News and Articles


The Case of the Missing Gas Mileage

Automakers have made great strides in fuel efficiency in recent decades — but the mileage numbers of individual vehicles have barely increased. An MIT economist explains the conundrum.

Pennsylvania Sewer Authority Penalized for Safety Violations

The Sewer Authority of the City of Scranton will pay a $12,619 penalty and complete a $30,000 tree planting project under a settlement with EPA.

Over 65 Million Years, North American Mammal Evolution Has Tracked With Climate Change

Climate changes profoundly influenced the rise and fall of six distinct, successive waves of mammal species diversity in North America over the last 65 million years, shows a novel statistical analysis led by Brown University evolutionary biologists. Warming and cooling periods, in two cases confounded by species migrations, marked the transition from one dominant grouping to the next.

Engineers Study How Hills Nearby Turbines Affect Wind Energy Production

Hui Hu pulled a model wind turbine from the top of an office filing cabinet. The turbine tower was just 10 inches high. Its three blades were 10 inches in diameter. It was a perfect 1:320 scale reproduction of the 80-meter diameter wind turbines spinning across Iowa, the country's second-ranked state in installed wind power capacity. That mini turbine is helping a research team led by Hu, an Iowa State University associate professor of aerospace engineering, understand how hills, valleys and the placement of turbines affect the productivity of onshore wind farms.

New Solar-powered Classroom Brings Science to Schools in Developing Countries

An innovative project led by a chemistry academic at the University of Southampton is using solar generators to provide IT resources and 'hands-on' science for students in developing countries.

Benefits of New U. S. Air Quality Rules Greatly Outweigh Costs

A report by researchers at the Mailman School provides an expanded review of six new air quality regulations proposed or recently adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA).

Sunlight and Bunker Oil a Fatal Combination for Pacific Herring

The 2007 Cosco Busan disaster, which spilled 54,000 gallons of oil into the San Francisco Bay, had an unexpectedly lethal impact on embryonic fish, devastating a commercially and ecologically important species for nearly two years, reports a new study by the University of California, Davis, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Weather Deserves Medal for Clean Air During 2008 Olympics

New research suggests that China's impressive feat of cutting Beijing's pollution up to 50 percent for the 2008 Summer Olympics had some help from Mother Nature.

EPA Releases Options for Gowanus Canal Superfund Cleanup

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a study of the options for cleaning up chemical contamination in the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Giant Weed Creates Threat to Our Nation's Ecosystems and Border Security

Weed control has become a matter of national security. Along U.S. southern coastal rivers, most particularly Texas’ Rio Grande, an invasive species of plant known as giant reed is encroaching on the water, overrunning international border access roads, and creating a dense cover for illegal activities.

EPA Finalizes 2012 Renewable Fuel Standards

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently finalized the 2012 percentage standards for four fuel categories that are part of the agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard program (RFS2).

California Proposes Rules to Spur Clean Car Growth

California's Air Resources Board (ARB) is proposing new rules to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

Quebec joins carbon market in North America

Quebec's Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks, Pierre Arcand, recently announced the adoption of the Regulation respecting the cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emission allowances, which is based on the rules established by the Western Climate Initiative (WCI).

New Research Shows How Much Food is Needed by Seabirds

An international group of scientists, including one from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), has shown that many seabirds begin to suffer when the food available for them in the ocean declines below a critical level.

Bordo Poniente Landfill Closure Will Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Mexico City

A project to close one of the world's largest landfills, the 927-acre Bordo Poniente Landfill in Mexico City will stem the city's largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while creating renewable energy and local jobs.

Plastic Bag Collection Events Tip the Scales on America Recycles Day

Plastic bag recycling took on an educational and festive flair in schools, village squares, college campuses and retail store parking lots during America Recycles Day 2011, as community groups in 35 states embraced the message that plastic bags should not be treated like trash.

EPA Commends Governmental Agencies for Environmental Stewardship with Electronics

A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program for encouraging responsible stewardship of electronic devices has welcomed its first three participants from EPA Region 6, which encompasses Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Nitrogen from Humans Pollutes Remote Lakes for More Than a Century

Nitrogen derived from human activities has polluted lakes throughout the Northern Hemisphere for more than a century and the fingerprint of these changes is evident even in remote lakes located thousands of miles from the nearest city, industrial area or farm.

Clean Air Council Says Pennsylvania DEP Failed to Regulate Fracking Pollution, EPA Should Step In

The nonprofit Clean Air Council (CAC) recently asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) to intervene as a result of the failure of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's (PA DEP) to properly regulate fracking and gas processing pollution that contributes to climate change.

Belize Protected Area Boosting Predatory Fish Populations

A 14-year study by the Wildlife Conservation Society in an atoll reef lagoon in Glover's Reef, Belize has found that fishing closures there produce encouraging increases in populations of predatory fish species. However, such closures have resulted in only minimal increases in herbivorous fish, which feed on the algae that smother corals and inhibit reef recovery.