pollution

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Harvey's Environmental Effects Are 'Terrifying'

Toxins are leaching into floodwaters and spewing into the air

(Newser) - "This is going to be a travesty. The contamination could be going anywhere," says a Houston-area resident who lives a block away from an old wood-treating facility flooded by Hurricane Harvey. The New York Times reports the facility is one of two dozen Superfund sites potentially leaking lead,...

Gulf of Mexico's Dead Zone Is Now Bigger Than Ever

Heavy rains in Midwest increased agricultural runoff this year

(Newser) - In 2014, the "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico was found to have shrunk to the size of Connecticut. To the ire of environmentalists, it has since ballooned to its largest size since mapping began in 1985, says NOAA . Covering 8,776 square miles—that's the size...

Is It a Forest or a City? Actually, It's Both

Experimental 'Forest City' to be complete in China in 2020

(Newser) - A new city being built along the Liujiang River in China's Guangxi Province will include houses, recreational spaces, offices, hotels, schools, and a hospital—and yet it's "unlike any before," per Inhabitat . The Liuzhou Forest City, to be connected to the much larger city of Liuzhou...

The Island Is Uninhabited. It Still Looks Like This

Henderson Island has highest density of trash in nature: study

(Newser) - Henderson Island, a South Pacific island that has never been inhabited, is what a researcher calls "one of the most pristine islands left in the world," per Popular Science . It's also one of the most polluted, home to an estimated 37.7 million pieces of plastic waste...

&#39;Hotspot&#39; of Plastic Trash Found in the Arctic
'Hotspot' of Plastic Trash
Found in the Arctic
NEW STUDY
Apr 20, 2017 6:48 PM CDT

'Hotspot' of Plastic Trash Found in the Arctic

Scientists fear effects on animals already under threat

(Newser) - In a further sign that plastic is not-so-slowly taking over our oceans , scientists say they've found a "hotspot" of plastic pollution from bags, bottles, and toys in Arctic waters. And the amount of plastic amassing on the ocean surface, in sea ice, and possibly even on the ocean...

10 US Cities With the Worst Air Pollution

Six are in California

(Newser) - Despite California’s imposing environmental laws, the state has some of the worst air pollution in the country, reports USA Today via the American Lung Association's annual State of the Air report , out Wednesday. While the report names Visala/Hanford, Calif., as having the worst overall year-round pollution, it also...

America&#39;s 7 Most Endangered Rivers
America's 7 Most
Endangered Rivers
Apr 11, 2017 10:12 AM CDT

America's 7 Most Endangered Rivers

Lower Colorado River tops American Rivers' list

(Newser) - "If we don't protect and restore our rivers, we won't have reliable clean drinking water supplies," says a rep for American Rivers , a conservation group out with its annual list of the most endangered rivers in the US. Each river included on the list has regional...

Yoga Pants May Be Key Source of Sea Pollution

Microfibers from comfy clothes could contaminate seafood

(Newser) - Comfortable clothes are emerging as a source of plastic that's increasingly ending up in the oceans and potentially contaminating seafood, according to Gulf Coast researchers. Yoga pants, fleece jackets, sweat-wicking athletic wear, and other garments made from synthetic materials shed microscopic plastic fibers—called "microfibers"—when laundered,...

Arsenic-Spewing Smokestack Plagues Town Decades Later

Residents say EPA botched cleanup of contaminated soil, water

(Newser) - In Montana, there's a smokestack preserved as a state park that nobody can visit because of pollution at the site. Residents rallied to keep the stack, which can be seen from a viewing area about a mile away, as part of the legacy of southwestern Montana's mining days,...

China Has Deadliest Air Pollution? Maybe Not
China Has Deadliest
Air Pollution? Maybe Not
NEW STUDY
Feb 14, 2017 4:15 PM CST

China Has Deadliest Air Pollution? Maybe Not

India's air pollution is just as bad: study

(Newser) - China has long been the world's worst when it comes to air pollution, but a new study suggests that India's trouble is now on par with China's and poised to exceed it. The study from the Health Effects Institute and Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation finds...

