Archive for September, 2007
Recovery From Acid Rain ‘Much Slower Than Expected’
Posted on September 28, 2007 - Filed Under Air Pollution, Curbing Pollution, Environmental Pollution, General, Global Warming, Land Pollution, Ocean Pollution, Pollution News, Water Pollution
Studies in Scotland and Wales show that streams still have high levels of acidity from pollution in the 1970s and 1980s, despite efforts to clean them. In Wales, more than 12,000 km of streams and rivers have been acidified, harming fish, stream insects and river birds such as the dipper.
Read More..>>Microscopic Pollution May Trigger Heart Attacks And Strokes By Spurring Blood Clots
Posted on September 26, 2007 - Filed Under Air Pollution, Curbing Pollution, Environmental Pollution, General, Global Warming, Land Pollution, Ocean Pollution, Pollution News, Water Pollution
Thousands of people die from strokes and heart attacks within 24 hours of a spike in microscopic pollution. Scientists couldn’t figure out why. New research has found that these tiny pieces of soot spur hyperclotting of the blood, resulting in heart attacks and strokes for people at risk. Previous epidemiological research has linked the pollution to cardiovascular death and disease, but this is the first study to show how it actually happens in an animal model.
Read More..>>Pollution Drives Frog Deformities By Ramping Up Infections
Posted on September 25, 2007 - Filed Under Air Pollution, Curbing Pollution, Environmental Pollution, General, Global Warming, Land Pollution, Ocean Pollution, Pollution News, Water Pollution
High levels of nutrients used in farming and ranching activities fuel parasite infections that have caused highly publicized frog deformities in ponds and lakes across North America, according to a new study. The study showed increased levels of nitrogen and phosphorus cause sharp hikes in the abundance and reproduction of a snail species that hosts microscopic parasites known as trematodes. The nutrients stimulate algae growth, increasing snail populations and the number of infectious parasites released by snails into ponds and lakes. The parasites subsequently form cysts in the developing limbs of tadpoles causing missing limbs, extra limbs and other severe malformations, according to researchers.
Read More..>>Why Are Freshwater Mussels In Decline?
Posted on September 21, 2007 - Filed Under Air Pollution, Curbing Pollution, Environmental Pollution, General, Global Warming, Land Pollution, Ocean Pollution, Pollution News, Water Pollution
North America’s diverse community of freshwater mussels has been on the decline for decades and is presently considered one of the continent’s most endangered groups of animals. Mussels are a critical component of the food chain because they are a food source for aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates, and they provide nutrient and energy cycling in streams and lakes by filtering algae, bacteria, and organic matter from the water column.
Read More..>>New Emissions Testing Regulation Gives Repair Shops Reasons To Cheat
Posted on September 18, 2007 - Filed Under Air Pollution, Curbing Pollution, Environmental Pollution, General, Global Warming, Land Pollution, Ocean Pollution, Pollution News, Water Pollution
In the never-ending quest to make sure cars are not spewing large quantities of pollution into the air, states are implementing new and easier ways to ensure automobiles are both safe and environmentally friendly. But there’s a potential problem with the new plan, according to a business professor: repair shops have very strong incentives to cheat, but not in a way that helps reduce pollution.
Read More..>>Acid Rain Has A Disproportionate Impact On Coastal Waters
Posted on September 15, 2007 - Filed Under Air Pollution, Curbing Pollution, Environmental Pollution, General, Global Warming, Land Pollution, Ocean Pollution, Pollution News, Water Pollution
The release of sulfur and nitrogen into the atmosphere by power plants and agricultural activities plays a minor role in making the ocean more acidic on a global scale, but the impact is greatly amplified in the shallower waters of the coastal ocean, according to new research by atmospheric and marine chemists.
Read More..>>Diesel Exhaust May Increase Risk In Patients With Heart Disease
Posted on September 14, 2007 - Filed Under Air Pollution, Curbing Pollution, Environmental Pollution, General, Global Warming, Land Pollution, Ocean Pollution, Pollution News, Water Pollution
Air pollution could be putting patients with heart disease at risk by affecting blood vessels and clotting, researchers warn. A recent study measured the effects of diesel exhaust on heart and blood vessel function in men who have previously experienced a heart attack. The research found that inhalation of diesel exhaust caused changes in the heart’s electrical activity, suggesting that air pollution reduces the amount of oxygen available to the heart during exercise.
Read More..>>Parking Spaces Outnumber Drivers 3 To 1, Drive Pollution And Warming
Posted on September 13, 2007 - Filed Under Air Pollution, Curbing Pollution, Environmental Pollution, General, Global Warming, Land Pollution, Ocean Pollution, Pollution News, Water Pollution
From suburban driveways to the sprawling lots that spring up around big retailers, Americans devote lots of space to parking spaces — a growing land-use trend that plays a role in heating up urban areas and adding to water pollution, according to a recent study.
Read More..>>Poor Indoor Air Quality Means Poorer Health For Patients With COPD
Posted on September 5, 2007 - Filed Under Air Pollution, Curbing Pollution, Environmental Pollution, General, Global Warming, Land Pollution, Ocean Pollution, Pollution News, Water Pollution
Poor indoor air quality can significantly worsen health problems in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, according to a recent article. High concentrations of fine particulate pollution — the type of pollution associated with secondhand smoke and, in developing countries, indoor cooking and heating fires — were strongly linked to poorer health status.
Read More..>>NASA Satellites Eye Coastal Water Quality
Posted on September 5, 2007 - Filed Under Air Pollution, Curbing Pollution, Environmental Pollution, General, Global Warming, Land Pollution, Ocean Pollution, Pollution News, Water Pollution
Researchers armed with data from two NASA satellites have invented a way to map the fleeting changes in coastal water quality from space. Sediments entering the water as a result of coastal development or pollution can cause changes in water turbidity ? a measure of the amount of particles suspended in the water. Sediments suspended from the bottom by strong winds or tides may also cause such changes. Knowing where the sediments come from is critical to managers because turbidity cuts off light to the bottom, thwarting the natural growth of plants.
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