Earth
- Earth
Grape-harvest dates hold climate clues
The vintner's habit of picking no grapes before their time may give scientists a tool that could help verify reconstructions of European climate for the past 500 years.
By Sid Perkins - Earth
Bottled Water for All?
U.S. households are water hogs. On average, each man, woman, and child uses an average of 100 gallons of tap water per day. What faucet did this water come from? In some Wisconsin homes, that could be an important question if a proposed change to the plumbing code goes into effect. PhotoDisc In fact, the […]
By Janet Raloff - Earth
Researchers confirm sea change in oceans
A new analysis of ancient seawater shows that the ocean's chemistry has fluctuated over the last half-billion years.
- Earth
How polluted is a preschooler’s world?
Preliminary data from a new study show that children may ingest traces of atrazine, a common herbicide, in their drinking water.
By Janet Raloff - Earth
Kitchen tap may offer drugs and more
Excreted drugs and household chemicals are making their way through community waste-treatment and drinking-water plants.
By Janet Raloff - Earth
Composting cuts manure’s toxic legacy
Composting manure reduces its testosterone and estrogen concentrations, limiting the runoff of these hormones, which can harm wildlife.
By Janet Raloff - Earth
Photo Treasures
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration offers an amazing library of more than 16,000 spectacular images, organized into a variety of topical sets. You can browse image collections devoted to coastlines, fisheries, ships, polar regions, severe storms, undersea research, nature reserves, flight, geodesy, coral reefs, and many other subjects. Go to: http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/ .
By Science News - Earth
Lowland tree loss threatens cloud forests
Changes in regional climate brought about by large-scale deforestation in the eastern lowlands of Central America are affecting weather in the mountains downwind, imperiling ecosystems there.
By Sid Perkins - Earth
Ill Winds
Research suggests that the long-range movement of dust can sicken wildlife, crops—even humans—a continent away.
By Janet Raloff - Earth
Rain of foreign dust fuels red tides
Soil particles from Africa, raining out from clouds over the Americas, may trigger the first steps that lead to toxic red-tide algal blooms off Florida.
By Janet Raloff - Earth
EU moves against flame retardants
The European Union has provisionally voted to ban the use and importation of nearly all members of a family of flame retardants known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers.
- Earth
Where’s the smoke from the N.Y. fires?
Analyses of smoke from the destroyed World Trade Center towers indicated little risk that the fires would cause significant health effects for cleanup crews and city residents.
By Janet Raloff