Water


EPA and New York State Announce Ban on Dumping Sewage from Boats into Lake Ontario

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation recently announced that a 3,675 square mile area of Lake Ontario is now a “no discharge zone,” which means that boats are completely banned from discharging sewage into the water.

Sewage Treatment Plants May Contribute to Antibiotic Resistance Problem

Water discharged into lakes and rivers from municipal sewage treatment plants may contain significant concentrations of the genes that make bacteria antibiotic-resistant. That's the conclusion of a new study on a sewage treatment plant on Lake Superior in the Duluth, Minn., harbor that appears in American Chemical Society's journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Wireless Sensor Device Rapidly Detects E. coli in Water Samples

Fecal contamination of public beaches caused by sewage overflow is both dangerous for swimmers and costly for state and local economies.

EPA Funding to Reduce Air Pollution from Locomotives and Buses Operating in New York City

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is helping New York City reduce air pollution with a $2 million grant to replace two old high polluting locomotive engines that operate in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens with cleaner technology.

Insecticides an Increasing Problem in Future for Streams in Europe

The risks for streams caused by the use of insecticides in agriculture will increase significantly in many regions of Europe, and particularly in Scandinavia, the Baltic countries and in Central Europe, according to scientists in the journal Ecological Applications.

New Study Puts Eco-labels To The Test

A new report by the University of Victoria ranks eco-labels intended to distinguish seafood produced with less damage to the environment. It is the first study to evaluate how eco-labels for farmed marine fish compare to unlabeled options in the marketplace.

FSU Researcher Finds Key to Ancient Weather Patterns in Florida Caves

Darrel Tremaine, a Florida State University (FSU) doctoral oceanography student, has been known to go to extremes for his research, such as crawling on his hands and knees through a dark, muddy limestone cave in Northwest Florida to learn more about ancient weather patterns.

Today's Severe Drought, Tomorrow's Normal

While the worst drought since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s grips Oklahoma and Texas, scientists are warning that what we consider severe drought conditions in North America today may be normal for the continent by the mid-21st century, due to a continuously warming planet.



EPA To Provide Nearly $2 Million to Revitalize U.S. Urban Waters

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it will provide up to $1.8 million for projects across the country to protect Americans’ health and help restore urban waters by improving water quality and supporting community revitalization.

Study: U.S. Electric Grid Can Handle Unprecedented Technological Challenges

Over the next two decades, the U.S. electric grid will face unprecedented technological challenges stemming from the growth of distributed and intermittent new energy sources such as solar and wind power, as well as an expected influx of electric and hybrid vehicles that require frequent recharging.

Girl Scouts of the USA Launches Forever Green Project

Girl Scouts of the USA is launching Girl Scouts Forever Green, its signature 100th year anniversary action project focused on waste reduction, energy conservation and rain gardens.

EPA Reduces Air Pollution In and Around the Port of San Juan, Puerto Rico

The Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico will install pollution-reduction technology on 72 heavy-duty trucks and replace 10 old heavy-duty trucks with 2010 or newer less polluting models.

Concrete Supplier Agrees to Pay $740,000 Penalty to Resolve Clean Water Act Violations in Five States

Lafarge North America Inc., one of the largest suppliers of construction materials in the United States and Canada, and four of its U.S. subsidiaries have agreed to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations.

City of East Palo Alto, Calif., Cleans Toxic Dump Site to Create Nature Park

Soil in the project area is contaminated with mercury, arsenic, polycyclic biphenyls (PCB's), lead, DDT, dioxins and a host of other chemicals.

Tips Tuesday: Glow-worm's Guide to a Low Carbon Christmas

The team at U.K.-based Glow-worm, has put together an eco-friendly holiday guide to help us all achieve a low carbon Christmas. Bursting at the seams with facts, figures and energy saving tips for 25 days of December.

Task Force Releases Final Strategy for Reversing Deterioration of Gulf Ecosystem

USDA $50 million financial assistance for restoration projects announced as Task Force efforts shift from planning to action.

Global Carbon Emissions Reach Record 10 Billion Tons

Global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels have increased by 49 per cent in the last two decades, according to the latest figures by an international team, including researchers at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of East Anglia (UEA).

Ground-level Ozone Pollution Helped Recover Normal Ozone Levels Over the Iberian Peninsula

The reconstruction of ozone levels over the Iberian Peninsula between 1979 and 2008 reveals that positive trends began eight years after the ratification of the Montreal Protocol.

Bacteria Convert Wastewater Chemicals into Toxic Form

While traces of pharmaceutical compounds are commonly present in wastewater, interactions with bacteria during the treatment process could transform them from non-toxic to toxic forms, a new study suggests.

Climate Changes Faster than Species Can Adapt

The ranges of species will have to change dramatically as a result of climate change between now and 2100 because the climate will change more than 100 times faster than the rate at which species can adapt, according to a newly published study by Indiana University researchers.