Water


Central Park Conservancy Awarded Grant to Design New Waste Management System

The Central Park Conservancy, an internationally recognized leader in park management and restoration, has been awarded a $500,000 grant from Alcoa Foundation and an in-kind donation of aluminum valued at $140,000 from Alcoa Recycling to design a sustainable waste management system to increase recycling and make trash removal in the Park more efficient.

Ecologix Environmental Systems Introduces New Standard in Chemical Treatment for Hydraulic Fracturing

Ecologix Environmental Systems, an Atlanta-based wastewater treatment company specializing in oil and gas, has enhanced their mobile Integrated Treatment System (ITS) for hydraulic fracturing.

California to Propose New Fracking Rules and Review Agency Insight of Injection Wells

California oil and gas regulators are planning to propose new regulations for hydraulic fracturing activities and re-examine existing rules for underground injection wells.

EPA Updates Clean Air Act Requirements for Gas Stations to Reflect New Vehicle Technologies

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has determined that the systems used at gas station pumps to capture harmful gasoline vapors while refueling cars can be phased out. Modern vehicles are equipped to capture those emissions

Nanotube Sponge has Potential in Oil Spill Cleanup

Carbon nanotubes, which consist of atom-thick sheets of carbon rolled into cylinders, have captured scientific attention in recent decades because of their high strength, potential high conductivity and light weight. But producing nanotubes in bulk for specialized applications was often limited by difficulties in controlling the growth process as well as dispersing and sorting the produced nanotubes.

EPA Seeks Project Proposals to Reduce Marine Debris

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking project proposals to reduce land-based trash at the source, thus preventing trash from entering coastal runoff and becoming marine debris.

Plastic Trash Altering Ocean Habitats

A 100-fold upsurge in human-produced plastic garbage in the ocean is altering habitats in the marine environment, according to a new study led by a graduate student researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

Study Says Wind Can Carry Away Soil Particles That Help Build Soil and Recycle Nutrients

It was all too evident during the Dust Bowl what a disastrous impact wind can have on dry, unprotected topsoil. Now a new study has uncovered a less obvious, but still troubling, effect of wind: Not only can it carry away soil particles, but also the beneficial microbes that help build soil, detoxify contaminants and recycle nutrients.



EPA Adds South Gate Industrial Facilities to List of Worst Toxic Sites in Nation

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is adding two new sites to the Superfund National Priorities List in Los Angeles: Southern Avenue Industrial Area site and Jervis B. Webb Co., former industrial facilities located in South Gate.

Researchers Awarded Grants to Study Algae Fuel Production

Two University of Texas at Austin faculty members have won Moncrief Grand Challenge Faculty Awards to develop computer models for algae-based fuel production and improve the security of coastal waters.

Sygenta Crop Protection to Pay Penalty for Distribution of Misbranded Pesticides in Two States

Syngenta Crop Protection LLC, of Greensboro, N.C., has agreed to pay a $102,000 civil penalty to the United States to settle a series of environmental violations related to the sale or distribution of misbranded pesticides through its facility in Omaha, Neb., and through a farm-supply retailer in Savannah, Mo.

Researchers See Effects of Common Plastic Additive BPA in Monkey Mammary Glands

A new study finds that fetal exposure to the plastic additive bisphenol A, or BPA, alters mammary gland development in primates. The finding adds to the evidence that the chemical can cause health problems in humans and bolsters concerns about it contributing to breast cancer.

New Research Brings Satellite Measurements and Global Climate Models Closer

One popular climate record that shows a slower atmospheric warming trend than other studies contains a data calibration problem, and when the problem is corrected the results fall in line with other records and climate models, according to a new University of Washington study.

Warming Affects Ecosystems Not Just Biodiversity

Ecosystems perform important tasks – like nutrient cycling, breakdown of waste and carbon storage – on which humans depend, so it's important we understand how climate change might affect them.

Toyota Unveils First All Electric SUV

Toyota unveiled Monday what it says is the first all-electric sports utility vehicle (SUV) on the market, a version of its popular RAV4 with a top range of 100 miles and minimum six-hour charge time.

PNNL Technology Wins Award for Improving Submarine Air Quality

Creators of a nanotech-based system that captures carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere within a submarine, while providing a more environmentally friendly removal process, have won the Federal Laboratory Consortium Interagency Partnership Award for 2012.

Increasing Speed of Greenland Glaciers Gives New Insight for Rising Sea Level

Changes in the speed that ice travels in more than 200 outlet glaciers indicates that Greenland's contribution to rising sea level in the 21st century might be significantly less than the upper limits some scientists thought possible, a new study shows.

The Energy Efficient Soldier

U.S. soldiers are increasingly weighed down by batteries to power weapons, detection devices and communications equipment. So the Army Research Laboratory has awarded a University of Utah-led consortium almost $15 million to use computer simulations to help design materials for lighter-weight, energy efficient devices and batteries.

EPA Releases Draft Permitting Guidance for Using Diesel Fuel in Oil and Gas Hydraulic Fracturing

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a draft underground injection control (UIC) program permitting guidance for class II wells that use diesel fuels during hydraulic fracturing activities.

Idaho Frozen Food Company Pays EPA Penalty for Chemical Reporting Violations

Rhodes International, Inc. will pay over $84,000 to settle hazardous chemical reporting violations at its facility in Caldwell, Idaho, according to a consent agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.