News and Articles


Sierra Nevada Water Researchers Awarded $2 Million Grant

Researchers with the Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI) at the University of California, Merced, have received a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to expand on a prototype system that uses a network of wireless sensors to track snowpack depth, water storage in soil, stream flow, and water use by vegetation in the Sierra — information that is key to efficient usage of such a scarce resource.

Health of Coral Reefs Linked to Human and Environmental Activity

Changing human activities coupled with a dynamic environment over the past few centuries have caused fluctuating periods of decline and recovery of corals reefs in the Hawaiian Islands, according to a study sponsored in part by the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University.

NASA Awards Historic Green Aviation Prize

NASA has awarded the largest prize in aviation history, created to inspire the development of more fuel-efficient aircraft and spark the start of a new electric airplane industry.

Dry Cleaning Chemicals Found in Water Next to Middle School in New York

EPA finalizes plan to clean up old dry cleaner site in Hempstead, N.Y. Chemicals used in dry cleaning found in water next to Woodmere Middle School.

Raw Sewage Home to Millions of Undescribed Viruses

Biologists have described only a few thousand different viruses so far, but a new study reveals a vast world of unseen viral diversity that exists right under our noses. A paper published in the online journal mBio explores ordinary raw sewage and finds that it is home to thousands of novel, undiscovered viruses, some of which could relate to human health.

University of Maryland's WaterShed Wins 2011 Solar Decathlon (With Video)

The school from College Park, Maryland competed against 18 other collegiate teams to build an aesthetically pleasing, architecturally innovative and well-engineered energy efficient living space that generates its energy from solar power

Study Reveals How Gas, Temperature Controlled Bacterial Response to Deepwater Horizon Spill

In a new study, UC Santa Barbara scientists explain how they used DNA to identify microbes present in the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and how they identified the microbes responsible for consuming the large amount of natural gas present immediately after the spill.

Artificial Leaf Makes Fuel from Sunlight

Researchers led by MIT professor Daniel Nocera have produced something they’re calling an “artificial leaf”: Like living leaves, the device can turn the energy of sunlight directly into a chemical fuel that can be stored and used later as an energy source.

Dolphins and Sea Lions Report for Active Military Duty

As the nation heightens security measures across land, air and sea; any proposed tactic in the effort to ward off hostiles is being employed – including an elite team of 75 bottlenose dolphins and 35 California sea lions trained to defend the nation.

Physicists Examine Their Own Carbon Footprint

In October's issue of Physics World, Phil Marshall, an astrophysicist at the University of Oxford, calls on physicists to pull their weight when it comes to climate change, drawing on his own research showing that astronomers average 23,000 air miles per year flying to observatories, conferences and meetings, and use 130 KWh more energy per day than the average U.S. citizen.

New Method Makes Using Solar Thermal Energy Simple, Cheap, Effective

Using solar thermal energy to power an air conditioning unit can be difficult and expensive. But a team of researchers have added a game-changing advance to the process that could make it much simpler, less costly and more effective.

CBP, EPA, PHMSA Join Forces to Advance Information Sharing to Protect Americans' Health

Agreements with Customs and Border Protection will protect Americans’ Health

Researchers Develop World's First Energy-Storage Membrane

Electrical energy storage and its management is becoming an urgent issue due to climate change and energy shortage.

Russian tiger

Russian and U.S. Veterinarians Collaborate to Solve Mysterious Wild Tiger Deaths

A team of Russian veterinary colleagues and health experts from the Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo are collaborating to understand how distemper -- a virus afflicting domestic dogs and many wildlife species -- may be a growing threat to Siberian (Amur) tigers.

Scientists Track Neurotoxin-producing Algae

Scientists at USC have developed a new algae monitoring method in hopes of one day being able to predict when and where toxic "red tides" will occur.

Researchers Produce Cheap Sugars for Sustainable Biofuel Production

Iowa State University's Robert C. Brown keeps a small vial of brown, sweet-smelling liquid on his office table.

New Technology Uses Solar UV Light to Disinfect Drinking Water

A team of Purdue University researchers has invented a prototype water-disinfection system that could help the world's 800 million people who lack safe drinking water.

EPA Commits $1.5 Million to 125 Communities to Support Smart Growth

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced plans to help an estimated 125 local, state, and tribal governments create more housing choices, make transportation more efficient and reliable and support vibrant and healthy neighborhoods that attract businesses.

Largest Abandoned Uranium Mine on the Navajo Nation to be Cleaned

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently announced it has approved a plan and committed to clean up the Northeast Church Rock Mine, the largest and highest-priority uranium mine on the Navajo Nation.

University of Florida’s Water Institute Designated as a Center of Excellence for Watershed Management

The University of Florida’s Water Institute has been designated a Center of Excellence for Watershed Management, becoming the second such institution in the state