Boyan Slat (born 27 July 1994) is a Dutch inventor, entrepreneur and aerospace engineering student who works on methods of cleaning plastic waste from the oceans. He designed a passive system for concentrating and catching plastic debris driven by ocean currents. This won a prize for Best Technical Design at Delft University of Technology and he has established a […]
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Babies exposed to air pollution in the womb are more likely to have autism than those whose mothers spend pregnancy in clean air, according to a new study. In the largest study of its kind, UCLA researchers compared levels of air pollutants, mostly related to vehicle traffic, during pregnancy gestation periods of 7,603 children with autism and 75,635 children without […]
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Why the oceans are in trouble! The oceans can no longer handle the damage brought on by the 7 billion people on Earth. Over the decades, the human race has over-fished specific species to near extinction, and polluted them with carbon dioxide emissions, toxic chemicals, garbage, and unrecycled plastics. A shocking new study, recently published in Science, warned […]
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Rio de Janeiro Dirty games: Brazilian officials had conceded weeks prior that the disgustingly polluted Guanabara Bay wouldn’t be cleaned up in time for the 2016 Olympics, but said sailing events could still be held there. Some Olympic sailors had protested holding their events in the bay, saying they feared becoming sick from the contaminated water or ramming their […]
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Researchers from Australia, Denmark, Germany, Norway, United Kingdom, and the United States conducted lead concentration measurements of sixteen ice core samples, and found that industrial air pollution has persisted Antarctica since its arrival there in 1889 and remains significant in the current century. Their study was published in Scientific Reports on July 28, and covered in Nevada‘s Review journal. Lead […]
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In a controversial move that has caused a massive public backlash, the city of Montreal will go ahead with their plans to dump over 2 billion gallons (8 billion liters) of raw sewage into the St. Lawrence River — Montreal’s primary drinking water supply — in mid-October. While the Quebec Environment Minister David Heurtel has stated that the sewage dump […]
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An influential panel of climate scientists has expressed higher confidence than ever that human activity is the main cause of the rise in global temperatures since the 1950s, Reuters.com reports. A leaked draft of an upcoming report of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, based on a broad analysis of published scientific studies, concludes with 95 percent certainty […]
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Beijing The cloud of pollution over Beijing grew so dense this week that much of the city was rendered invisible. Hundreds of flights were grounded, auto traffic was stalled for scores of miles, and residents rushed to buy masks and air filters. Chinese officials downplayed the air-quality crisis, as usual, saying their readings showed that air pollution was “moderate.” But […]
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Worrying about everyday problems will shorten your life. A British study found that people who reported feeling even mild anxiety—the sort that distracted them, depleted their self-confidence, or occasionally kept them awake at night were 16 percent more likely to die over a 10-year period than people with no such concerns. About one in four people experiences mild anxiety, but […]
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“The Chinese need to learn that public spaces aren’t garbage dumps”, said Raymond Zhou. During a recent national holiday, visitors dropped a staggering 32 tons of litter in Tiananmen Square in just four days. Beijing’s army of street cleaners rushed in and quickly cleaned up the mess. But large areas of the country don’t have those resources, and by the […]
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