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climate change
Posts Tagged “Environment”
Pollution Levels Going Down in U.S. Coastal Waters
Although it's tempting to turn every piece of news about environmental science into a dystopian scenario, dire predictions are not always warranted. Today the U.S. government released the results of a 20-year study of contaminants in the coastal regions of that country, and found that environmental laws enacted in the 1970s had significantly reduced the amounts of pesticides and industrial chemicals in the water. So sometimes legislation can actually change the future. The report warns that other kinds of contaminants still need to be curbed, such as oil-related waste from cars and ships. There's a very readable version of the report here, or you can check out a summary on Science Daily.
Although it's tempting to turn every piece of news about environmental science into a dystopian scenario, dire predictions are not always warranted. Today the U.S. government released the results of a 20-year study of contaminants in the coastal regions of that country, and found that environmental laws enacted in the 1970s had significantly reduced the amounts of pesticides and industrial chemicals in the water. So sometimes legislation can actually change the future. The report warns that other kinds of contaminants still need to be curbed, such as oil-related waste from cars and ships. There's a very readable version of the report here, or you can check out a summary on Science Daily.
climate change
mega industry
Though the EU has been clamoring to reduce carbon emissions, Germany is in the process of building 26 new coal-burning power plants. Here you can see a gigantic excavator machine mining brown coal near the Boxberg power plant yesterday. Consider this a "before" picture. Want to see what happens after the excavation?
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A Coal-Burning Power Plant, Before and After
Though the EU has been clamoring to reduce carbon emissions, Germany is in the process of building 26 new coal-burning power plants. Here you can see a gigantic excavator machine mining brown coal near the Boxberg power plant yesterday. Consider this a "before" picture. Want to see what happens after the excavation?
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Some OK Reasons to Bathe in Nuclear Radiation
Apparently being zapped by a zillion DNA-mutating, radioactive particles from a nuclear power source isn't all bad. National Geographic reports that two major nuclear accident areas — the bomb-testing area around the Bikini Atoll and the regions around the Chernobyl meltdown — are starting to bounce back. The biosphere can survive nuclear radiation, apparently. According to Environmental Graffiti, "Edward Calabrese, a professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, claims that radiation may fall into a concept called hormesis: poisons that are lethal at high doses, are beneficial in low ones." Or, as another scientist put it, the life forms that don't die from radiation just grow stronger. [Environmental Graffiti]
Apparently being zapped by a zillion DNA-mutating, radioactive particles from a nuclear power source isn't all bad. National Geographic reports that two major nuclear accident areas — the bomb-testing area around the Bikini Atoll and the regions around the Chernobyl meltdown — are starting to bounce back. The biosphere can survive nuclear radiation, apparently. According to Environmental Graffiti, "Edward Calabrese, a professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, claims that radiation may fall into a concept called hormesis: poisons that are lethal at high doses, are beneficial in low ones." Or, as another scientist put it, the life forms that don't die from radiation just grow stronger. [Environmental Graffiti]
mega environmentalism
A Solar-Powered Death Ray
A Spanish company has built a "Solar Power Tower" near Seville that could easily become the world's first orbital solar death ray. It generates electricity via sunlight without photovoltaic cells, using 624 mirrors called heliostats to focus sunlight on a receiver at the top of the tower. The system generates temperatures hotter than the surface of Mercury. More »
mega environmentalism
Need to get some quick-and-pretty solar energy to your house, but don't want to mount a bunch of heavy solar panels on your roof? Now you can start powering up with these gorgeous, lightweight solar balloons. As long as you've got a helium tank handy, says inventor Joseph Cory, just one or two of these balloons made with photovoltaic solar cells could power your whole house.
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Power Your Home with Helium Balloons
Need to get some quick-and-pretty solar energy to your house, but don't want to mount a bunch of heavy solar panels on your roof? Now you can start powering up with these gorgeous, lightweight solar balloons. As long as you've got a helium tank handy, says inventor Joseph Cory, just one or two of these balloons made with photovoltaic solar cells could power your whole house.
