pollution – News Stories About pollution - Page 9

Global Warming's Cost on Oceans: $2T a Year by 2100

study says

Mar 21, 2012 10:31 AM CDT

Global Warming's Cost on Oceans: $2T a Year by 2100

SEI report estimates 4-degree rise over the century

(Newser) - Unless action is taken to protect them, damage to the world's oceans could reach $1.98 trillion annually by 2100, according to a study released today by the Stockholm Environment Institute. The principle culprit: climate change, which will cause rising sea levels, ocean acidification, marine pollution, species migrations, and...

Oceans Acidifying
at Highest Rate
in 300M Years

Mar 2, 2012 3:32 PM CST

Oceans Acidifying at Highest Rate in 300M Years

Columbia researchers warn of dangers to marine life

(Newser) - Industrial emissions are causing the oceans to acidify at a fast rate—the fastest in 300 million years, say researchers from Columbia University. That could spell danger for sea creatures. In the last century alone, the pH of the oceans dropped by 0.1 units. That's 10 times faster...

China's Air Quality Data
Suspiciously Sunny

Jan 22, 2012 6:39 AM CST

China's Air Quality Data Suspiciously Sunny

Expert calls new data 'surprising'

(Newser) - The Chinese government, under fire from its citizens about its unbelievably upbeat pollution reports , has started to release more detailed data about smog in Beijing, reports the AP . For the first time, Beijing's official weather website yesterday included readings about PM2.5, or particulate matter less than 2.5...

Fleece Jackets Polluting
the World's Oceans

study says

Dec 10, 2011 2:20 PM CST

Fleece Jackets Polluting the World's Oceans

Polyester fibers come off in the wash: study

(Newser) - The Stuff White People Like blog has mocked people for wearing "outdoor performance clothes" everywhere they go, but who knew those fleece pullovers are also dirtying up our oceans. A recent study shows that nearly 2,000 polyester fibers can come loose from one piece of clothing in the...

Cynical Chinese Taking
Own Smog Readings

Dec 8, 2011 2:00 AM CST

Cynical Chinese Taking Own Smog Readings

Rail against government's 'fog' label

(Newser) - The Chinese know smog when they see it—even when the government calls it "fog." So Beijing citizens are taking their own pollution readings. "If people know what their air is like, they are more likely to take action," said a researcher at an environmental group...

Blinding Smog Grounds Flights in Beijing

China Admits:
It's Smog, not Fog

Dec 7, 2011 1:45 AM CST

China Admits: It's Smog, not Fog

State-run media finally talking about health threats of pollution

(Newser) - Those shadowy days that appear in mid-afternoon in Beijing aren't just caused by fog after all, Chinese officials are finally admitting. It's throat-choking, eye-watering, blinding smog. And it's been so atrocious the last few days that authorities have had to cancel flights out of Beijing International Airport,...

How to Create 1.5M Jobs: Bump Up Recycling

new report

Nov 15, 2011 11:58 AM CST

How to Create 1.5M Jobs: Bump Up Recycling

Increasing recycling could boost economy and reduce pollution

(Newser) - Help the planet and create jobs, all at the same time? According to a new report, it might be that easy: If the US increases its recycling rate from 33% to 75% by 2030, an additional 1.5 million jobs will be created, according to the Tellus Institute. Why such...

Environmental
Strategy of GOP:
'Too Dirty to Fail'

opinion

Oct 21, 2011 1:44 PM CDT

Environmental Strategy of GOP: 'Too Dirty to Fail'

They protect polluters on the false pretext of saving jobs: EPA chief

(Newser) - House Republicans claim that to create jobs, we need to loosen environmental regulations. To that end, they’ve “averaged roughly a vote every day” in session to weaken the rules—and have already cut back the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and other laws, writes EPA chief...

Chesapeake 'Dead Zone'
Could Be Largest Ever

Jul 25, 2011 8:08 AM CDT

Chesapeake 'Dead Zone' Could Be Largest Ever

Marine life threatened in oxygen-starved portion of bay

(Newser) - High nutrient pollution levels have caused the Chesapeake Bay's underwater "dead zone" to expand unusually quickly this year: It covers a third of the bay and will likely become the bay's largest-ever area of oxygen-starved water. The dead zone, which sucks oxygen from deep waters and kills...

Chevron Appeals Massive Amazon Pollution Fine

Mar 14, 2011 1:42 AM CDT

Chevron Appeals Massive Amazon Pollution Fine

Oil company claims indigenous supporters 'corrupted' trial

(Newser) - Chevron has launched an appeal challenging a whopping $9.5 billion penalty for polluting much of Ecuador's Amazon region. Company attorneys are accusing lawyers and supporters of the indigenous groups who brought the suit against Chevron of "corrupting" the trial, and claims that the finding against the corporation is...

