America’s wetlands are diverse ecosystems featuring an array of flora and fauna – learn why it’s critical that we care for our wetlands and the creatures that live there.
A federal audit has found that India’s government has only spent well under a quarter of the funds available to it for cleaning up the Ganges River over the last 2 years – with the audit determining that poor financial management and planning were then primary causes. To provide specifics, the audit — performed by
A Switzerland-based consumer protection group has filed a new lawsuit against Volkswagen on behalf of 6,000 owners of diesel cars manufactured by the company in relation to the “Dieselgate” emissions scandal. The organization, SKS, isn’t actually just seeking damages from Volkswagen, it should be noted, but also from the Swiss car dealer AMAG, reportedly. Also
A new report from the University of Copenhagen states that particulate matter from burning wood and traffic causes at least 2000 heart disease related deaths every year in Denmark (population 5.7 million with a total 60,000 deaths per year). The number is based on data deriving from deaths from heart disease combined with the concentration
Fiat Chrysler lawyers are now holding discussions with lawyers representing various owners and owners groups of diesel vehicles in the US that are in the process of suing the prominent auto manufacturer, in relation to allegations of excess emissions in old diesel models. The news — revealed by a court-appointed adviser at a hearing in
The air pollution problems facing Iran, in particular those facing the country’s populous capital Tehran, seem to be growing rapidly based on recent events. As the result of dangerous levels of air pollution, schools in Tehran and in many other large cities throughout the country as well, were closed last week state media reported at
Micro plastics are now present in large quantity in essentially all of the world’s water. As a result, they are also present in a fast-growing proportion of the world’s drinking water and food as well. To quantify that to some degree — previous studies have found micro plastic pollution in mussels (a type of shellfish)
Hello, my name is Zach Shahan, and I have a problem. I’m a political nut. More seriously, I’ll admit that I’m strongly drawn to politics, follow policy & politics closely (some might say obsessively), and have sometimes struggled with how much time and emotion I invest into all of that. If I step back a
America Recycles Day in November 15. Do your part to reduce litter and contribute to a healthy planet.
The Pact of Amsterdam has been released, seeking collaboration from EU cities concerning pressing challenges such as air pollution, climate adaptation, transportation, and energy transition. “Cities have a key role to play in translating national and EU policy objectives into concrete action. They directly or indirectly implement EU policies and legislation and contribute to EU’s
You may well ask why PlanetSave, a blog usually dedicated to positive developments and actions to save the earth, is reporting news about ExxonMobil and a Russian arctic oil well. The oil discovery appears to have nothing to do with solar or wind or most of our usual topics—we’re talking fossil fuels here, which have caused much
Underwater habitat at Aquarius Reef Base (photo provided to Flickr courtesy of Stephen Frink, www.stephenfrink.com/) On July 2, 2014, ocean scientists who have spent the last 31 days living in an ocean-floor habitat 63 feet underwater will decompress and return to the surface. They’ve been down there on “Mission 31” intensively studying ocean acidification and climate
Fabien Cousteau, ocean explorer and grandson of famed Jacques-Yves Cousteau, began a historic subsea mission on Sunday. He’s studying ocean impacts of climate change (especially acidification, which occurs as the sea absorbs atmospheric carbon dioxide), effects of plastic and other pollution on marine life, and overfishing of marine resources, which diminishes the ocean’s biodiversity. You
Not much of a fish feast for the anyone with overfishing and pollutants in the waters. Thanks to Catholic Online.
