseeing the crippled power plant, Tokyo Electric Power […]
Mystery Surrounds Lost German Sea Data Station
September 7th, 2019Via: BBC: A massive environmental monitoring station off Germany’s Baltic coast has disappeared from the seabed, baffling police and researchers. The seabed “observatory”, worth about €300,000 (£270,000), weighed more than half a tonne. It could not have been dragged off by a storm, tide or large animal, German experts say. Divers only found a torn […]
Island of 50,000 People in the Bahamas Is 70% Under Water
September 5th, 2019Via: Bloomberg: An island in the Bahamas that’s home to 50,000 people is 70% under water after Hurricane Dorian battered it with record force for two days, according to the government. There are “still many outstanding rescue missions,” on the island of Grand Bahama, Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Kevin Peter Turnquest said, in […]
Grand Bahama and Abaco Islands After Hurricane Dorian: ‘Total Devastation. Apocalyptic.’
September 4th, 2019Via: USA Today: The death toll from Hurricane Dorian reached seven and was expected to climb in the Bahamas on Wednesday as rescue teams raced the clock to provide food, water, medicine and shelter to thousands left homeless by the devastating storm. The sun shone brightly over the beleaguered archipelago, revealing the overwhelming destruction across […]
From Darkness To Light
August 27th, 2019Via: Ty Schmitt: From Darkness To Light is an 8k Time-Lapse film shot by storm chaser Ty Schmitt. All the clips in the film were captured on the Great Plains during the 2019 spring storm season. Ty traveled over 30,000 miles in 3 months chasing Mother Nature’s most intense moments.
Brazil: Bolsonaro Admitted Farmers Could be Setting Rainforest Fires, Tells Foreign Powers Not to Interfere
August 23rd, 2019Via: Reuters: Amid growing international criticism over the wildfires raging through the Amazon, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday admitted farmers could be illegally setting the rainforest ablaze but told foreign powers not to interfere. French President Emmanuel Macron and United Nations Secretary General António Guterres both took to Twitter to express concern about the […]
How the Plastics Industry Is Fighting to Keep Polluting the World
August 21st, 2019I’ve been seeing the bales of plastic piling up at my local dump and I thought, “Why not make building materials out of all this stuff?” It turns out that there are some small moves being made in that direction. Here are a few examples: Of course, these efforts are noise level in the scheme […]
It’s Raining Plastic: Microscopic Fibers Fall From The Sky In Rocky Mountains
August 14th, 2019Via: Guardian: Plastic was the furthest thing from Gregory Wetherbee’s mind when he began analyzing rainwater samples collected from the Rocky Mountains. “I guess I expected to see mostly soil and mineral particles,” said the US Geological Survey researcher. Instead, he found multicolored microscopic plastic fibers. The discovery, published in a recent study (pdf) titled […]
