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The First State to Ban Bee-Killing Pesticides
In an effort to curb its plummeting honeybee population, Maryland is about to become the first state in the nation to pass strict restrictions on neonicotinoids for consumer use.
Neonicotinoids are a potent class of pesticides used on many crops in the U.S. that have been linked to the widespread decline of pollinator species. As EcoWatch mentioned previously, 29 independent scientists conducted a global review of 1,121 independent studies and found overwhelming evidence of pesticides linked to bee declines.
Pigeons Help with Air Pollution
“Backpack-wearing pigeons playing a big part in tackling London air pollution problem. A team of 10 birds, otherwise known as Pigeon Air Patrol, carries pollution sensors and GPS devices to help study areas of the city with high levels of nitrogen dioxide. Those who want to check out the pollution levels in their area can even tweet @PigeonAir to receive a report.”
Bacterium That Eats Our Plastic Waste
“Hundreds of millions of tons of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic are produced each year to package everything from sodas to shampoo. That only a fraction of this is recycled leaves much of it to rest in landfills and the ocean. But efforts to deal with this monumental mess may soon receive a much-needed boost, with scientists in Japan discovering a new bacterium with the ability to completely break down PET plastics in a relatively short space of time.”
UK Pollution Linked to 40,000 Deaths a Year
“There is now good awareness of the risks from badly maintained gas appliances, radioactive radon gas and second-hand tobacco smoke, but indoors we can also be exposed to NO2 [nitrogen dioxide] from gas cooking and solvents that slowly seep from plastics, paints and furnishings.
“The lemon-and-pine scents that we use to make our homes smell fresh can react chemically to generate air pollutants, and ozone-based air fresheners can also cause indoor air pollution.”
EPA Protects Communities from sulfur dioxide air pollution
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identified 12 new areas across the United States today where residents regularly breathe dangerous levels of sulfur dioxide air pollution. The EPA has proposed designating these areas as being in violation of the 2010 health-based clean air standard for sulfur dioxide and, if they are finalized, it will prompt states to create clean up plans to protect at-risk communities.”
Mark Ruffalo and the Water Crisis
“For the past two years, the 100,000 residents of Flint, Michigan, drank, cooked and bathed with lead-contaminated water. Rates of lead poisoning—which can impair brain development and cause other serious health ailments—among the area’s children have skyrocketed, from 5 percent before the water turned bad to 16 percent today.”
Why You Shouldn’t Eat Snow
WATCH on https://weather.com Scientists say eating snow is like snacking on a pollution flavored snow cone.
Aura mission tracks global pollutant trends
The success of clean air legislation in western developed countries is evident in the results from a 10-year study by a US space agency satellite.
The Aura mission has been tracking trends in emissions of nitrogen dioxide since its launch in 2004. It has seen big falls in the pollutant in the US and Europe, while at the same time recording significant increases in some developing nations, such as China.
Artist Demonstrates the severity of Beijing’s Pollution
Beijing has been swamped for days in a beige-gray miasma of smog, bringing coughs and rasping, hospitals crowded from respiratory ailments, a midday sky so dim that it could pass for evening, and head-shaking disgust from residents who had hoped the city was over the worst of its chronic pollution.
