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Plastic Bag Bans Can Backfire if Consumers Just Use Other Plastics Instead
Governments are increasingly banning the use of plastic products, such as carryout bags, straws, utensils and microbeads. The goal is to reduce the amount of plastic going into landfills and waterways. And the logic is that banning something should make it less abundant. However, this logic falls short if people actually reuse those items instead… Read More
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Researchers, Set an Example: Fly Less
The world is warming and ecosystems are dying. To avoid disastrous climatic change, massive reductions in CO2 emissions are required in all sectors, reaching net-zero globally no later than 2050. This requires an unprecedented and rapid change in our ways of life. In this, the world of research is challenged for two reasons. First, researchers… Read More
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Fossil Fuels Are Bad for Your Health and Harmful in Many Ways Besides Climate Change
Many Democratic lawmakers aim to pass a Green New Deal, a package of policies that would mobilize vast amounts of money to create new jobs and address inequality while fighting climate change. Led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey, they are calling for massive investments in renewable energy and other measures over a… Read More
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Why Stop at Plastic Bags and Straws? The Case for a Global Treaty Banning Most Single-Use Plastics
Single-use plastics are a blessing and a curse. They have fueled a revolution in commercial and consumer convenience and improved hygiene standards, but also have saturated the world’s coastlines and clogged landfills. By one estimate 79 percent of all plastic ever produced is now in a dump, a landfill or the environment, and only 9… Read More
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A Teen Scientist Helped Me Discover Tons of Golf Balls Polluting the Ocean
Plastic pollution in the world’s oceans has become a global environmental crisis. Many people have seen images that seem to capture it, such as beaches carpeted with plastic trash or a seahorse gripping a cotton swab with its tail. As a scientist researching marine plastic pollution, I thought I had seen a lot. Then, early… Read More
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Do You Know the Environmental Impact of Your To-Go Food?
If you’re running late or need to grab a quick bite to eat in between classes, a stop by the dining hall or a restaurant for some to-go food is often the move. But common takeout containers, made out of plastic, styrofoam and aluminum, carry a hefty carbon footprint and are often difficult to recycle,… Read More
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Aquariums Take Stance Against Atlantic Coast Oil and Gas Explorations
A group of major public aquariums has announced its strong opposition to the federal government’s pending permits that would allow frequent seismic blasting to search for oil and gas along the East Coast. Such seismic blasts are damaging to many marine animals’ critical life functions, such as their ability to find mates and look for… Read More
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Natural Solutions Could Cut One-Fifth of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions
U.S. lands and wetlands could absorb a fifth of greenhouse gas emissions — equal to that from all U.S. vehicles, researchers find. This promising news comes at a pivotal time, as the worldwide transition to clean, renewable energy is taking more time than we have. “One of America’s greatest assets is its land,” Joe Fargione,… Read More
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New Method Transforms Plastic Bottle Waste Into Valuable Tools
Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a method to convert plastic bottle waste into aerogels for many sustainable uses. This research comes at a pivotal time, as plastic pollution continues to pile up, litter oceans and destroy ecosystems. Currently, it is estimated that, by 2050, there will be more plastic than… Read More
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Clean Water Act Dramatically Cuts Pollution, but at What Cost?
The 1972 Clean Water Act has significantly improved the quality of water in the U.S., but the costs of the act are outweighing the measured benefits, a recent study finds. The Clean Water Act is noted as one of the greatest successes of all time in environmental law. Fifty years ago, the Cuyahoga River was… Read More
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130-Year-Old Brain Coral Reveals Nitrogen Pollution Not As Bad as Previously Thought
Every year, hundreds of millions of tons of nitrogen fertilizers seep into nearby bodies of water, wreaking havoc on marine life by causing algal blooms and creating massive dead zones. However, while nitrogen pollution is increasingly recognized as an urgent threat to marine ecosystems in coastal areas across the world, little is known about how… Read More
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Universities Show the World How to Erase Carbon Footprints
In April 2018, American University celebrated becoming the nation’s first carbon-neutral university, meaning the school emits no greenhouse gas to the atmosphere — either by not generating them in the first place or by offsetting any emissions. And American University has managed to accomplish its goal two years early. And it’s doing just fine —… Read More
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Beyond Plastic Straws: Any Piece of Plastic Can Kill a Sea Turtle
Plastic pollution in the world’s oceans poses considerable dangers for the marine life that inhabits those waters. Two recent studies suggest that ocean plastic pollution could threaten the survival of entire populations of sea turtles. The findings come in a year that saw a campaign to ban single-use plastic straws blossom into a global movement,… Read More
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Friendly Competition Could Eliminate Campus Waste
Sometimes the best way to motivate people is through a little bit of friendly competition. The University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) is preparing to install touch-screen monitors on dorm buildings that alert students, faculty and staff about how much solid waste they are producing, while encouraging dorms to compete. The screens will feature a… Read More
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Why Cars May Be the World’s Biggest Climate Problem
Climate change is upon us. Greenhouse gas emissions have reached an all-time high, and our changing climate has already caused ongoing worldwide megafires, sea level rise, intense heat waves and more. Because climate change knows no bounds, the fight must be a worldwide effort. For years, countries have known that a shift to clean energy… Read More
