The report was led by scientists at the Minderoo Foundation, the Centre Scientifique de Monaco, and Boston College. Researchers Mark Hahn and John Stegeman at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) were lead authors on a section focusing on the impacts of plastics on the ocean. The Commission’s key findings include: Plastics cause disease, impairment, …
Human and ocean health impacts of ocean plastics Read More »
Paradoxically, one of the reasons people are installing solar photovoltaic (PV) panels in huge numbers is to help the environment, but the industry is now grappling with the anticipated waste generated by 100,000 tonnes of panels due to be dismantled in Australia from 2035. A new study led by the University of South Australia has …
Solar industry feeling the heat over disposal of 80 million panels Read More »
The paper “Deep, ultra-hot-melting residues as cradles of mantle diamond,” has been published in the academic journal Nature by lead author QUT PhD student Carl Walsh, along with QUT Professor Balz Kamber and Emma Tomlinson from Trinity College, Ireland. Mr Walsh said the study, for his MSc research, involved computer modelling on a rock from …
‘Rock stars’ solve long-standing diamond conundrum Read More »
Going home earlier saves energy The scientists’ hypothesis was that employees start their work an hour earlier in summer due to the time change, and thus leave the office earlier in the afternoon. Since most of the cooling happens later in the afternoon, this can save energy. The assumption behind this is that in an …
Lower energy consumption thanks to daylight-saving time Read More »
Now, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Karrie Weber and colleagues have experimentally confirmed that nitrate, a compound common in fertilizers and animal waste, can help transport naturally occurring uranium from the underground to groundwater. Their new research backs a 2015 Weber-led study showing that aquifers contaminated with high levels of nitrate — including the High Plains …
The study compared present-day observations of the time span from budburst to peak leaf coloration in seven tree species to similar documentation that was collected by an Ohio farmer at the turn of the 20th century. An analysis of changes in those leaf patterns along with decades of temperature data for northwest Ohio showed a …
Forest growing season in eastern U.S. has increased by a month Read More »
The countries of the world have agreed to take joint responsibility for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and an increasing number have introduced, or are considering introducing, a carbon tax. Figures from the OECD for example also show that in 2021 alone, 51 countries provided tax relief in the form of fossil fuel subsidies — at …
Led by Dr Anthony Ariyanayagam from the QUT Faculty of Engineering, the full-scale safe room was constructed at the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) facility in Lytton and tested under simulated bushfire conditions. Built with cavity insulated light gauge steel framed walls, the roof lined externally with Autoclaved Aerated Concrete panels and internally with …
Findings, which include a tool landowners and managers can use to assess a stand of trees’ risk as the climate continues to change, were published in the Journal of Forestry. Douglas-fir, Oregon’s official state tree, is the most abundant tree species in the Klamath Mountains, growing among ponderosa pine, sugar pine, white fir, incense cedar, …
Douglas-fir in Klamath Mountains are in ‘decline spiral’ Read More »
According to Whitney Preisser, assistant professor of biology, the decrease in parasites is likely a result of changes in the water temperature. These changes hint at a potential ecological threat which could impact all species. Her findings were recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences. “If the parasites die off, …