Big Stink: Great Garbage Patch's Size Exaggerated

Jan 6, 2011 7:41 AM CST

Big Stink: Great Garbage Patch's Size Exaggerated

Think 1% the size of Texas, not twice as big

(Newser) - The "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" is often said to be twice the size of Texas—but that and other scary-sounding claims are “grossly exaggerated,” some scientists are now insisting. A new study shows the plastic waste patch is actually 200 times smaller than previously claimed when comparing...

How the States Rank
on the Environment

Dec 16, 2010 5:18 PM CST

How the States Rank on the Environment

Vermont, Maine, and Hawaii lead the way

(Newser) - Which states are the most environmentally friendly? 24/7 WallSt analyzes pollution levels, energy use, and environmental policies to rank them from 1 to 50:

Vermont: Among its many "green" attributes, Vermont has the smallest carbon footprint in the country. It also releases the fewest carcinogenic toxins.

Ozone Hole Shrinks Again

Dec 3, 2010 4:22 PM CST

Ozone Hole Shrinks Again

Efforts to phase out CFCs may actually be working

(Newser) - Here's a rare bit of good environmental news: The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica, cause célèbre of the '90s, is smaller than it's been for the past 5 years, MSNBC reports. The latest data fit with a pattern of reduction over the last few years that...

Top Polluters Got Waivers, Cash for Stimulus Projects

investigation

Nov 29, 2010 10:11 AM CST

Top Polluters Got Waivers, Cash for Stimulus Projects

BP, DuPont escape environmental rules

(Newser) - The White House has handed wads of stimulus cash to the biggest US polluters and given them "sweeping exemptions from the most basic form of environmental oversight," finds a Center for Public Integrity investigation. Coal burners like Westar Energy and chemical maker DuPont have been among the beneficiaries...

Toxin
Plagues
Brockovich
Town, Again

Nov 10, 2010 8:50 AM CST

Toxin Plagues Brockovich Town, Again

Cancer-causing material spreads through wells

(Newser) - A toxic plume of chromium continues to trouble the California desert town that Erin Brockovich put on the map—and the pollution is getting worse, reports the AP . High levels of the material, which can cause cancer, have spread through wells near Hinkley. “Because of the widespread nature of...

Beak Deformities
on the Rise in
Northwest

Nov 9, 2010 10:21 AM CST

Beak Deformities on the Rise in Northwest

Abnormality at 10 times normal levels

(Newser) - Something is warping the beaks of thousands of birds in Alaska and the Northwest. A recent US Geological Survey found a shocking number of birds with “avian keratin disorder,” which causes the either the upper beak, lower beak, or both to grow abnormally long and curved, often crossing...

Underground Acid Lake Threatens Johannesburg

Sep 7, 2010 11:14 AM CDT

Underground Acid Lake Threatens Johannesburg

City needs millions to pump toxic water from mines

(Newser) - Johannesburg is frantically attempting to procure millions of dollars for a new pumping station, before a rising tide of toxic mine water seeps into the city’s streets. Abandoned mine shafts in and around the city have filled up with ground water, which oxidizes with the metals within the mines,...

Oil Spill Sends
Foul Smell
to New Orleans

Apr 30, 2010 10:36 AM CDT

Oil Spill Sends Foul Smell to New Orleans

Strong winds complicating cleanup efforts

(Newser) - The oil spill oozing ashore in Louisiana is making life miserable for residents of New Orleans because of the stench. Complaints are jamming city phone lines, and officials say they can only assume the odor is coming from the Gulf, reports the Times-Picayune . Andrew Sullivan, meanwhile, posts this from a...

Plastic Garbage Patch
Found in Atlantic

Plastic Garbage Patch Found in Atlantic

Covers thousands of square miles, endangers fish

(Newser) - If you’re planning on taking a cruise, hopefully your ship won’t travel through the “great Atlantic garbage patch” that covers thousands of square miles between Bermuda and the Azores islands. The plastic debris is so small that some pieces are almost invisible, and the floating trash heap—...

'Plastic Sea' Found
North of Caribbean

Feb 24, 2010 6:10 AM CST

'Plastic Sea' Found North of Caribbean

Atlantic plastic patch threatening food chain

(Newser) - Researchers trying to determine just how much plastic trash is building up in the world's oceans have found a large concentration just north of the Caribbean. The study—based on more than 22,000 plastic fragments collected over the years—found that a huge area between 22 and 38 degrees...