Archive for the 'Environment' Category
U.S. Geoengineers to Spray Sun-Reflecting Chemicals from Balloon
July 18th, 2012Mmm hmm. Via: Guardian: Two Harvard engineers are to spray sun-reflecting chemical particles into the atmosphere to artificially cool the planet, using a balloon flying 80,000 feet over Fort Sumner, New Mexico. The field experiment in solar geoengineering aims to ultimately create a technology to replicate the observed effects of volcanoes that spew sulphates into […]
Unknown Mystery Creatures Washing Ashore in Hawaii
July 18th, 2012[???] Via: Nine MSN: Biologists have been left mystified by millions of tiny purple creatures washed ashore on beaches in Hawaii. The pea-sized, crab-like animals are dotting the beaches in Honolulu but scientists are yet to determine what they are, TV station KHON2 reports.
China Plans Nuclear Deep-Sea Mining Base
July 15th, 2012Via: Wired: A Chinese company is set to build a nuclear-powered mobile deep-sea station in the western Pacific, according to local reports. The China Ship Scientific Research Centre’s proposed station — which will have huge propellers to enable free movement in the ocean depths — will be manned by 33 crew for up to two […]
U.S. Declares Drought-Stricken States Largest Natural Disaster Area Ever
July 14th, 2012Via: The Lookout: The United States Department of Agriculture has declared natural disaster areas in more than 1,000 counties and 26 drought-stricken states, making it the largest natural disaster in America ever. The declaration—which covers roughly half of the country—gives farmers and ranchers devastated by drought access to federal aid, including low-interest emergency loans. “Agriculture […]
Florida Keys Residents Resist Release of Dengue Fever-Immune Mosquitoes
July 11th, 2012Via: Guardian: A British company that has developed a genetically modified mosquito to resist the spread of dengue fever is coming up against growing opposition to a plan to release the insects into the Florida Keys. A Change.org petition started by a woman in Key West opposing the release has garnered almost 90,000 signatures and […]
Drought Hits 56 Percent of Continental U.S.; ‘Significant Toll’ on Crops
July 6th, 2012Via: MSNBC: The prolonged heat across the Midwest has not only set temperature records, it is also expanding and intensifying drought conditions — and relief isn’t on the horizon for most areas, the National Weather Service reported Thursday. Drought conditions are present in 56 percent of the continental U.S., according to the weekly Drought Monitor. […]
Mutated Pests Are Quickly Adapting to Biotech Crops
June 28th, 2012Via: io9: Genetically modified crops are often designed to repel hungry insects. By having toxins built into the plant itself, farmers can reduce their use of environmentally unfriendly insecticide sprays. But as any first-year evolutionary biology student can tell you, insects are like the Borg in Star Trek: they quickly adapt. And this is precisely […]
China Downplays Risk to Children from Lead Poisoning
June 27th, 2012Via: Reuters: Chinese children suffering lead poisoning from polluting smelters and factories have been denied testing, effective treatment and even basic information by officials who downplayed health threats, a human rights advocacy group said on Wednesday. The report from Human Rights Watch comes after China’s latest lead pollution outbreak, when 103 children and scores of […]
China: Genetically Modified Cows Churn Out ‘Human Breast Milk’
June 27th, 2012Via: Reuters: Chinese scientists have produced a herd of genetically modified cows that make milk that could substitute for human breast milk — a possible alternative to formula in a nation rocked by tainted milk powder scandals. Researchers at the State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology of the China Agricultural University introduced human genetic coding into […]
Injection Wells: The Poison Beneath Us
June 26th, 2012Via: Pro Publica: Over the past several decades, U.S. industries have injected more than 30 trillion gallons of toxic liquid deep into the earth, using broad expanses of the nation’s geology as an invisible dumping ground. No company would be allowed to pour such dangerous chemicals into the rivers or onto the soil. But until […]
