Water


World's Greenest Museum Gets Greener

The California Academy of Sciences, the world's greenest museum, showcases an eco-friendly new home featuring a hilly living roof, recycled denim insulation and many other green innovations.

New Advanced Biofuel as an Alternative to Diesel Fuel

Researchers with the DOE's Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have identified a potential new advanced biofuel that could replace today's standard fuel for diesel engines but would be clean, green, renewable and produced in the United States. Using the tools of synthetic biology, a JBEI research team engineered strains of two microbes, a bacteria and a yeast, to produce a precursor to bisabolane, a member of the terpene class of chemical compounds that are found in plants and used in fragrances and flavorings. Preliminary tests by the team showed that bisabolane's properties make it a promising biosynthetic alternative to Number 2 (D2) diesel fuel.

Lifetime Savings Not Sufficent Motivator for Many to Switch to Green Tech

A University of Arkansas study suggests that “lifetime” savings claims on product labels are not the most effective method to reach consumers regarding the benefits and potential savings from using energy-efficient products.

Gulf Fish Show Signs of Reponse to Oil Spill Despite Low Toxin Levels

A research team led by LSU professors Fernando Galvez and Andrew Whitehead has published the results of a combined field and laboratory study showing the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on fish living in Louisiana marshes.

EPA Announces Winners of First-Ever Green Power Community Challenge

The year-long challenge encouraged communities across the nation to voluntarily increase their use of green power generated from renewable resources.

Gene Controlling Flowering Boosts Energy Production from Sorghum

A sorghum hybrid that does not flower and accumulates as much as three times the amount of stem and leaf matter may help the bioenergy industry, according to a study appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Tips Tuesday: How to Cut Your Energy Bill

Here are a few things you can do to keep your home cool and cut that energy bill while we wait for fall and cool weather to arrive.

High Air, Water Quality Are Key to a More-Pleasant Beach Vacation

People head to the beach to escape the stress of everyday life, but a new study out of the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis finds that there are peak times to reap the restorative benefit.



Research Suggests Global Warming Could Cause Animals to Shrink

The way in which global warming causes many of the world’s organisms to shrink has been revealed by new research from Queen Mary, University of London.

Climate Change Has Affected Marine Animals on Antarctica's Seabed

A rapid increase in the frequency of icebergs pounding the shallow seafloor around the West Antarctic Peninsula — as a result of shrinking winter sea ice — has caused the life expectancy of a tiny marine creature to halve over the last 12 years.

When Combating Urban Air Pollution, Think Regionally

At the 2008 Winter Olympics, Chinese officials didn't want the gold medal for "most polluted air." Reducing air pollution in an urban area like Beijing will require large, regional strategies according to scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Peking University. They studied the effects of emission reduction efforts at the Beijing Olympics.

Study Finds Benefits of Plug-in Vehicles Depend on Battery Size

Carnegie Mellon University's Jeremy J. Michalek and co-authors report that plug-in vehicles with small battery packs and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) that don't plug in can reduce life cycle impacts from air emissions and enhance oil security at low or no additional cost over a lifetime.

Bionic Bacteria May Help Fight Disease and Global Warming

A strain of genetically enhanced bacteria developed by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies may pave the way for new synthetic drugs and new ways of manufacturing medicines and biofuels, according to a paper published September 18 in Nature Chemical Biology.

Satellites Measurements of Megacity Emissions Far Exceed Computer Estimates

One of NASA's satellites has provided the most detailed map yet of the pollution generated by some of the world’s biggest cities, and given an indication of the volume of emissions of the nitrogen oxides from direct measurements rather than relying on computer models and a range of assumptions.

New Plant Science Will Make Ground Level Ozone Predictions More Accurate

Predictions of the ground-level pollutant ozone will be more accurate in future according to research published by environment scientists at research centers including the University of Birmingham in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Asbestos Abatement Contractor Sentenced to Six Years in Prison

Rochester, N.Y., asbestos abatement contractor sentenced to six years in prison for environmental crimes and false statements to OSHA.

Emerging Contaminants Found in Narragansett Bay Waterhsed

A group of hazardous chemical compounds that are common in industrial processes and personal care products but which are not typically monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency have been detected throughout the Narragansett Bay watershed, according to a URI researcher.

Achieving a Sustainable Planet Through Intelligent Energy Modernization

This multipart article analyzes and shares viewpoints on the progress of smart grid initiatives specific to achieving the goals of sustainability in the next decade.

Researchers Argue that Water Scarcity is an Issue of Politics Rather Than Supply

While water-related conflicts and shortages abound throughout the rapidly changing societies of Africa, Asia and Latin America, there is clearly sufficient water to sustain food, energy, industrial and environmental needs during the 21st century, argues the Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) of the CGIAR in two special issues of the peer-reviewed journal, Water International (Volume 35, Issue 5 and Volume 36, Issue 1), released at the XIV World Water Congress.