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global warming
CO2 Map Shows Hi-Res View of Global Warming Culprits
The United States is responsible for about a quarter of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. Now we know exactly where they're coming from, thanks to the powerful new Vulcan mapping system built by Kevin Gurney and colleagues at Purdue University. Vulcan overlays emissions from transportation, power plants and other sources onto a map of the US using a grids with a resolution of 10 kilometers. More »
mega engineering
There may be a very simple solution to the oil-guzzling problem on cargo ships that haul huge loads across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Wind power. A German company called SkySails believes that by attaching what are essentially giant parasails to cargo ships, they can reduce their use of oil by up to 35 percent.
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Gigantic Cargo Sailboats to Replace Oil-Guzzling Cargo Fleets
There may be a very simple solution to the oil-guzzling problem on cargo ships that haul huge loads across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Wind power. A German company called SkySails believes that by attaching what are essentially giant parasails to cargo ships, they can reduce their use of oil by up to 35 percent.
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architecture
Who said nature has to be pristine and untouched by technology? The Orquideorama is a giant steel-and-wood structure recently built in the middle of a more traditional botanical garden in Medellin, Colombia. It consists of a series of modular, honeycomb-like "flower-tree" structures. The hexagonal "flowers" actually serve an important function—they collect rainwater and distribute it evenly to the flora beneath. This beautiful, functional structure could become a common substitute for antiquated greenhouses. Image by Sergio Gomez [Inhabitat]
A Greenhouse Made of Steel
Who said nature has to be pristine and untouched by technology? The Orquideorama is a giant steel-and-wood structure recently built in the middle of a more traditional botanical garden in Medellin, Colombia. It consists of a series of modular, honeycomb-like "flower-tree" structures. The hexagonal "flowers" actually serve an important function—they collect rainwater and distribute it evenly to the flora beneath. This beautiful, functional structure could become a common substitute for antiquated greenhouses. Image by Sergio Gomez [Inhabitat]
environmental disaster
Over the past five years, the western United States endured temperature increases that caused droughts, deadly heat waves, mass death of trees, and insect infestations. Now a new report from the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization demonstrates why: the U.S. West has experienced an average temperature increase that is 70 percent greater than the world as a whole. The warming is directly related to greenhouse gas emissions.
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Western U.S. Cooked by Climate Change Sooner than the Rest of the World
Over the past five years, the western United States endured temperature increases that caused droughts, deadly heat waves, mass death of trees, and insect infestations. Now a new report from the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization demonstrates why: the U.S. West has experienced an average temperature increase that is 70 percent greater than the world as a whole. The warming is directly related to greenhouse gas emissions.
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to-do list for futurists
How to Build an Ecotopian Society
Most of us want to make the future a better place, but as an individual it's hard to feel like there's anything you can do on a daily or even yearly basis that will result in a better world 100 years from now. That's why I'm putting together a set of to-do lists for futurists — practical lists of things you can do in the here and now to change the future. Today I'm going to start with something fairly straightforward: building Ecotopia, an urban society that lives in harmony with the natural world. Here are five things you can put on your to-do lists that could help bring us closer to the goal Ernest Callenbach outlines in his fascinating novel Ecotopia. More »
nanotechnology
Wired has just posted an amazing gallery devoted to the production of these envirotastic nano-crystals that absorb carbon dioxide. Each crystal can absorb up to 80 times its own volume in carbon dioxide. UCLA researcher Omar Yaghi says these particular crystals could be used for carbon capture technologies in green engines, sucking up carbon before it hits the air. Want to see the cool machines that make these crystals?
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Glittering Nano-Crystals Eat Carbon and Save the World
Wired has just posted an amazing gallery devoted to the production of these envirotastic nano-crystals that absorb carbon dioxide. Each crystal can absorb up to 80 times its own volume in carbon dioxide. UCLA researcher Omar Yaghi says these particular crystals could be used for carbon capture technologies in green engines, sucking up carbon before it hits the air. Want to see the cool machines that make these crystals?
