Earth

Earth

Corn, a new sensor of carbon dioxide

Scientists have developed a way to use corn plants to monitor and map human-generated emissions of carbon dioxide.

Agriculture

Ethanol Juggernaut Diverts Corn from Food to Fuel

Corn feeds the production of meat and dairy goods in the United States, so those products are likely to increase in price as ethanol fuel demands more of the country's corn supply.

Earth

Disaster’s Consequences: Hurricane’s legacy includes arsenic

Construction debris strewn across the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina contains a disturbing amount of arsenic that could contaminate groundwater if not properly managed.

Earth

Gas tanks could guzzle half of U.S. corn yields

Strong expansion of the U.S. corn-to-ethanol industry, now under way, stands poised to divert much of the grain from food uses to transportation fuel.

Earth

Sudden Chill

Today's combination of nuclear proliferation, political instability, and urban demographics increases the likelihood that humankind could suffer a devastating nuclear winter.

Earth

Heating releases cookware chemicals

Nonstick coatings on fry pans and microwave-popcorn bags can, when heated, release traces of potentially toxic perfluorinated chemicals.

Earth

Aquatic Non-Scents

Many common pollutants appear to be jeopardizing the survival of fish and other aquatic species by blunting their sense of smell.

Earth

2006: Hottest year in U.S. history

Preliminary analyses of weather data gathered from more than 1,200 sites across the continental United States indicate that last year was the warmest on record.

Earth

Mercury pollution settles in hot spots

Certain areas of North America are particularly susceptible to environmental accumulation of mercury.

Earth

Counterintuitive Toxicity

Toxicologists risk missing important health effects, both good and bad, if they don't begin regularly probing the impacts of very low doses of poisons.

Agriculture

Cloned Meat and Milk Are Safe, but They Won’t Hit Stores Soon

A Food and Drug Administration analysis concludes that food from cloned animals is safe, but the effort and expense involved in creating these animals means that products from them won't be in markets anytime soon.

Earth

Natural Hazards

The U.S. Geological Survey has launched a new Web site about the threat of natural disasters. It provides seven easy-to-understand fact sheets on earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanoes, and wildfires. The site also highlights resources and information available from the USGS and provides links to individual hazards Web pages for more detailed information. Go […]