Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Gas tanks could guzzle half of U.S. corn yields
Strong expansion of the U.S. corn-to-ethanol industry, now under way, stands poised to divert much of the grain from food uses to transportation fuel.
- Earth
Sudden Chill
Today's combination of nuclear proliferation, political instability, and urban demographics increases the likelihood that humankind could suffer a devastating nuclear winter.
- Earth
Heating releases cookware chemicals
Nonstick coatings on fry pans and microwave-popcorn bags can, when heated, release traces of potentially toxic perfluorinated chemicals.
- Earth
Aquatic Non-Scents
Many common pollutants appear to be jeopardizing the survival of fish and other aquatic species by blunting their sense of smell.
- Earth
2006: Hottest year in U.S. history
Preliminary analyses of weather data gathered from more than 1,200 sites across the continental United States indicate that last year was the warmest on record.
- Earth
Mercury pollution settles in hot spots
Certain areas of North America are particularly susceptible to environmental accumulation of mercury.
- Earth
Counterintuitive Toxicity
Toxicologists risk missing important health effects, both good and bad, if they don't begin regularly probing the impacts of very low doses of poisons.
- Agriculture
Cloned Meat and Milk Are Safe, but They Won’t Hit Stores Soon
A Food and Drug Administration analysis concludes that food from cloned animals is safe, but the effort and expense involved in creating these animals means that products from them won't be in markets anytime soon.
- Earth
Natural Hazards
The U.S. Geological Survey has launched a new Web site about the threat of natural disasters. It provides seven easy-to-understand fact sheets on earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanoes, and wildfires. The site also highlights resources and information available from the USGS and provides links to individual hazards Web pages for more detailed information. Go […]
- Agriculture
Big footprints
Livestock production carries surprisingly high, and largely hidden, environmental costs.
- Earth
Yes, it’s asbestos
Federal mineralogists have corroborated earlier evidence that Sierra-foothills communities around Sacramento, Calif., are built atop soils naturally laced with asbestos.
- Earth
Meteorites on Ice
Join a recent expedition to the Antarctic to search for meteorites. Check out reports from the 2006-2007 trek in the daily expedition blog. Go to: http://geology.cwru.edu/~ansmet/ and http://www.humanedgetech.com/expedition/ansmet2/