By now, many of us have heard that the President spent a little time this morning at a Wal-Mart store in in Mountain View, California, near San Jose. Solar deployment and energy efficiency were the two main thrusts of his speech. He spoke about more than 300 recent private and public sector commitments to create
When the hydraulic fracturing measure passed the Los Angeles City Council today, several tweeters posted photos of this meeting (source of the above: Walker Foley on twitter). The City Council of Los Angeles, second-most populous metro in the United States, voted 10-0 today to prohibit hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) and other “unconventional” deep-underground drilling methods to produce
If you’re a regular PlanetSave reader, you know a lot of these facts already–but here’s an excellent one-pager about climate change, a.k.a. global warming. The presenters write in everyday language with photos and feature leads. From the webpage: “The science of global warming starts with the burning of fossil fuels, specifically in vehicles fueled by
Officials open the 2013 UNFCCC meetings with determination and louder warnings…. (Photo source: http://ow.ly/qL43P) It’s time for the governments of the world to struggle with climate change policy again. Every year, late in November and early in December, representatives of 195 nations gather for two weeks to try to negotiate global responses to the increasingly
President Obama’s Plan to Fight Climate Change has an initial Congressional hearing (whitehouse.gov). Here’s what happened: Perhaps the second great step the Obama Administration has made this year with respect to climate change–after the President’s June 25 iteration of his sketchy but essentially solid outline for a new climate plan–happened this past week. The House
At about 1:15 Saturday morning, a 72-freightcar train carrying crude oil from North Dakota’s Bakken shale development, bound for Irving Oil’s plant in Saint John, New Brunswick, slipped its brakes in the eastern Quebec town of Nantes. The train’s only human passenger — the engineer — had checked into a nearby hotel. Driverless and continually
All of the sudden people said, “Wait a minute, this is not how we have to live.” …Call us Peace, We’re about peace… Paul Watson on a wide screen is sweet looking, kind of like a baby as a young man, thinner with dark curly hair framing his doe-eyed face as he stands in life-threatening
A Chinese businessman has offered a reward to a government official to swim in a very polluted river. The reward is 200,000 yuan, which is about $32,000 American dollars. Many people might be very tempted to jump at this offer, but if you look at photos of the river filled with plastic and other repulsive
It’s at times like the current environmental and climate change catastrophe that you realize just how deeply fearful and conservative people can be. For example, leading and well respected proponents of green economics and resilient society are still rabbiting on about how we can avoid rises of over 2°C by 2100. Makes me want to scream… Then
Mitigating the tonnes of pollution that are being swept into the atmosphere every day is a big part of environmental research these days, and researchers from the University of Sheffield and the London College of Fashion have managed to come up with the coolest method of contributing to the removal of pollution ever. They’ve developed a new
We know they’re out there, silently and ceaselessly dumping and pumping toxins into our air, water, and land. Still, it’s hard for the average citizen to keep track of the worst of them. Polluters never sleep. Concerned citizens will feel more secure knowing that at least one form of pollution — air pollution —
President Obama, speaking at the annual “Chevron remembers Nagasaki” memorial service, today praised the US oil giant for its role “in helping all of us learn from history.” Speaking in San Fransisco moments before the crowd-pleasing pyrotechnic recreation of the 1944 blasts in Japan, Obama cited the role of the oil industry in working
Summer thunderstorm clouds strengthened by pollution are warming the atmosphere, says a new study by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. The study, just published in Geophysical Research Letters says that anvil-shaped thunderclouds, strengthened by pollution, are spreading out high in the atmosphere and trapping more heat. “Global climate models don’t see
Prenatal exposure to high levels of air pollution doubled the likelihood of children becoming obese in a new study by Colombia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. The study finds that pregnant women exposed to high levels of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAHS) were more than twice as likely to have children who were obese
A new study from MIT links air pollution to early death in the UK. Intuitive, but the research and proof is always welcome and useful. Here are more details from MIT: CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — In a study appearing this month in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, MIT researchers report that emissions from cars, trucks,
