Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
The California drought, now in its fourth year, is set to cost the agriculture sector $1.8bn in direct losses this year, researchers at the University of California, Davis found in a study released on Tuesday. The loss represents around 4% of the state’s massive $45bn agriculture economy. When indirect losses …
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans as soon as Friday to determine whether carbon dioxide from aircraft endangers public health, a first step to regulating emissions from the aviation sector, sources familiar with the rulemaking process said. The EPA has yet to issue its "endangerment finding," despite pressure from environmental …
A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s process for determining whether states are complying with air-quality ozone limits, ruling against states, industry groups and environmental organizations that challenged the rules. Reports the Associated Press: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected …
Los Angeles County officials voted on Tuesday to charge water users for over-consumption in areas hit with some of California's toughest reduction mandates as the state withers from a four-year drought. The conservation plan, approved unanimously by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, will charge most consumers in heavy-use …
Large areas of Southern Forests are being cut to make wood pellets bound for Europe. This loss of green cover has raised a red flag among green crusaders. Europe, for their climate change targets, is promoting the use of wood pellets to reduce the greenhouse gases. The American forests are …
SINGAPORE — They call it "NEWwater" but it's just the opposite: recycled sewage water packed in clear plastic bottles, ready for drinking. Surrounded by oceans but lacking adequate clean water resources, Singapore hopes to get 55% of its drinking water from recycled sewer water by 2060. The level might seem …
Oil and natural gas producer Chevron Corp paid a $939,553 fine for a fatal 2014 explosion at one its Pennsylvania gas wells that state officials on Tuesday said may be the largest amount paid for a single incident. The fine reflected the state Department of Environmental Protection's assessment that the …
Spring weather in downtown Los Angeles and other areas of Southern California flip-flopped this year as temperatures cooled from March to May, creating a so-called reverse meteorological spring for the first time in nearly a century, officials said on Tuesday. A reverse meteorological spring is rare and indicative of the …
Damage from tornadoes, floods and severe storms in Oklahoma in May that killed at least six people and damaged hundreds of structures could top $150 million, state Emergency Management Director Albert Ashwood said on Tuesday. The severe weather that brought tornadoes at the start of the month and floods at …
Several environmental groups sued the United States on Tuesday to derail Royal Dutch Shell PLC's plan to drill in the Arctic Ocean as soon as July. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, gave conditional approval in May to Shell's resumption of …
The increasing frequency of zoonotic disease events underscores a need to develop forecasting tools toward a more preemptive approach to outbreak investigation. We apply machine learning to data describing the traits and zoonotic pathogen diversity of the most speciose group of mammals, the rodents, which also comprise a disproportionate number …
Environmental impact of leasing area off Alaskan shore to Shell was insufficient, say action groups A dozen environmental groups have told a US federal court they are renewing a challenge to the leasing in 2008 of areas off Alaska’s north-west shore, where Royal Dutch Shell hopes to drill exploratory wells …
David Rainey accused of obstructing congressional investigation as prosecutors say he misled officials about quantity of oil entering Gulf of Mexico Jury selection began on Monday for the trial of the most senior BP executive charged in connection with 2010’s fatal Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. David Rainey, BP’s former vice …
The string of massive snowstorms and bone-chilling cold on the US east coast, as well as flooding in Britain and record temperatures in Europe, are linked to rapid ice loss in the Arctic, new research appears to confirm. While the rapidly-thawing Arctic cannot be held responsible for specific weather events …
Australia has received more than $4 billion in money from foreign governments to fund coal projects since 2007, according to a new report highlighting the extent to which wealthy countries are still financing fossil fuels. And Australian taxpayers have subsidised coal mines and power plants around the world to the …
A series of earthquakes hit off the Oregon coast in northwest United States from Sunday through Monday, apparently causing no harm to life and property. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the latest quake, measured at magnitude 6.0, struck at 1:12 p.m. Monday in the Pacific Ocean about 480 kilometers …
Movement of nutrients across ecosystem boundaries can have important effects on food webs and population dynamics. An example from the North Pacific Rim is the connection between productive marine ecosystems and freshwaters driven by annual spawning migrations of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp). While a growing body of research has highlighted …
Fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and processed foods continue to be the major sources of essential trace elements in humans’ diet required for proper body development. However, food products can potentially be contaminated by toxic heavy metals (HMs) from environmental contamination or industrial food processing. The deleterious health implications of essential …
Nearly 60 years ago thalidomide was prescribed to treat morning sickness in pregnant women. What followed was the biggest man-made medical disaster ever, where over 10,000 children were born with a range of severe and debilitating malformations. Despite this, the drug is now used successfully to treat a range of …
The Obama administration has found an unlikely ally in its efforts to keep pushing more biofuel into the nation's gasoline supply: OPEC. The lowest oil prices in over six years have fueled a resurgence in U.S. gasoline use in recent months as more Americans take to the road. Demand is …
