research

University of Michigan and Muhlenberg College Study: Most Americans Support Carbon Tax if Revenue Supports Renewable Energy

University of Michigan and Muhlenberg College Study: Most Americans Support Carbon Tax if Revenue Supports Renewable Energy

While some U.S. are lukewarm on the idea of taxing fossil fuel companies for emitting carbon, more are willing to support a tax if the funds support cleaner energy. According to the University of Michigan and Muhlenberg College’s Spring 2014 National Surveys on Energy and Environment (NSEE), most Americans—56 percent—support a revenue-neutral carbon tax, in which all […]

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    U.S. Student Teams Win First-Ever International Soil Judging Contest

    U.S. Student Teams Win First-Ever International Soil Judging Contest

    In the U.S. alone, thousands of soil scientists use the skill of “soil judging” in their daily jobs. They look at and feel the soil to determine its health, carbon content, drainage properties and other factors. Using only their eyes, sense of touch and a limited set of tools, they make land usage recommendations about […]

    Could Spider Venom Save the Bees?

    Could Spider Venom Save the Bees?

    A novel bio-pesticide created using spider venom and a plant protein has been found to be safe for honeybees—despite being highly toxic to a number of key insect pests. New research, led by Newcastle University, has tested the insect-specific Hv1a/GNA fusion protein bio-pesticide—a combination of a natural toxin from the venom of an Australian funnel […]

    Developing Countries Lead Global Surge in Renewable Energy Capacity

    Developing Countries Lead Global Surge in Renewable Energy Capacity

    The number of developing nations with policies supporting renewable energy has surged more than six-fold in just eight years, from 15 developing countries in 2005 to 95 early this year, according to a report from REN21, an international nonprofit renewable energy policy network. Countries with renewable energy policies or targets in place in early 2014 (top), […]

    How America’s Dairyland Is Polluted by Factory Farms

    How America’s Dairyland Is Polluted by Factory Farms

    The slogan on Wisconsin’s license plate—“America’s Dairyland”—celebrates the state’s number one agricultural activity and iconic status as a milk and cheese producer. What it doesn’t reveal is how dramatically the dairy industry in Wisconsin and in other parts of the U.S. has been changing, or the environmental concerns those changes pose.  While milk carton imagery […]

    Rising CO2 Levels Will Make Staple Crops Less Nutritious

    Rising CO2 Levels Will Make Staple Crops Less Nutritious

    At the elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) anticipated by around 2050, crops that provide a large share of the global population with most of their dietary zinc and iron will have significantly reduced concentrations of those nutrients, according to a new study led by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). Given that an estimated 2 billion […]

    Airborne Study Shows Colorado Oil and Gas Wells Leaked 3 Times More Methane Than EPA Estimates

    Airborne Study Shows Colorado Oil and Gas Wells Leaked 3 Times More Methane Than EPA Estimates

    Scientists from a multi-agency partnership went airborne to discover that some greenhouse gases leaked up to seven times more from Colorado’s largest oil and gas than regulators previously estimated. Researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder led […]