American Chemical Society Tomatoes are an important and popular crop, but the tasty ketchup, salsa and pasta sauce they yield comes at a price: overuse of chemical fertilizers. Now, researchers report in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry they have recruited a fungus to…
By Matthew Jones, University of Bath and Jack Payne, University of Bath It’s impossible to imagine everyday life without plastics. Lightweight, durable and cheap, these materials outperform many others in a diverse range of applications. Plastics have brought about positive change in ways we often…
By Patricia Burke There are unresolved issues about blanketing low earth orbit (LEO) with satellites, in order to provide wireless telecommunications, surveillance, and military activities from space. As we count down to the March 19, 20th Global Protest actions, coinciding with the Equinox, we’re looking…
By Patricia Burke There are unresolved issues about blanketing low earth orbit (LEO) with satellites, in order to provide wireless telecommunications and surveillance, from space. In Part 1, we looked at the fact that “there are no trashcans in space.” “NASA scientist Donald Kessler warned…
By Mayukh Saha The strait of Messina is the submarine bridge that separates Sicily from the peninsular region of Italy. It has recently been observed that the Messina Strait area has the world’s largest density of ocean floor littering. The density of marine litter in…
By Mayukh Saha What are microplastics? How are they generated? What impact do they have on the environment and human health? Can it be eradicated from the planet? These questions have started haunting the human mind and we need immediate answers to them. Consequently, well-organized,…
By Elizabeth Claire Alberts Jana Winderen finds it hard to get away from human noise. As a sound artist, she’s traveled to some remote parts of the world — from the Barents Sea to the North Pole to a small fishing village in Thailand —…
By Andrea Germanos Global environmental justice campaigners heralded a Dutch court’s ruling Friday that Royal Dutch Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary must pay punitive restitution to Nigerian villages for oil spill contamination that brought death, illness, and destruction to Nigerian farmers and communities. “After 13 years, justice!”…
Underwater seagrass meadows may trap, extract and carry marine plastic debris to shore, thereby helping to remove plastic litter from the sea, according to a study published in Scientific Reports. Previous research suggested that most plastics end up in the seafloor and that some are…
By Elias Marat As 2020 draws to a close, one of the most recognizable symbols of the year may be the protective face mask. As the novel coronavirus swept across the globe earlier this year, billions of people began wearing the face coverings, with one…
We live in a world invaded by plastic. Its role as a chemically stable, versatile and multi-purpose fostered its massive use, which has finally translated into our current situation of planetary pollution. Moreover, when plastic degrades it breaks into smaller micro and nanoparticles, becoming present…
“If you eat mussels, you eat microplastics.” This was already known to a limited extent about mussels from individual ocean regions. A new study by the University of Bayreuth, led by Prof. Dr. Christian Laforsch, reveals that this claim holds true globally. The Bayreuth team…
By Mayukh Saha Ocean Fresh is the brainchild of Bernardo Pedroso. This sustainability startup was founded in 2019, and its target is to reduce the plastic pollution in our oceans. The journey started with sustainable flip flops, and sustainable sneakers are the latest endeavor. How…
By Zico Cozier The FSO Nabarima, a huge oil tanker containing approximately 1.3 million barrels of crude oil, has taken on water and is leaning to one side off a remote stretch of Venezuela’s coast in the Gulf of Paria. As authorities in Trinidad and…
By John Vibes For years, a constant wave of tourists has been destroying some of the most popular natural spaces in the world. Most tourist hot spots have started to put up signs instructing visitors on best practices, but the Khao Yai National Park near…
New research led by The University of Queensland has provided the first comprehensive analysis of pesticide mixtures in creeks and rivers discharging to the Great Barrier Reef. UQ’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences researcher Associate Professor Michael Warne conducted the study with the Queensland…
A record 53.6 million metric tonnes (Mt) of electronic waste was generated worldwide in 2019, up 21 per cent in just five years, according to the UN’s Global E-waste Monitor 2020. The new report also predicts global e-waste — discarded products with a battery or…
By Anthony McLennan The Ocean Voyages Institute returned to Honolulu last week after spending 48-days out at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, where they collected a mind-blowing 103 tons of marine debris. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch comprises of two enormous masses of ever-increasing piles…
By Patricia Burke In recognition of World Environment Day, the gulf nation of Bahrain held an event at the French embassy, noting: “The rate of electronic waste generation has exploded by as much as five times due to an increased use of electronic devices during…
By John Vibes According to a new study published in the journal Science, researchers recently discovered 1.9 million pieces of microplastic in an area of about 11 square feet. The sample was taken in the Mediterranean Sea, and researchers say that its the highest concentration…
