Category: Environment

The widespread damage to Gulf Coast forests inflicted by Hurricane Katrina poses a significant setback in the battle against global warming, according to Tulane researchers led by Jeffrey Chambers, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology.

Researchers led by biologist Jeffrey Chambers of Tulane University have determined that the losses inflicted by Hurricane Katrina on Gulf Coast forest trees are enough to cancel out a year’s worth of new tree biomass (trunks, branches and foliage) growth in other parts of the country.

It's too easy to think of climate change in the abstract, without considering the impact that rising temps have on people's lives. Here in the West, it's also much too easy to see the results of global warming as a mere inconvenience. In the third world, the effects can be devastating.

A new tool from WWF allows people around the world to document first-hand the impacts of climate change on their communities and livelihoods, from melting glacial lakes in the Himalayas threatening to flood Sherpa villages to rising sea levels in the Pacific putting fishermen out of business. Through the Climate Witness Program, WWF collects testimony from citizens in vulnerable areas, verifies it with leading climate scientists and then shares it with the world.

From the frequency with which we laundry to the fabrics we choose to wear, global warming will have an impact.

Climate change will have a profound effect on clothes and fashion, changing styles, fabrics and laundering, says a University of Maryland expert.

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Jimmy Carter and his famous cardigan.

It seems that wind energy may not be 100 percent environmentally friendly. Nocturnal birds and bats, including songbirds protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, are becoming prey to the turbines.

Wind energy is one of the fastest growing sectors of the energy industry, but not without environmental consequences. Nocturnally active birds and bats have become prey to turbines, yet little guidance could be found for assessing impacts of wind energy on this group until now. A new article published in the latest issue of The Journal of Wildlife Management gives guidance about the methods and metrics of this subject.

Recent wildfires have forced many to drastically alter their way of life. Learn how to prevent such a tragedy by strategically planting fire-resistant trees.

Why does one house burn while its neighbor goes untouched?

A unique ecosystem is restored as a site on the shore of an urban lake begins to produce a sustainable energy crop.

The Solvay Settling Basins, the scene of years of industrial pollution on the shores of Syracuse’s Onondaga Lake, is the setting for a novel approach to restoring brownfield sites for beneficial use.

Tree stumps at the feet of Western Canadian glaciers are providing new insights into the accelerated rates at which the rivers of ice have been shrinking due to human-aided global warming.

Tree stumps at the feet of Western Canadian glaciers are providing new insights into the accelerated rates at which the rivers of ice have been shrinking due to human-aided global warming.

A panel discussion hosted by the UCLA School of Public Health on the potential impact changes in climate could have on people’s health warned of a rise in water-and food-borne illness and infectious diseases. The panelists discussed what individuals, the public health community, and state and local government can do to prepare.

Preparedness was a recurrent theme during a panel discussion hosted by the UCLA School of Public Health on the potential impact changes in climate could have on people’s health. More than 300 people attended the Climate Change Summit, where climate change and environmental health experts provided insight on ways climate change such as rising temperatures and severe weather-related events could increase the rates of water- and food-borne illness, infectious diseases, illnesses caused by air pollution, and heat-related illness and death. The panelists discussed what individuals, the public health community, and state and local government can do to put in place preparedness plans to prevent weather-related illness and mortality.

GreenEnergyChoice provides simple lifestyle changes to save money and the environment.

The website GreenEnergyChoice has identified several ways in which living green can actually save money. To save money while living a green lifestyle, GreenEnergyChoice recommends making the following changes:

A diet that includes about two cooked ounces a day of eggs and meat might be friendlier to the environment than strict vegetarianism.

A low-fat vegetarian diet is very efficient in terms of how much land is needed to support it. But adding some dairy products and a limited amount of meat may actually increase this efficiency, Cornell researchers suggest.