Category: 9. Environment
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Study reveals EPA’s lead and copper rule yields $9 billion in health benefits, exceeding estimates
Credit: CC0 Public Domain The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Lead and Copper Drinking Water Rule Revision (LCRR) costs $335 million to implement while generating $9 billion in health benefits annually—far exceeding the EPA’s public statements that the LCRR generates $645 million in annual health benefits, according to a new study from researchers at Harvard T.H.…
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Trapping holds back speed of bird recovery in a Sumatran forest, study shows
A decade of protection and natural regeneration of tropical forests has helped bird populations increase in the southern lowlands of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island, a new study says. However, it adds that continued wild trapping is preventing the reforestation effort from achieving its greatest results. The Harapan Forest, which straddles the provinces of Jambi and South…
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Australia bushfires may have caused global climate phenomenon La Niña: Study
The 2019-2020 Australian bushfires threw up so much ash into the atmosphere that it resulted in a cooling of the southern Pacific and hence a La Niña climate phenomenon, a new study says. Volcanic eruptions that send vast ash plumes into the atmosphere are thought to trigger La Niña events, but this is the first…
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Honey production sweetens snow leopard conservation in Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan is one of a dozen countries where snow leopards live, but its population of 300-400 of the big cats living along its highest peaks is stressed by climate change and conflict with herders, whose livestock can be tempting prey. A new program by two snow leopard conservation NGOs is helping herders diversify away from…
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How songs of the oceans raise environmental awareness
Malloy with the oil drum used for his musical performances. Credit: Colin Malloy For many people, there are few sounds as relaxing as ocean waves. But the sound of the seas can also convey deeper emotions and raise awareness about pollution. At the upcoming 184th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Colin Malloy of…
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Corruption threatens timber traceability in Nkok, Gabon
Gabon enjoys 88% forest cover, with selective logging helping protect this ecological and economic resource. Timber processed in the country’s Nkok Special Investment Zone (SIZ) is required to be harvested in line with European Union certifications for sustainability. However, TraCer, the monitoring system meant to ensure the traceability of wood entering the Nkok SIZ, was…
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Study proposes a new urban model
A: A sidewalk network for the city of Barcelona was constructed using data from OpenStreetMap, as well as municipal and regional data sources. Edges of the network were annotated with various attributes relevant to walkability, namely: width, slope, and pedestrian-car accident hazard level. Further, a variety of geotagged services and amenities were assigned to network…
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Seabird conservation mostly works, comprehensive new data set shows
Researchers compiled a data set of seabird restoration projects, including those that used translocation and social attraction, from around the world. Ornithologist Stephen Kress pioneered translocation and social attraction, but these methods have been used more than 850 times in the last 70 years — mostly to great success. Experts say seabirds are one of…
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Australian bushfires likely contributed to multiyear La Niña
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain The catastrophic Australian bushfires in 2019–2020 contributed to ocean cooling thousands of miles away, ultimately nudging the Tropical Pacific into a rare multi-year La Niña event that dissipated only recently. The research was led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and is published in Science Advances. La Niña events…
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This ridge is considered a California ‘jewel.’ Here’s how tribes are trying to protect it
Condor Ridge/Molok Luyuk. Credit: Google Maps At first glance, the undulating brown wrinkles of Molok Luyuk make it seem like a banal California mountain ridge. Most visitors ride ATVs up and down hillsides and litter them with shell casings from makeshift shooting ranges. Ryan Henson was one of those visitors as a kid, dumping an…