Chevron Corporation, one of the largest oil companies in the world, recently lost a court case in Ecuador and was ordered to pay $18 billion in damages to the approximately 30,000 affected residents of the Amazon. From 1964 through 1992, Chevron Corporation (under the Texaco brand) drilled and dumped its waste in the Ecuadorian
Seeking Ban The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) reports that it is seeking a ban from weed and feed products which are using what has notoriously been known as “Agent Orange.” What? You mean after the flurry of reports for decades identifying agent orange as increasing the already know horror of war, it is not forever
Inspired by the 70 year-old Winston Churchill quote: “In the long run, Americans will always do the right thing — after exploring all other alternatives.” Joe’s cartoon archive, twitter ramblings and StumbleUpon page…
My other 2 Newt cartoons: From my archives, and yesterday on Lynn Hasselberger’s “Putting it Out There“. Joe’s cartoon archive, twitter ramblings and StumbleUpon page…
Writers, Bloggers, Photographers, Cartoonists, please feel free to place the FUGMO seal of disapproval on any of your anti-GMO work. Readers, you are invited to add the seal to your avatar. FUGMO says: “F U, GMOs!” More on why you too should say F U to GMOs: From Grist: The next generation of GMOs could
The wealth of air pollutants that were generated in the atmospheric plume as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 amounted to levels similar to the pollution created by a large city, says a new study led by researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “The levels of ozone were similar
Go green this holiday season by sending e-cards to your loved ones rather than the traditional printed greeting cards. If you have to send actual cards, send ones made from recycled paper and keep the annual newsletter to an email.
I’ve covered this good infographic on CO2 emissions, other pollution, and the health effects of various sorts of pollution on a couple of our other sites already, but thought it should be shared here as well.
On September 3rd, hundreds of people gathered in Lafayette Park for the final day of the rally against the Tar Sands at the end of the two week sit down protest at the White House. An estimated 1252 people were arrested during this two week continuous peaceful protest, making it the largest collective act of Civil Disobedience in the U.S. in decades.
“Moving to America will increase your cancer risk by 400%.”
Cartoonist’s note: This cartoon is inspired by the House Energy Action Team (HEAT). More on HEAT after the cartoon.
Too bad RoundUp resistant weeds aren’t a nutritious superfood or a zero-emission superfuel, considering the weeds now infest about 11 million acres. The coverage of the controversial weed is now five times greater than three years prior, and David Mortensen, Penn State weed scientist, shares, “There is reason to believe this trend will continue into the future.”
The American Lung Association (ALA) recently released State of the Air 2011, its annual report on air pollution and which cities have got the worst. In total, 18.5 million Americans live in regions with unhealthy levels of year-round particle pollution.
According to the ALA, 13,000 Americans a year are killed from particle pollution from power plants alone.
And for people in “at-risk” groups, like people who already have asthma, chronic lung disease, cardiovascular disease, or diabetes, the hazards of such pollution are even greater.
Jonathan T. Scott’s latest book, New Standards for Long-Term Business Survival, has just been published. As with his previous two books on sustainability, this book is very easy-to-read and is available as a free, 30-page, PDF document that explains what sustainability is, why it is important, and how sustainable practices are being successfully implemented in businesses around the world.
I had a chance to interview Jonathan prior to the book release, and discuss his many years of influential work in promoting sustainable business practices.
Spring has arrived for the northern hemisphere and the snow is beginning to melt. But according to a new study out of the University of Toronto, Scarborough (UTSC), the snow melt brings with it a massive uptick in pollutants.
Sometimes it seems as though change takes way too loooong… Joe’s cartoon archive and twitter ramblings…
Today is World Water Day. We’ve written quite a number of water-related posts on Planetsave over the years, and other sites on the Important Media network have as well. For this year’s World Water Day, I’ve decided to share a number of our good water posts altogether, rather than write yet another article on one or two aspects of this important topic.
This sounds absolutely wonderful. A green underground data center. Building its facilities underground, Helsinki is cutting its carbon emissions by huge amounts. Instead of using electricity to cool the computers in the data center, it is using sea water. Which is also used to provide heat to the city. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXNyEiw28D0 Below Helsinki, Finland lies the
