pollution news stories on Newser

Plastic in Pacific Has Grown 100-Fold Since 1970s

Kevin Spak — Wed, 09 May 2012 06:00:00 CDT

Humanity has tossed a lot of plastic into the Pacific Ocean in the last 40 years. The level of small plastic pieces in the so-called "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" has increased 100-fold over that span, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography found in a new study. "We did not expect to...

Global Warming's Cost on Oceans: $2T a Year by 2100

Kevin Spak — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 10:31:51 CDT

Unless action is taken to protect them, damage to the world's oceans could reach $1.98 trillion annually by 2100, according to a study released today by the Stockholm Environment Institute. The principle culprit: climate change, which will cause rising sea levels, ocean acidification, marine pollution, species migrations, and cause...

Oceans Acidifying at Highest Rate in 300M Years

Dustin Lushing — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 15:32:14 CST

Industrial emissions are causing the oceans to acidify at a fast rate—the fastest in 300 million years, say researchers from Columbia University. That could spell danger for sea creatures. In the last century alone, the pH of the oceans dropped by 0.1 units. That's 10 times faster than...

China's Air Quality Data Suspiciously Sunny

Mark Russell — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 06:39:44 CST

The Chinese government, under fire from its citizens about its unbelievably upbeat pollution reports , has started to release more detailed data about smog in Beijing, reports the AP . For the first time, Beijing's official weather website yesterday included readings about PM2.5, or particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers...

Fleece Jackets Polluting the World's Oceans

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 14:20:00 CST

The Stuff White People Like blog has mocked people for wearing "outdoor performance clothes" everywhere they go, but who knew those fleece pullovers are also dirtying up our oceans. A recent study shows that nearly 2,000 polyester fibers can come loose from one piece of clothing in the wash....

Cynical Chinese Taking Own Smog Readings

Mary Papenfuss — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 02:00:00 CST

The Chinese know smog when they see it—even when the government calls it "fog." So Beijing citizens are taking their own pollution readings. "If people know what their air is like, they are more likely to take action," said a researcher at an environmental group that is showing residents...

China Admits: It's Smog, not Fog

Mary Papenfuss — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 01:45:00 CST

Those shadowy days that appear in mid-afternoon in Beijing aren't just caused by fog after all, Chinese officials are finally admitting. It's throat-choking, eye-watering, blinding smog. And it's been so atrocious the last few days that authorities have had to cancel flights out of Beijing International Airport, the world's second...

How to Create 1.5M Jobs: Bump Up Recycling

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:58:05 CST

Help the planet and create jobs, all at the same time? According to a new report, it might be that easy: If the US increases its recycling rate from 33% to 75% by 2030, an additional 1.5 million jobs will be created, according to the Tellus Institute. Why such...

Environmental Strategy of GOP: 'Too Dirty to Fail'

Matt Cantor — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:44:01 CDT

House Republicans claim that to create jobs, we need to loosen environmental regulations. To that end, they’ve “averaged roughly a vote every day” in session to weaken the rules—and have already cut back the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and other laws, writes EPA chief Lisa Jackson...