In Deepest Part of Ocean, &#39;Sky High&#39; Pollution
In Deepest
Part of Ocean,
'Sky High' Pollution
NEW STUDY
Feb 14, 2017 9:17 AM CST

In Deepest Part of Ocean, 'Sky High' Pollution

Toxic chemicals reach 6 miles deep in ocean: study

(Newser) - At the deepest spot in the ocean, scientists have found beer cans, plastic bags, a tin of Spam, and now tiny crustaceans contaminated with toxic chemicals banned nearly 50 years ago. The "extraordinary levels" of pollution in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean and the Kermadec Trench...

One 2-Ton Whale Was No Match for 30 Plastic Bags

Bags, other waste found in stomach of euthanized whale in Norway

(Newser) - Norwegian zoologists have found about 30 plastic bags and other plastic waste in the stomach of a beaked whale that had beached on a southwestern Norway coast, the AP reports. The visibly sick, 2-ton goose-beaked whale was euthanized, Terje Lislevand of Bergen University said Friday. "The [whale's] stomach...

Army's New Push: Ammo That Grows Plants

It wants biodegradable bullets for training grounds

(Newser) - At US military training facilities, spent shell casings are scattered across proving grounds, many buried several inches below ground. What if they were biodegradable and contained seeds that would sprout into beneficial plants over time? It may sound a bit utopian, but the US Department of Defense has just released...

Beijing Advises Umbrellas to Shield Against Its Gross Snow

Meteorological Bureau warning means snow days aren't really fun

(Newser) - "The snow is very dirty! The snow is very dirty! The snow is very dirty!" This thrice-emphasized warning from Beijing's Meteorological Bureau appeared on Chinese social media site Weibo on Thursday after the country's Ministry of Environmental Protection announced the city's average air-quality index for...

This Might Be World's First Polluted River

Researchers find riverbed with copper pollution from 7,000 years ago

(Newser) - It's no surprise that humans pollute their waterways, but now it appears we've been doing it a lot longer than thought. In a study published this month in Science of the Total Environment , researchers say they've found evidence of a polluted river from 7,000 years ago....

Princess Cruises in Heap of Trouble Over Its 'Magic Pipe'

The cruise line will pay $40M for intentionally polluting the ocean

(Newser) - Princess Cruise Lines will pay a $40 million penalty after pleading guilty to seven federal charges in an illegal ocean pollution case that involved one ship's use of a so-called magic pipe to divert oily waste into the waters, authorities said Thursday. US Attorney Wifredo Ferrer told a news...

These Stingrays Can Be 8 Feet Wide, Are Turning Up Dead

Officials blame wastewater leak at ethanol plant

(Newser) - Picture a stingray. Is it 8 feet wide? Didn't think so, but that's the incredible size the giant freshwater stingray can grow to. Less incredible: More than 70 of the endangered fish have turned up dead in Thailand's Mae Klong River in recent weeks, reports National Geographic...

Red River in Russia Is Freaking Everyone Out

Some are pointing the finger at pollution possibly caused by local nickel factory

(Newser) - Russian officials are looking into a phenomenon that's been documented by a flurry of pictures on social media: one of the country's northernmost rivers turning a bloodlike bright red. CNN reports that the Daldykan River shifted to a rouge hue on Tuesday, and while some are saying the...

Study Suggests Link Between Air Pollution, Alzheimer's

Magnetite a 'plausible risk factor' for disease, says author

(Newser) - Air pollution has been linked to strokes, heart attacks , autism , and raised blood pressure . Now, scientists say it might also be responsible for Alzheimer's disease. Scientists at Lancaster University in the UK say they found an "extraordinary" amount of magnetite, an iron oxide toxic to the brain, in...

Rio's Newest Problem: 'Super Bacteria' in the Water

And a nasty oil slick in Guanabara Bay, right where sailors are set to compete

(Newser) - Rio de Janeiro has been plagued by body parts on beaches , muggings , and Zika fears ahead of the Summer Olympics, and now a "super bacteria" has entered the mix. Brazilian scientists say the drug-resistant bacteria was found along the coast of popular beaches including Flamengo and Botafogo, both of...

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