Earth
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Earth
Toxipedia
Ever wonder whether some chemical in a bathroom cleanser, herbicidal spray, or paint is toxic? Just how poisonous is that chemical described in last week’s Science News? Toxicologists are developing one-stop shopping for such information at Toxipedia. Like Wikipedia, it allows the public—experts, advocates, or policymakers—to post information. Unlike Wikipedia, there is a rating system […]
By Science News -
Earth
Meteor dust layers taint Antarctic ice
Two layers of deep Antarctic ice, each hundreds of thousands of years old, are rich in meteoritic dust.
By Sid Perkins -
Earth
Grazing on the Periodic Table: Some ancient microorganisms lived on a diet of pure sulfur
Microorganisms that lived 3.5 billion years ago obtained energy by metabolizing pure sulfur.
By Sid Perkins -
Earth
How Green Are Your Travels?
This website offers a rough gauge of the carbon-dioxide emissions associated with flying around the country. Just plug in a starting point and destination and it gives you a round-trip estimate of the greenhouse-gas “footprint” of your travel. The goal is to encourage visitors to buy carbon-offsets to cover the greenhouse-gas cost of their treks. […]
By Science News -
Earth
Laser printers can dirty the air
Some laser printers emit substantial amounts of potentially hazardous nanoscale particles.
By Janet Raloff -
Earth
Lack of oxygen stunts fish reproduction
Seasonal oxygen shortages in coastal waters, increasing in severity because of pollution, may impair fish reproduction.
By Sarah Webb -
Earth
What Goes Up
A massive scientific field study in Mexico City, along with lab experiments and computer simulations, show that pollution from the world's megacities has a global impact.
By Sid Perkins -
Earth
Sonic Sands: Uncovering the secret of the booming dunes
The age-old mystery of sand dunes that produce loud, thrumming noises is explained by a new theory that involves a resonant layer of dry sand.
By Sid Perkins -
Earth
Oxygen Rocks: Volcanoes spurred early atmospheric change
Earth owes its oxygen-rich atmosphere to a change in volcanic activity about 2.5 billion years ago.
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Earth
Tiny tubes, big pollution
Making carbon nanotubes also produces a lot of airborne carcinogens.
By Brian Vastag -
Earth
Arctic snow was dirtier in early 1900s
Arctic snow collects less soot now than it did a century ago, but it's still dirtier than it was before the Industrial Revolution.
By Sid Perkins -
Earth
Don’t Bite the Dust
Several studies show that children and adults accumulate substantial amounts of the flame retardants called PBDEs—from food, breast milk, and probably house dust.
By Janet Raloff