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A new study from Lancaster University has discovered toxic nanoparticles from air pollution in large quantities in human brains. The researchers examined brain tissue from 37 people aged between 3 and 92 years old in the U.K. and Mexico. Magnetite, a type of iron oxide, was found in massive quantities in the samples – millions of particles per gram of brain tissue.

Las organizaciones a menudo gastan una gran cantidad de tiempo en reunir la información, dar forma y publicar un informe de sustentabilidad y dedican poco tiempo a las consideraciones más difíciles que harán que el informe brinde un reflejo de la forma en que la empresa ética y responsable ofrece un rendimiento financiero superior, esto debe ser un elemento clave, el brindar a los tomadores de decisión e inversionistas la idea, basada en hechos y números, que el invertir en temas de sustentabilidad (ambiente, sociedad, etc.) con los grupos de interés (comunidad, empleados, etc.) sí arroja resultados económicamente satisfactorios.

Los beneficios de los informes de sustentabilidad comparten un entendimiento común sobre el papel de la empresa en la sociedad y la capacidad de centrarse en cuestiones ambientales y sociales y que tienen una gran capacidad de crear valor para los accionistas.

En una carta que se dirigió a los directivos de las 500 empresas más importantes en el indicador “Standard and Poor’s” se menciona que la “Generación de retornos sustentables en el tiempo requiere una mayor atención no sólo sobre la forma de administrarse, sino también de factores ambientales y sociales que enfrentan las empresas hoy en día” Además se menciona que “A largo plazo, el medio ambiente, la sociedad y las relaciones con los grupos de interés, tienen impactos financieros reales y cuantificables”.

Oceanographers from MIT and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution report that the northeast Pacific Ocean has absorbed an increasing amount of anthropogenic carbon dioxide over the last decade, at a rate that mirrors the increase of carbon dioxide emissions pumped into the atmosphere.

The scientists, led by graduate student Sophie Chu, in MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, found that most of the anthropogenic carbon (carbon arising from human activity) in the northeast Pacific has lingered in the upper layers, changing the chemistry of the ocean as a result. In the past 10 years, the region's average pH has dropped by 0.002 pH units per year, leading to more acidic waters. The increased uptake in carbon dioxide has also decreased the availability of aragonite -- an essential mineral for many marine species' shells.

Global fisheries stand to lose approximately $10 billion of their annual revenue by 2050 if climate change continues unchecked, and countries that are most dependent on fisheries for food will be the hardest hit, finds new UBC research.

Climate change impacts such as rising temperatures and changes in ocean salinity, acidity and oxygen levels are expected to result in decreased catches, as previous research from UBC's Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries has found. In this study, the authors examined the financial impact of these projected losses for all fishing countries in 2050, compared to 2000.

Tropical island nations should team up to ban coral-killing sunscreen products, following the example of Hawaii, a conference has heard. Chemical compounds in sunscreen lotions cause irreparable damage to reefs, which are crucial to the livelihoods of 500 million people in the tropics, scientist and policymakers said at the IUCN World Conservation Congress on 3 September. Hawaii is leading a legistlative effort to ban the use of sunscreen that contains oxybenzone or similar harmful agents at its beaches.