Category: Environment

Sharks, barracuda and other large predatory fishes disappear on Caribbean coral reefs as human populations rise, endangering the region’s marine food web and ultimately its reefs and fisheries, according to a sweeping study by researcher Chris Stallings of The Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory.

While other scientists working in the Caribbean have observed the declines of large predators for decades, the comprehensive work by Chris Stallings of The Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory documents the ominous patterns in far more detail at a much greater geographic scale than any other research to date. His article on the study, “Fishery-Independent Data Reveal Negative Effect of Human Population Density on Caribbean Predatory Fish Communities,” is published in the May 6, 2009 issue of the journal PLoS One.

Federal requirements to increase the production of ethanol has developed into a “drink-or-drive issue” in the Midwest as a result of biofuel production’s impact on water supplies and water quality, says an environmental engineering researcher at Missouri University of Science and Technology in the latest issue of the journal "Environmental Science & Technology."

In an analysis of the water required to produce ethanol from various crops, Dr. Joel G. Burken, a professor of environmental engineering at Missouri S&T, and colleagues from Rice University and Clarkson University find that ethanol could become a costly proposition in terms of “gallons per mile” and other water quality issues. They describe the Midwest’s water needs and impacts as the ’water footprint’ in their cover feature for the May 1 issue of Environmental Science & Technology.

Earth's earliest ice age may have been due to the rise of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere, which consumed atmospheric greenhouse gases and chilled the earth. University of Maryland geologist Alan J. Kaufman and an international team of scientists uncovered evidence that the oxygenation of Earth's atmosphere coincided with the first global ice age.

An international team of geologists may have uncovered the answer to an age-old question - an ice-age-old question, that is. It appears that Earth's earliest ice age may have been due to the rise of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere, which consumed atmospheric greenhouse gases and chilled the earth.

Analysis of Greenland ice led by Scripps researchers could allay fears about methane ‘burp’ accelerating current global warming trend.

An expansion of wetlands and not a large-scale melting of frozen methane deposits is the likely cause of a spike in atmospheric methane gas that took place some 11,600 years ago, according to an international research team led by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

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Horizontal banding of ice layers reveals thousands of years of ice formation at Greenland's Pakitsoq ice margin. Geoscientists frequent Greenland's ice sheets to build records of paleoclimate.

Researchers find that currently scheduled water deliveries from the Colorado River are unlikely to be met if human-caused climate change reduces runoff in the region.

The Colorado River system supplies water to tens of millions of people and millions of acres of farmland, and has never experienced a delivery shortage. But if human-caused climate change continues to make the region drier, scheduled deliveries will be missed 60-90 percent of the time by the middle of this century, according to a pair of climate researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego.

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Hoover Dam, with Lake Mead behind it, generates 4 billion kilowatt hours per year.

Rivers in some of the world's most populous regions are losing water, according to a new study led by NCAR scientists. The reduced flows in many cases are associated with climate change, and may potentially threaten future supplies of food and water.

Rivers in some of the world's most populous regions are losing water, according to a new comprehensive study of global stream flow. The study, led by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), suggests that in many cases the reduced flows are associated with climate change. The process could potentially threaten future supplies of food and water.

Scientists at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry ranked a crowded planet as the biggest problem we face, followed by climate change and a need for renewable energy resources.

Overpopulation is the world’s top environmental issue, followed closely by climate change and the need to develop renewable energy resources to replace fossil fuels, according to a survey of the faculty at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF).

On April 22, individuals from Gabon, Africa, to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. will celebrate Earth Day 2009. Laine Cunningham, author and cultural explorer, shows people how to blend tribal wisdom with modern techniques to become true Earth Keepers.

This year, Earth Day will be more special than ever before. With the American economy in a tailspin, individuals and communities are finding that good stewardship practices are also providing food and keeping them healthy. Laine Cunningham, author and cultural explorer, offers five top ways to blend modern devices with tribal wisdom so people can become true Earth Keepers.

The rise in organic cropping has led agronomists at the University of Wisconsin to study whether or not it can be as profitable for farmers as monocropping systems, and they were able to conclude that governmental policy supporting mono-culture is outdated and should be shifted to promote organic farming practices.

Which is a better strategy, specializing in one crop or diversified cropping? Is conventional cropping more profitable than organic farming? Is it less risky?

This Earth Day would be a good time to stop and reflect on the social changes that are happening around the world as a result of the damage we've done to our environment.

This year, Earth Day falls on April 22, and for its 39th anniversary, the eco-minded among us will be taking stock of advancements made by the green movement, as well as the challenges that remain. “It is great news that the public has become more aware of the damage we are causing to our ecosystems, but Earth Day should also be an opportunity for us to think about the social costs associated with global warming,” says botanist Clint Springer, Ph.D., of Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.

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Clint Springer, Ph.D.