March 1, 2011 — “Geologic records that are millions of years old could hold clues to how the Earth’s future climate would respond in an environment with high levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases, says a new report from the National Research Council. Through a “deep-time” climate research program, these ancient rocks and sediments could enable scientists to better understand how climate behaved during past warm periods and major climate transitions.”
National Academies News 3/7/11
“EPA: Cleaning Up Our Land, Water and Air [pdf]
The Environmental Protection Agency has been cleaning up the nation’s land, water and air for four decades, and there’s still much work to be done. This homepage provides information about cleanups around the country, what citizens can do to help, and the EPA’s long-term stewardship programs. On the homepage, visitors can use a clickable map to learn about cleanup information by EPA region or program. Moving on, visitors can also read about available cleanup grants and funding opportunities in different communities. The site also contains a glossary of EPA terms, and helpful cleanup publications, such as newsletters, “FedFacs” newsletters, and waste management documents that cover Native American reservations. The site is rounded out by an “Other Publications” area that covers brownfields and the latest work on Superfund sites.”
Source: Scout Report, Univ. of Wisconsin, 3/4/11
Cognitive Barriers to Environmental Action: Problems and Solutions
January 23, 2011 18:13
Cognitive Barriers to Environmental Action: Problems and Solutions
Source: Harvard Business School Working Papers
We highlight three cognitive barriers that impede sound individual decision making that have particular relevance to behaviors impacting the environment. First, despite claiming that they want to leave the world in good condition for future generations, people intuitively discount the future to a greater degree than can be rationally defended. Second, positive illusions lead us to conclude that energy problems do not exist or are not severe enough to merit action. Third, we interpret events in a self-serving manner, a tendency that causes us to expect others to do more than we do to solve energy problems. We then propose ways in which these biases could actually be used to our advantage in steering ourselves toward better judgment. Finally, we outline the key questions on the research frontier from the behavioral decision-making perspective and debunk the myth that behavioral and neoclassical economic perspectives need be in conflict.
+ Full Paper (PDF)
Source:[DocuTicker] Newsletter 165, Jan. 25, 2011
A new book, (Firestone GE170 .E5774 2010) The Environmental Politics of Sacrifice, challenges the widely held assumption that people will not sacrifice for environmental goals. In his own take on the topic, Worldwatch senior researcher Erick Assadourian observes that even the word “sacrifice” has become taboo – associated more with violent rituals (think Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) than with its root meaning, “to make “sacred.”
Read: What Would You Sacrifice for a Secure Future? by Erik Assadourian
Source: Worldwatch Institute mailer, Oct. 7, 2010
Worldwatch Institute – 1776 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036 USA
– has a newsfeed, a Facebook page and a Twitter account, and is a very enlightening resource.
[Editor’s Note: This is a reprint of an announcement published on NLM-Tox-Enviro-Health-L, an e-mail announcement list available from the NLM Division of Specialized Information Services. To subscribe to this list, please see the NLM-TOX-ENVIRO-HEALTH-L Join, Leave, or Change Options page.]
The National Library of Medicine® (NLM) Division of Specialized Information Services has added crude oil and dispersant records to the Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB®).
In response to the 2010 Deep Water Horizon oil spill, the HSDB development team and the HSDB Scientific Review Panel (SRP) compiled and reviewed data for crude oil, Corexit 9500, and Corexit 9527 records. Although many dispersants exist, the two selected were most widely used during recent oil clean up efforts in the United States Gulf area and are on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) list of authorized dispersants for use on the National Contingency Plan (NCP) Product Schedule.
The HSDB records include data on human health effects, animal toxicity studies, environmental fate and exposure, and hazard information.
Source: NLM Technical Bulletin 2010 Sep-Oct;(376):e4.
“Near-Term Emissions Choices Could Lock In Climate Changes For Centuries to Millennia
July 16, 2010 — Choices made now about carbon dioxide emissions reductions will affect climate change impacts experienced not just over the next few decades but also in coming centuries and millennia, says a new report from the National Research Council. Because CO2 in the atmosphere is long lived, it can effectively lock the Earth and future generations into a range of impacts, some of which could become very severe.”
Source: What’sNew@nationalacademies.org
"American Chemical Society’s C&EN launches news channel on environmental research – 08 Jul 2010
The American Chemical Society has announced that its weekly newsmagazine Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) has launched its first news channel – the Environmental SCENE. The channel provides a steady stream of news about environmental research, business, and policy, including coverage of climate change, pollution, toxic substances, energy and sustainability.
The Environmental SCENE appears on C&EN’s website as well as on the websites of four ACS journals – Environmental Science & Technology, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Energy & Fuels and Chemical Research in Toxicology. One of the news channel’s primary goals is to provide tailored news of interest to readers of those journals, all of which have an environmental bent. But the stories will also be of interest and be accessible to anyone with an interest in environmental research, policy, and business.
The Environmental SCENE is edited by C&EN’s Lila Guterman and Michael Torrice. Drawing on content from the pages of C&EN, the news channel also produces its own original content, significantly expanding C&EN’s coverage of environmental research. The Environmental SCENE is the first of what will be several C&EN news channels. The magazine anticipates developing channels covering news in analytical chemistry and instrumentation, medicinal chemistry, organic chemistry, materials chemistry, the chemical-biology interface and other areas."
Under "Latest News" is where you’ll find the Environmental Scene RSS feed, etc.
Source: Knowledgespeak Newsletter, 7/8/10
“April 22, 2010 — Unless man-made carbon dioxide emissions are substantially curbed, or atmospheric carbon dioxide is controlled by some other means, the oceans will continue to become more acidic, says the summary of a congressionally requested study by the National Research Council. The long-term consequences are unknown, but a federal program under development is a positive move toward understanding and responding to the problem.”
Source: National Academies.org Weekly Highlights, April 23, 2010
Institute of Physics publishes briefing note on climate change – 08 Dec 2009
“The Institute of Physics (IOP) has published a physics briefing note to help understand the science behind climate change as several world leaders have gathered in Copenhagen to discuss environmental issues.
Prof. Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, President of the IOP, has expressed hope that world leaders will appreciate the major contribution science can make to our understanding of all aspects of global change, including climate change. Science can improve our predictions of what might happen; physics can provide critical, objective analysis of new schemes. Physics along with technology can develop new and more efficient energy sources, and find ways of minimising waste (of all kinds).
Prof. Burnell further states that climate models are the best tools available for understanding changes in climate, and from these models it seems we are entering an unprecedentedly difficult period for the human race. Science can diagnose the problem and it can work to remedy it, but it can do neither without support from world leaders.
These comments accompany the publication of a briefing note from IOP which summarises advances in human understanding of the climate and the work being done to create a low-carbon energy infrastructure. It includes comment from some of the UK’s leading climate experts.
Search for more such environment related initiatives in K-Store
Click here to read the original press release »”
Source: Knowledgespeak Newsletter.
Here is the home page of the Nature Conservancy. One can sign up for their free e-newsletter. Here is the latest issue. There is a blog, with links to many conservation-related blogs. There are podcasts, short articles, photos and volunteer opportunities, etc.