Earth
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Earth
Nations sign on to persistent-pollutants ban
The United States joined 126 other nations in signing a treaty to ban or phase out a dozen persistent and toxic pollutants.
By Janet Raloff -
Earth
Salmon hatcheries can deplete wild stocks
Hatchery fish appear to be replacing wild salmon populations in the Columbia River.
By Janet Raloff -
Earth
Daily Planet Earth
The Earth Science Picture of the Day Web site features photos, satellite images, and illustrations that highlight the diverse processes and phenomena shaping our planet and influencing our lives. A short explanatory caption and links to sources for more detailed information accompany each illustration. Go to: http://epod.usra.edu/
By Science News -
Earth
They’re not briquettes, but they’ll do
Chunks of fossil charcoal found in ancient sediments in north central Pennsylvania suggest that cycles of wildfire plagued Earth more than 360 million years ago.
By Sid Perkins -
Earth
Lead Therapy Won’t Help Most Kids
Removing lead from the blood fails to spare even moderately exposed children from cognitive impairments.
By Janet Raloff -
Earth
Pump up a plateau to make a monsoon
Computer models show that the onset and strengthening of Asian monsoons over the past 8 million to 9 million years are strongly linked to various stages in the uplift of the Tibetan plateau.
By Sid Perkins -
Earth
Pacific Northwest stirred, not shaken
Residents of the Pacific Northwest escaped the wrath of a magnitude 6.7 earthquake in the summer of 1999 because the ground movement of 20 centimeters along a deep fault occurred over a period of 6 to 15 days, not all at once.
By Sid Perkins -
Earth
Big Bergs Ahoy!
Although the break-up of Antarctica's northernmost ice shelves has been linked to warmer temperatures in the area, the cause of the unusual number of large icebergs calving from the continent's southern ice shelves last year was likely not global warming.
By Sid Perkins -
Earth
A dietary cost of our appetite for gold
This Mothers Day, many moms will find their brood and mates proffering glittering booty: sparkling necklaces, earrings, bracelets, brooches, and rings fashioned in whole or in part of gold. There may also be gilded plates, glasses, and grandmas favorite–fragile, matched sets of hand-painted tea cups and saucers. As women admire these tokens of their loved […]
By Janet Raloff -
Earth
Even low lead in kids has a high IQ cost
Lead can damage a young child's ability to learn and reason at exposures far lower than the limit deemed acceptable by the U.S. government.
By Janet Raloff -
Earth
Beware bathtub wines
Heres a healthy tip for home vintners: Save the bathtub for cleaning your body–not for storing crushed grapes. Bob Savidge A 66-year-old Australian man paid a high price for his habit of periodically tapping a pair of bathtubs for winemaking: periodic bouts of intense abdominal pain, constipation, and mood swings for more than 2 years. […]
By Janet Raloff -
Earth
Sky Cycles
Created at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, this Web site features middle-school classroom activities with an atmospheric cycles theme. Topics include climate, greenhouse effect, global climate change, and ozone. Go to: http://www.ucar.edu/learn/
By Science News