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May 29, 2014

Benchmarking Carbon Pollution From 100 Top Power Producers (Op-Ed)

Dave Hawkins, director of Climate Programs at the Natural Resources Defense Council, contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. As U.S. President Barack Obama prepares to announce the country's new carbon pollution standards for existing power plants today, NRDC, the sustainable-business organization CERES, and a group...

Jun 18, 2014

Creatures Living on Tiny Ocean Plastic May Be Cleaning our Seas (Op-Ed)

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. We know that Australia’s waters contain lots of tiny pieces of plastic, and that these pieces can harm many marine species. But in new research published today we show...

Jun 26, 2014

1 in 10 US Beaches Not Fit for Swimming

Now that summer is here, a trip to the shore should bring familiar smells: seawater, sunscreen and, depending on your beach of choice, sewage. One in 10 recreational beaches in the United States isn't fit for swimming, according to a new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Sewage...

Jun 26, 2014

2014 Beach Report: 'Superstar' Seashores & Worst 'Repeat Offenders'

A newly released report that graded the water quality of beaches across the United States found that 10 percent of the country's shores are contaminated or polluted. The annual beach report, conducted by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), discovered that one in 10 beaches in the coastal and Great...

Jun 27, 2014

Broccoli Brew Eases Air Pollution Effect, But Is This Detox?

Scientists have concocted a brew made with broccoli sprouts that may help protect against the toxic effects of air pollution. The study, published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, made headlines earlier this month. People in the study who drank the mixture, who lived in a rapidly industrializing and polluted...

Jul 23, 2014

Trees: Unlikely Culprits in Ozone Pollution

Pollution from forests? As this map shows, trees do emit compounds that can worsen ozone and increase aerosols in the atmosphere. The purple areas on this map show places where satellites have detected formaldehyde. This chemical forms from isoprene, a volatile organic compound that trees can give off when temperatures...

Jul 31, 2014

Dust In Your Eye? Particulate Matter Seen from Space

Is it dusty in here? A recent map of small airborne particles called aerosols captures dust on the Arabian Peninsula and smoke in Russia and the United States. Aerosols are tiny particles, either solid or liquid, in the atmosphere. They come from smoke, from volcanic eruptions and dust storms, and...

Oct 28, 2014

China Won't Breathe Easy Until Port Pollution Solved (Op-Ed)

Barbara Finamore is Asia director for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Finamore contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. As President Barack Obama and Asia-Pacific leaders gather in Beijing for the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, climate change and air pollution will undoubtedly be...

Nov 5, 2014

Prenatal Air Pollution Levels Linked to ADHD in Kids

Kids who are exposed to the highest levels of air pollution before birth have a greater risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms than their less exposed peers, according to new research. In the study, researchers looked at levels of compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which are a...

Nov 18, 2014

Watch Carbon Pollution Spread Across the Planet

A striking new video from NASA reveals how the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide spreads across Earth in a single year. The mesmerizing video was produced by a supercomputer model that took more than two months to run. Called GEOS-5, the model recreates the atmosphere's chaotic interplay among wind, weather and...

Jan 25, 2015

Urgently Examining Environmental Impacts of Fertilizer Run-off

This ScienceLives article was provided to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights in partnership with the National Science Foundation. A mathematician at heart, Angela Peace applies her powers of quantitative reasoning to biological problems. As a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, Peace uses...

Feb 9, 2015

Hints of Colonial Pollution Hidden in Andean Ice Cap

Traces of air pollution from 16th-century Spanish silver mines were discovered deep inside an ice cap in the Peruvian Andes, scientists announced today (Feb. 9). The researchers said it's the first clear evidence of man-made air pollution in South America from the time before the Industrial Revolution. Though the imprint...

Feb 18, 2015

Utah Suicides Linked to Air Pollution

Suicide may be linked to air pollution, according to new research that finds spikes in completed suicides in the days following peak pollution levels. The research took place in Utah, part of the United States' western suicide belt. Suicide is the 10th-leading cause of death in the United States; in...

Mar 4, 2015

Cleaner Air Really Does Improve Kids' Lung Health

Tougher air pollution control strategies in California may have resulted in better lung health in children, a new study suggests. Researchers found that children in California experienced improved lung function as levels of air pollution in the state declined between 1994 and 2011. We saw about a 10-percent improvement in...

Mar 9, 2015

Toxic Lead Pollution Left Its Mark in Andes Mountains

Toxic lead buried in icy layers of an Andes glacier reveals that leaded gasoline was the region's worst polluter in the past 2,000 years, a new study reports. Traces of lead pollution from precolonial mines and metallurgy (such as the extraction of silver and other metals) are present in the...