Water


EPA Provides Grant to Puerto Rico Community Group

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is providing a $60,000 grant to ENLACE, an organization that serves communities along the Martin Pena Canal in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to educate people about water quality in the canal and what can be done to reduce pollution.

Nitrogen Pollution Changing Rocky Mountain National Park Vegetation

A new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder indicates air pollution in the form of nitrogen compounds emanating from power plants, automobiles and agriculture is changing the alpine vegetation in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Natural Climate Shifts Drove Coral Reefs to a Total Ecosystem Collapse

Climate change drove coral reefs to a total ecosystem collapse lasting thousands of years, according to a paper published this week in Science.

Scientists Discover New Trigger for North Atlantic Ocean Spring Plankton Bloom

In what’s known as the North Atlantic Bloom, an immense number of phytoplankton burst into existence, first “greening,” then “whitening” the sea as one or more species take the place of others.

Satellite Research Reveals Smaler Volcanoes Could Cool Climate

A University of Saskatchewan-led international research team has discovered that aerosols from relatively small volcanic eruptions can be boosted into the high atmosphere by weather systems such as monsoons, where they can affect global temperatures.

Warmer Baltic Sea May Promote Harmful Algal Blooms

Global warming can signal bad news for the Baltic ecosystem. If the waters of the Baltic get warmer, it may instigate low oxygen conditions and massive blooms of cyanobacteria ("blue-green algae").

War-Related Climate Change Would Substantially Reduce Crop Yields

Though worries about “nuclear winter” have faded since the end of the Cold War, existing stockpiles of nuclear weapons still hold the potential for devastating global impacts.

Seabirds Study Shows Plastic Pollution Reaching Surprising Levels

Plastic pollution off the northwest coast of North America is reaching the level of the notoriously polluted North Sea, according to a new study led by a researcher at the University of British Columbia.



Global Warming Favors Proliferation of Toxic Cyanobacteria

Cyanobacterial populations have increased in recent decades and scientists suspect that global warming may be behind the phenomenon.

Shrinking Leaves Point to Climate Change

University of Adelaide researchers have discovered that recent climate change is causing leaves of some Australian plants to narrow in size.

DEP Offers Tips to Residents on Wetlands, Stream Projects

The Department of Environmental Protection is reminding homeowners and landowners who are conducting work in or along streams and wetlands that a permit may be required from DEP or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

More Heat, More Light: A Step Toward Better Solar Energy Systems

A Michigan Technological University researcher has made a solar cell that brings more to the rooftop: it’s good at making electricity, and it’s great at capturing heat to warm your home and your water.

PHMSA Fines Enbridge Energy Record $3.7 Million

The fine announced July 2 is a civil penalty for the July 25, 2010, spill of 20,000 barrels of crude oil from a pipeline into the Kalamazoo River near Marshall, Mich.

Visibility to Improve at 18 National Parks and Wilderness Areas

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to approve Arizona’s air quality plan to control sulfur dioxide and soot at three power plants in the state.

Fish Learn to Cope in High Carbon Dioxide World, New Study Suggests

Some coral reef fish may be better prepared to cope with rising CO2 in the world's oceans -- thanks to their parents.

First-Ever Changes in Exoplanet Atmosphere Detected

An international team of astronomers using data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has made an unparalleled observation, detecting significant changes in the atmosphere of a planet located beyond our solar system.

DOE Funding Domestic Lithium Production

The United States was the world leader in producing lithium, a key ingredient for electric vehicles and rechargeable batteries for consumer electronics, in the early 1990s, but now the U.S. imports most of its supply from South America, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Nisso America to Pay Civil Penalty for Failure to Label and File Notice of Imported Pesticide

Nisso America, Inc. has agreed to pay a $6,864 civil penalty to the U.S, for failing to properly label 44 drums containing 880 pounds of imported pesticides from Italy.

Rising Heat at the Beach Threatens Largest Sea Turtles, Climate Change Models Show

For eastern Pacific populations of leatherback turtles, the 21st century could be the last. New research suggests that climate change could exacerbate existing threats and nearly wipe out the population.

Shrews Rapidly Evolving in Response to Climate Change

Shrews are among a diverse group of small mammals that have rapidly evolved in response to climate change, according to a new study released this month.