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aaas conference
The Most Immature Thing We Did at AAAS
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a pretty serious organization, and every year they have a very serious conference devoted to things like helping people in the developing world, saving the environment, curing cancer, and solving the global energy crisis. We at io9, however, are not quite as serious. In fact, we're the kind of people who shouldn't be allowed off leashes, especially in places where science is being done. Here's what we did at AAAS after we escaped from the security guards who tried to stop us from stealing skulls from the evolution exhibit and replacing them with little models of the monolith from 2001.* More »
nuke power
Nuclear power is the other alternative energy - cleaner than biomass, and less retarded than ethanol. Sure there's that pesky problem of nuclear waste, but that's not stopping a union of European, Asian, and United States task forces from working on the next generation of nuclear power plants, that will look something like this on the inside (this is a Trigia research nuke power reactor, designed by Freeman Dyson). And here's the cool part. Many new, generation IV nuclear reactors will be virtually waste-free. Want to see some of the prototype generation IV nuke power plants?
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The Future Is Coming Up Nukes
Nuclear power is the other alternative energy - cleaner than biomass, and less retarded than ethanol. Sure there's that pesky problem of nuclear waste, but that's not stopping a union of European, Asian, and United States task forces from working on the next generation of nuclear power plants, that will look something like this on the inside (this is a Trigia research nuke power reactor, designed by Freeman Dyson). And here's the cool part. Many new, generation IV nuclear reactors will be virtually waste-free. Want to see some of the prototype generation IV nuke power plants?
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urban dystopia
Most cities built before 1900 weren't designed with cars in mind, and traffic jams are often one of the results. As we move towards a future that is looking increasingly urban, we're likely to see more traffic scenes like this one, in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. We're also likely to see more traffic jams created by war zones, and by climate change. Want to see what those look like?
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The Shape of Urban Traffic to Come
Most cities built before 1900 weren't designed with cars in mind, and traffic jams are often one of the results. As we move towards a future that is looking increasingly urban, we're likely to see more traffic scenes like this one, in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. We're also likely to see more traffic jams created by war zones, and by climate change. Want to see what those look like?
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mad environmentalism
A Zero-Emissions Car That Runs on Fossil Fuel
In the next year, students at Georgia Tech will be driving cars that run on fossil fuels but don't release tons of carbon into the environment. It's all part of the university's long-term plan to develop vehicles that produce recyclable carbon. Eventually they hope to eliminate fossil fuel from the equation, but in the meantime they are working with an engine that traps carbon emissions for dumping off and recycling at fuel stations. Let's hope they model it on this Swiss zero-emissions car called SAM, which looked cool but was discontinued due to lack of funds. More »
radical evolution
First Proof that Evolution Can Work Faster Than Genetic Engineering
For years, farmers have been growing genetically-engineered cotton plants that exude an insecticide known as Bt. But now, a pest called the bollworm moth has evolved a resistance to Bt — and the altered bugs have already spread across part of the southern United States. This is the first-known example of bugs evolving resistance to an insecticide in the wild. It proves that natural selection can outrun genetic engineering in terms of its ability to transform a species quickly. More »
horrorhead
Welcome back to Horrorhead, a column where we explore the intersection of horror and scifi. Back in the 1950s, it seemed like every monster was created by radiation: giant ants, a giant tarantula, and even a giant dinosauroid thing called Gojira. But ever since the 1970s, an even scarier byproduct of human invention has been creating gloopy crawlies: pollution. These aren't your friendly Toxic Avenger "fall into a vat of waste" types though. These are the real deal, created by environmental pollutants and industrial waste dumped into the natural world. Read on if you want to take a look at movie mutants who were made by our environmentally-degraded world . . .
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How Pollution Created the Creepiest Movie Mutants
Welcome back to Horrorhead, a column where we explore the intersection of horror and scifi. Back in the 1950s, it seemed like every monster was created by radiation: giant ants, a giant tarantula, and even a giant dinosauroid thing called Gojira. But ever since the 1970s, an even scarier byproduct of human invention has been creating gloopy crawlies: pollution. These aren't your friendly Toxic Avenger "fall into a vat of waste" types though. These are the real deal, created by environmental pollutants and industrial waste dumped into the natural world. Read on if you want to take a look at movie mutants who were made by our environmentally-degraded world . . .
More »
11:00 AM on Wed Feb 6 2008
By Annalee Newitz
2,744 views,
32 comments
Latest by Klebert: @annalee: Well, sure - but not just Overfiend... Maybe the Anime/Manga world was a lot milder when I was 5. -Kle. more »
