Environmental News Network

'Transponders' from Japan was ashore along US West Coast
Northwest anglers venturing out into the Pacific Ocean in pursuit of salmon and other fish this fall may scoop up something unusual into their nets â€“ instruments released from Japan called "transponders." These floating instruments are about the size of a 2-liter soda bottle and were set in the ocean from different ports off Japan in 2011-12 after the massive Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Researchers from Tattori University for Environmental Studies in Japan have been collaborating with Oregon State University, Oregon Sea Grant, and the NOAA Marine Debris Program on the project. >> Read the Full Article
Amazing maps of what Antarctica looks like under all that ice
New maps of the sub-ice features in Antarctica and the Arctic, featured in the new edition of The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World published on 25 September 2014, reveal an unseen world of canyons, lakes, trenches and mountains. The 14th edition of the Atlas also includes a new double page map of the Arctic Ocean, which highlights the dramatic long-term decline of Arctic sea ice cover. The sub-ice maps draw on bedrock data, provided by the British Antarctic Survey, to show physical features which are obscured by ice cover. In the Antarctic, one of the most striking features is the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains, which are as large as the Alps but are currently completely covered by ice. >> Read the Full Article
The Future of Vertical Farming
From big company agricultural farming, to communal farming or even personal agronomy, the business of growing crops for an expanding global population will be crucial in the near future. The two most important resources needed to run these farms are one, water, and two, land. But these resources often come at a premium, especially with growing populations and increased food demand. Farmers and researchers have already started leaning towards genetic engineering and industrial processing to help with their crop yields, but a new solution in agribusiness is emerging. Vertical farming. >> Read the Full Article
Finding Nemo
Clownfish spend their entire lives nestling in the protective tentacles of host anemones, but new research shows that as babies they sometimes travel hundreds of kilometres across the open ocean. Although the process of long-distance dispersal by reef fish has been predicted, this is the first time that the high level exchange of offspring between distant populations has been observed. Dr Steve Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Marine Biology and Global Change in Biosciences at the University of Exeter, and colleagues from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (ARC COE CRS), Sultan Qaboos University (Oman) and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France) have published their findings on the dispersal of Omani clownfish larvae in the journal PLOS ONE. >> Read the Full Article
Burlington, Vermont - Now 100% Powered by Renewable Energy
Burlington, Vermont, already considered to be one of the United States's most environmentally progressive cities, has added another line to its impressive green resume. Just recently, the city finalized its transition to relying 100% on renewable resources for its energy. Burlington is Vermont's large city, though that in itself is no big feat â€“ the city has a population of just 42,000. Then again, very few communities of even this size have managed to disassociate themselves from fossil fuels. In order to adequately tackle climate change, cities â€“ big and small â€“ need to prioritize finding and utilizing alternative energy solutions. Burlington had expressed a desire to commit to 100% renewable energy for more than a decade, but it became a real possibility when analysts discovered that it was not only a smart environmental choice, but financially viable, too. In the long run, both the city and residents will not be paying more for clean energy than they were when buying fossil fuels. >> Read the Full Article
Clouds of water found on "near" planet
Astronomers have found signs of water ice clouds on an object just 7.3 light-years from Earth-less than twice the distance of Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system to the sun. If confirmed, the discovery is the first sighting of water clouds beyond our solar system. The clouds shroud a Jupiter-sized object known as a brown dwarf and should yield insight into the nature of cool giant planets orbiting other suns. Kevin Luhman, an astronomer at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, recently discovered the nearby object by using images from NASAâ€™s WISE infrared space telescope, which scanned the sky from 2010 to 2011. A brown dwarf is a failed star and has so little mass that it can't sustain nuclear reactions, so after its birth it fades and cools. This brown dwarf, named WISE J0855-0714, is the coldest known. Its temperature is slightly below the freezing point of water, so it's colder than Earth's mean temperature but warmer than Jupiterâ€™s. >> Read the Full Article
Northern Lights Dazzle Skies Tonight
If you live in one of the visible areas on this map, you may be in for a treat tonight! According to AccuWeather.com, the solar flares of the Northern Lights are ranked as an X-class tonight, the highest class for a solar flare which may make the Northern Lights display as far south as Maryland on the East Coast, and as far down as Nebraska, further west. >> Read the Full Article
Disc or Download: A Virtual Energy-Savings Debate
One of the best ways to spark an energy revolution is through the younger generation â€“ and nothing quite speaks their language like video games. But this issue has less to do with the content of these addictive games and more with how the younger generation consumes them. Fantasy and adventure, sci-fi and first-person shooters, strategy and racing â€“ video games today comes in all types of genres with thousands of add-ons and customizable features to make each story a virtual reality. And with all of these choices comes two more: buy a copy of the video game on a disc or download the video game straight from the console? >> Read the Full Article
Petrol vs. Diesel
Climate change has made us question the things that we do, from buying food and using energy to riding planes and driving cars. One of the top questions surrounding climate change is this: Which fuel type is more environmentally friendly, petrol or diesel? Common knowledge would make us reply "diesel" right away, as engines running on diesel emit less carbon dioxide or CO2, and less CO2 is better to decrease the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. However, being eco-friendly isn't as simple as emitting less CO2. Diesel-powered vehicles may emit 20% less CO2 per kilometre travelled, but they may be more harmful for local pollution due to the tiny particles that are released by diesel engines into the atmosphere. The question really isn't which fuel or engine type is more environmentally friendly, as no form of engine that uses fossil fuels will ever become good for the environment. Rather, we should look at which has the capacity to inflict the least amount of damage to the environment. >> Read the Full Article
Hot and Cold Freezers
The freezers being tested in Central Park operate free of electricity â€” vendors can even charge their own mobile devices by plugging them into outlets attached to the freezer units. It seems fitting that Unilever, the world's largest producer of ice cream, is rolling out the world's first solar freezers in Central Park to keep those Popsicles, Good Humor or Magnum-brand bars cold while at the same time putting no strain on the environment. >> Read the Full Article