Washington Post [unpaywalled]: “Microplastics have popped up in rivers, oceans, soil, food, tea and even Antarctic snow — and now these tiny plastic particles are showing up in clouds. A group of researchers from Waseda University in Tokyo recently found microplastics in the clouds above Mount Fuji. In a paper published in Environmental Chemistry Letters,… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Environmental Law
Meth-addict fish, aggro starlings, caffeinated minnows: animals radically changed by human drugs
The Guardian: “From brown trout becoming “addicted” to methamphetamine to European perch losing their fear of predators due to depression medication, scientists warn that modern pharmaceutical and illegal drug pollution is becoming a growing threat to wildlife. Drug exposure is causing significant, unexpected changes to some animals’ behaviour and anatomy. Female starlings dosed with antidepressants… Continue Reading
How climate change is making us sick
Grist: “These climate-driven impacts are taking a serious toll on human health. Cases of disease linked to mosquitos, ticks, and fleas tripled in the U.S. between 2004 and 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The threat extends beyond commonly recognized vector-borne diseases. Research shows more than half of all the pathogens… Continue Reading
SUVs are setting new sales records each year so are their emissions
IEA: “The large, heavy passenger vehicles were responsible for over 20% of the growth in global energy-related CO2 emissions last year SUVs accounted for 48% of global car sales in 2023, reaching a new record and further strengthening the defining automobile trend of the early 21st century – the shift towards ever larger and heavier… Continue Reading
Lawyers to Plastics Makers: Prepare for ‘Astronomical’ PFAS Lawsuits
The New York Times [no paywall]: “At an industry presentation about dangerous “forever chemicals,” lawyers predicted a wave of lawsuits that could dwarf asbestos litigation, audio from the event revealed…A wide swath of the chemicals, plastics and related industries are gearing up to fight a surge in litigation related to PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl… Continue Reading
Air Now – Air Quality Index
“AirNow is your one-stop source for air quality data. Our recently redesigned site highlights air quality in your local area first, while still providing air quality information at state, national, and world views. A new interactive map even lets you zoom out to get the big picture or drill down to see data for a… Continue Reading
Saving the American Chestnut
New York Intelligencer [no paywall]: “…In 1904, Herman W. Merkel, a forester at the Bronx Zoo, noticed chestnuts near the park’s perimeter were speckled with a strange orange fungus. Merkel called in William A. Murrill, a mycologist at the New York Botanical Garden, and the two men spent the next year identifying a fungus now… Continue Reading
2023’s Dirtiest Cities in America
“City living has its advantages, but more residents usually means more pollution, more rats, and more trash. The problem is worse in some cities than in others. LawnStarter ranked 2023’s Dirtiest Cities in America following one of the trashiest times of the year, the winter holiday season. We compared over 150 of the biggest U.S.… Continue Reading
Ditch brightly coloured plastic, anti-waste researchers tell firms
The Guardian: “Retailers are being urged to stop making everyday products such as drinks bottles, outdoor furniture and toys out of brightly coloured plastic after researchers found it degrades into microplastics faster than plainer colours. Red, blue and green plastic became “very brittle and fragmented”, while black, white and silver samples were “largely unaffected” over… Continue Reading
We’re All Roadkill. Now Cars flatten animals and humans
Slate – “…Alongside washed-up Coke bottles and cigarette butts, the Anthropocene’s most ubiquitous emblem might be roadkill. The demolished deer, the obliterated opossum, the wrecked raccoon: This is the detritus of our human-dominated age. Every day in the U.S. alone, more than a million vertebrate animals meet their end on the asphalt, among them rarities… Continue Reading
The best way to compost your food scraps
Edgadget- Or, why I pay someone else to do it for me. “The EPA estimates each person in the US sends 200 pounds of food to the landfill each year where it disgorges methane and contributes to climate change. Composted, those scraps turn into soil-feeding, carbon-capturing humus instead. If that sounds like the better option,… Continue Reading
Big Oil Reality Check: Oil and Gas Companies Failing on Climate
“Oil Change International released our Big Oil Reality Check report today in collaboration with over 200 organizations worldwide. The report assesses the climate pledges and plans of eight international oil and gas companies – Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, TotalEnergies, BP, Eni, Equinor, and ConocoPhillips – against 10 criteria representing the bare minimum for aligning with the… Continue Reading
