Nature & Environment : Science World Report

Apr 20, 2012 09:46 AM EDT

Scientists Find Higher Concentrations of Heavy Metals in Post-oil Spill Oysters from Gulf of Mexico

As the two-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico approaches, a team of scientists led by Dr. Peter Roopnarine of the California Academy of Sciences has detected evidence that pollutants from the oil have entered the ecosystem's food chain.

Apr 20, 2012 09:07 AM EDT

Enea Buys 50 Megawatt Wind Farm in North-western Poland

Polish utility Enea has bought a 50 megawatt wind farm in the north-western part of the country from world's biggest wind turbine maker Vestas and plans to expand its capacity to a maximum of 60 MW.

Apr 20, 2012 06:46 AM EDT

Public Invited to Virtually Join NOAA Exploration of the Gulf, Live from the Seafloor

From today through April 28, the public can watch live undersea video and listen in as ocean explorers at sea and ashore comment in real-time as they observe marine species, visit gas seeps and map poorly known areas of the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Apr 20, 2012 06:15 AM EDT

Farm Group Seeks U.S. Halt on "Dangerous" Crop Chemicals

A coalition of more than 2,000 U.S. farmers and food companies said Wednesday it is taking legal action to force government regulators to analyze potential problems with proposed biotech crops and the weed-killing chemicals to be sprayed over them.

Apr 20, 2012 06:07 AM EDT

Mini Electric Cars Fill Gap in China as Official EVs Sputter

The tiny electric car that Chen Xianping drives to work over bumpy country roads in Shandong province says much about the hurdles facing China's efforts to promote electric vehicles and the big car companies' efforts to sell them.

Apr 19, 2012 04:59 PM EDT

Polar Bears Are No New Kids on the Block

Polar bears evolved as a separate species far earlier than previously thought, according to a new genetic study, which adds to worries about their ability to adapt in a rapidly warming world.

Apr 19, 2012 04:52 PM EDT

New CU-NOAA Monitoring System Clarifies Murky Atmospheric Questions

A University of Colorado Boulder-led team has developed a new monitoring system to analyze and compare emissions from man-made fossil fuels and trace gases in the atmosphere, a technique that likely could be used to monitor the effectiveness of measures regulating greenhouse gases.

Apr 19, 2012 03:05 PM EDT

State of Himalayan Glaciers Less Alarming than Feared

Ever since the false prognoses of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Himalayan glaciers have been a focus of public and scientific debate.

Apr 19, 2012 02:14 PM EDT

New Study Links Air Pollution and Early Death in the UK

In a study appearing this month in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, MIT researchers report that emissions from cars, trucks, planes and powerplants cause 13,000 premature deaths in the United Kingdom each year.

Apr 19, 2012 01:23 PM EDT

Study: Optimizing Biofuel Supply Chain is a Competitive Game

As biofuel production has increased - particularly ethanol derived from corn - a hotly contested competition for feedstock supplies has emerged between the agricultural grain markets and biofuel refineries. This competition has sparked concern for the more fundamental issue of allocating limited far...

Apr 19, 2012 10:55 AM EDT

Improved Loblolly Pines Better for the Environment, Study Finds

More than 50 years of genetics work to increase loblolly pine production in the Southeast has improved the trees' ability to act as carbon sinks that mitigate climate change, according to a new study by North Carolina State University researchers.

Apr 19, 2012 07:18 AM EDT

North America Swelters in March Heat

First they called it the year without a winter. Then springtime began to feel more like summer for most of North America. March 2012 saw thousands of daily temperature records fall in the contiguous United States (often called the "lower 48"), and the entire month was the warmest March in a temperat...