In The News

How We Can Manufacture Forests Like Toyota Makes Cars

Marcus Wohlsen April 2, 2014
Forests and individual trees offer numerous benefits that include absorbing carbon emissions and noise, conserving energy and shielding shelters, preventing water pollution or soil erosion, and even increasing property values and reducing violence along city streets. An industrial engineer with Toyota applied strategies from the car manufacturer and Japanese forester Akira Miyawaki to growing...

United Nations: Climate Impacts “Overwhelming”

Matt McGrath March 31, 2014
The impacts of climate change are severe and already underway – with higher risks of flooding, wildfires, food and water shortages, and property damage, suggests a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the United Nations. The report is based on more than 12,000 peer-reviewed studies. Researchers anticipate high costs for adaptation and disaster relief. “Humans may be able...

Are Big, Rich Cities Greener Than Poor Ones?

March 17, 2014
More than half the world’s population lives in cities: “Consequently, a new science of cities is being fueled by the sudden availability of fascinating datasets collected from urban areas all over the world,” notes MIT Technology Review. As cities grow wages rise, drawing more residents; reliance on vehicles tends to decline. Overall, wealthier nations produce more emissions per capita than...

How to Save the Shale Revolution

Robert A. Manning March 11, 2014
Hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling pump water and chemicals into the ground and ease extraction of oil and natural gas. Critics point to the environmental risks, including earthquakes and groundwater contamination; some property owners even urge bans on the technology. Researchers have identified best practices to minimize problems; coordination among regulators could fend off the calls...

Scientists Discover More Gases Attacking Ozone Layer

Pilita Clark March 10, 2014
Researchers have detected new manmade gases, chlorofluorocarbon and hydrochlorofluorocarbon, eroding the ozone layer in the Earth’s stratosphere and curtailing its ability to absorb ultraviolet rays and radiation from the sun. “It is thought the gases may be being emitted from chemicals used to make insecticides and solvents for cleaning electronic components, although their precise origin is...

Nepal Forces Mount Everest Climbers to Double as Trash Collectors

Mark Johanson March 7, 2014
Leave no trace is a motto for many hikers – but not for those who attempt the treacherous climb of Mount Everest. “There are empty oxygen cylinders, tent debris, batteries and climbing gear -- not to mention human refuse and the bodies of fallen climbers, whose corpses don’t decompose in the permanently frozen highlands,” reports Mark Johanson for International Business Times, adding that Nepal...

Europe Flood Losses to "Increase Fourfold" by 2050

Matt McGrath March 5, 2014
Forecasting models predict flood damage losses could increase fourfold for Europe by 2050. Governments are not engaging in adequate planning. “The scientists believe that the continent's annual flood costs may be 23.5bn euros by the middle of the century,” reports Matt McGrath for BBC News. “Two-thirds of the projected increase in flood damage will be caused by human development, not climate...