Microplastic remnants from washing clothes are polluting our waters. A polyester garment can release more than 1,900 fibres per garment, per wash, and that ends up in fish, and then us, if we eat the fish. What goes around, comes around.
Walmart’s the largest grocery store in the U.S., the largest retailer in the world, the leader in global corporate revenue and the largest employer in existence.
Please sign the petitions recommending the EPA ban atrazine -- deadline is coming soon. Learn more...
Flame Retardants are blowing in the wind. PDBEs are so easily made airborne that they vaporize and are breathed in, or settle on items (such as food) and are consumed. They also bio-accumulate and are lipophilic. No wonder they are found in 97% of Americans and in most animals as well.
Our city bounds are forcing changes in evolution.
Big Fish Gone, Little Fish Remain...
Buy eco- leather or wear socks. And don't even think about composting those leather shoes!
Chemical Fertilizers feed the world for the short term - but what about the future?
Ways to reduce the radiation...
Plastic packaging and other non-biodegradable disposables are the most persistent and infrequently recycled forms of waste.
Highly reliable global temperature measurements show the planet is warming and the water cycle (hydrological cycle) is becoming more active; creating higher rates of evaporation and precipitation. Droughts and floods are the natural consequences of warmer temperatures: droughts because it’s hotter, floods because warmer seas release more water vapor.
This year’s heavy rainfall and flooding means excessive runoff and nitrogen input for the Gulf. 2011 could see the worst Gulf dead zone yet...
Things you might not have known about hydraulic fracking, but should know...
Our government has not passed one law to protect our environment from oil or gas drilling since the spill...
This is 'our' planet and our children's future depends on this planet. Our air, our water, our land, our wildlife...all of these precious resources are collectively ours. We can no longer sit silent and let dysfunction take our planet down.
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The earthquake took place at 14:46 JST, the tsunami hit the closest land at 15:12 JST. The surge was as high as 33 feet. A catastrophe of incomprehensible magnitude.
If you have been following news about the Koch brothers, you might be curious as to which products they manufacture. It would be highly unlikely that you are not surrounded by their goods...
I know these photos by Chris Jordan have been out for a while now. But I just could not face these images until recently. It really is life changing if you do look; and learn the story behind this aberration...
The Minnesota Department of Health has placed DEET on the top spot on its list of "chemicals of emerging concern" and will conduct numerous tests this year. The main
objective of the research will be to calculate a "safe" level of exposure. Although DEET has been okayed for clothes and skin (in moderation) it has never been meant for consumption. But with its increasing popularity and abundant usage it is showing up in ever greater quantities in our rivers, streams and lakes and it is only a matter of time before it shows up in our drinking water as well.
The average U.S. American consumes 335.9 million BTUs per year, the world per person average is 72.4 million BTUs. 48.2% of US electricity comes from coal. Only 3.7% comes from solar, wind, and geothermal. The average U.S. American uses 441 gallons of gas for their car each year... and more...
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Radiation from cell phones has been getting a lot of press of late but according to the BioInitiative Report cordless phones look to be just as deadly as cell phones when it comes to brain tumors and acoustic neuromas. DECT technology originated in Europe and has since been widely introduced throughout the world. Today more than 800 million DECT systems are in use. The pulsed frequencies of the radiation used in DECT technology are in the microwave band. The ICNIRP is responsible for monitoring and creating guidelines for radiation technologies. The ICNIRP guidelines focus exclusively on high frequency radiation and thermal activity. But many scientists have been pointing out that pulsed microwaves at low frequencies are also cause for alarm.
It is somewhat ironic that an extensive environmental study in the Gulf carried out by the Minerals Management Service, that counted and noted habitat preferences of cetaceans (marine mammals with a blowhole for breathing- including whales, porpoises and dolphins) encountered two species (melon-headed whales and fraser's dolphins) that were rarely seen in the area before... During the study the ship heard and saw numerous sperm whales in the vicinity of the Deepwater Horizon. There is a native population of about 1400 sperm whales that live in the Gulf of Mexico year round. And scientists say if we lose just a few of them due to this spill, it could dangerously tip their numbers into the negative. See many more photos here- of native cetaceans and the Gulf dilemma....
A new study out of the UK, published by the Royal Society, shows that flowers are blooming 2 to 12 days earlier than they did 25 years ago. The study used 400,000 records of first blooms, and looked at over 400 species of flowers. The research showed this pattern of early blooming to be the first in recorded history. The study also showed that a 1 degree Celsius change, over a short two year period, resulted in an earlier flowering time of five days. An earlier British study "Rapid Changes in Flowering Time in British Plants" (Fitter, 2002) showed that 385 plant species bloomed 4 and a half days earlier during the 1990s than the 4 decades prior. And yet another study out of the UK, by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology found that in 2005, species were breeding on average 11.7 days earlier than in 1976. In the U.S....
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For the past year there has been an uproar in the vegetable seed business as Monsanto has purchased Seminis (a seed conglomerate that has 40% of the U.S. vegetable seed market) and De Ruiter Seeds. Monsanto is now in the vegetable seed business for the first time and it's in big time. 55 percent of store bought lettuce, 75 percent of U.S. tomatoes, and 85 percent of peppers now originate through Monsanto's fingers.
If you wish to steer clear of purchasing Monsanto seed- you need to do a bit of homework, as even reputable seed companies that have signed the Safe Seed Pledge, are still selling Seminis (now Monsanto) seed.
Buying seed from a seed exchange, buying open-pollinated and organic are safe ways to avoid Monsanto seed.
Today, during the State of the Planet Conference 2010 at Columbia University, Prince Albert of Monaco, via satellite, expressed "we are at the dawn of major changes." Here in the West, as we wake up to this new day, there is much yawning and shaking away of the slumber... Letting go of 100 years of combustion, and starting a new paradigm, is an awesome challenge for developed nations who are stuck in their vision of fenced in, lawn-covered yards and oil dependent infrastructure.
On the government's Energy Star site there's a "Refrigerator Retirement Savings Calculator". I put in approximate age of fridge, size, type (side-by-side), electricity rate. Hit go. Wow, says this old fridge here in NY costs $410 a year to operate. Says the savings would be $1565 over the next five years if it were replaced by an Energy Star model which would cost a quarter less to operate; $97 a year (v $410) for a similar type fridge. Plus a $105 rebate...
This August Honeywell will release its 6 foot diameter gear-less (therefore lightweight) rooftop wind turbine that operates at wind speeds of 2-42 mph. Honeywell claims it will produce 2000 kWh/yr in class 3 winds and 2752 kWh/yr in class 4 winds at 33'. By eliminating the central gear shaft and using the blade tips to produce the energy Honeywell has created a turbine that can start producing energy at an amazingly low 2 mph.
Peninsula Compost Group in Wilmington Delaware has built the largest compost center on the East Coast that will handle commercial as well as residential waste.
Haiti's population of 9.8 million has a per-capita income of less than $800. Eighty percent of those 9.8 million people live on less than 2 dollars a day.
Deforestation has left only 2 percent of the west one-third of the island forested.
Deforestation has left only 2 percent of the west one-third of the island forested.