Researchers predict that temperatures will continue to increase, making 2015 the hottest year the Earth has ever experienced.

Despite claims from climate change contrarians, global warming is not under control.

Scientists measuring the worldwide increase in temperature predict that 2015 will exceed the record-breaking heat wave that took place last year.

Tracking Temperature Changes

Multiple countries experienced the warmest temperatures on record during the month of September.
Image: NCDC

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tracks temperatures across the world. The agency recently concluded that last month was the hottest September on record.

The temperature difference between September 2014 and 2015 has seen the biggest jump since 1880. In addition, the nine months between January and September has been the hottest period on record.

Effects of El Niño

El Niño is a notoriously warm ocean phase the begins in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean and sends intense heat into the atmosphere. The weather pattern then transports the heat throughout the entire ocean.

Scientists have compared the most recent El Niño phase with the temperatures in 1997 and 1998, which shows how much damage greenhouse gases have done.

Increased heat in bodies of water causes severe, widespread effects. El Niño is associated with dry air and forest fires in Indonesia, droughts in Australia and Ethiopia and food emergencies across Africa. These patterns will continue to worsen as El Niño reaches its peak in the next few months.

Scientists predict that El Niño will cause unusual amounts of rain and snow to hit the American Southwest and California. While the rain will help to curb the drought, it may cause other dangerous natural occurrences such as floods and mudslides.

Although climate change isn’t responsible for each issue on its own,  the combination of global warming and a strong El Niño has caused disastrous effects.

Combating The Heat

Individuals in high-risk areas should stay out of the heat and keep hydrated to avoid the life-threatening effects of global warming.
Image: Newsweek

As the frequency of natural disasters increases throughout the world, politicians attempt to find a global solution to slow the temperature increase. In December, world leaders will convene in Paris to address the effects of climate change and actions to stop it.

The United Nation’s World Food Program will bring aid to Africa where food sources are greatly affected by the heat. The organization is asking for assistance to help the thousands of starving individuals in Ethiopia and other African nations.

Scientists claim that those who negate the existence of global warming are picking and choosing certain facts while ignoring others. The record-setting warmth of 2014 and 2015 has proven that climate change is still underway no matter how many politicians choose to ignore it.

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Scientists have issued a warning about a coral bleaching event that could kill thousands of reefs by the end of the year.

Scientists have confirmed that the world is currently in the middle of the third coral bleaching event to ever be recorded.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has found global evidence to support the occurrence of major changes to coral reefs caused by rising ocean temperatures.

What Is Coral Bleaching?

Coral turns white after expelling the algae that provide nutrients to the reefs.
Image: Ocean Service

Stress on coral reefs causes coral bleaching. The bleaching is characterized by a rejection of the algae living on the coral’s form. Without the algae, the white skeleton is all that remains.

The presence of symbiotic algae handles the coral’s colorful appearance. The algae also provide the coral with essential nutrients that keep them alive.

The current instance of bleaching has been classified as a bleaching event because it spans more than 100 kilometers (63 miles) in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian ocean basins.  According to the NOAA, the XL Catlin Seaview Survey, Reef Check and the University of Queensland, the event is currently happening now.

Causes Of The Environmental Event

Rising ocean temperatures are the main cause of coral bleaching.
Image: NASA

According to NOAA, each bleaching event has been caused by an increase in ocean temperatures. Each event has occurred during unusually warm temperatures common during El Niño years.

The event is extremely dangerous because it could result in the death of more than 12,000 square kilometers (about 4,600 square miles) of coral reefs by the end of the year. El Niño temperatures will continue until 2016, which means that bleaching instances are likely to increase.

“Coral reefs are the litmus test of our oceans, a visual representation of the health of our seas,” CNN anchor and meteorologist Derek Van Dam said in an article. “When coral becomes bleached or white in color, this sensitive ecosystem is negatively impacted, which creates a profound ripple effect on the world’s food chain.”

While most people have ignored the threats to coral reefs, the XL Catlin Seaview Survey has been mapping its progress. The survey data is collected by a custom-made camera that travels on an underwater scooter and takes a 360-degree image of the ocean.

Scientists had tested coral in 26 different countries before and after the event began. According to Richard Vevers, the survey’s executive director, the goal of the survey is to track a global baseline of coral reefs that will illustrate how they have changed over time.

Raising Awareness For Threatened Reefs

More than 12,000 square kilometers of coral reefs could be destroyed if the event goes unchecked.
Image: UVM

While some reefs recover after ocean temperatures cool, most will die out. The team observed a bleached reef off American Samoa and discovered that about 95 percent of the coral had died.

The survey will post its data to Google Street View to raise awareness and allow internet users to understand the effects of coral bleaching. Vevers said coral bleaching hasn’t yet grabbed the world’s attention.

“This is the equivalent of rainforest turning white and no one noticing,” Vevers said.

The survey is meant to direct attention to the severity of the bleaching event to make positive change, Vevers said at the December at the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris.

“The XL Catlin Seaview Survey team will be at COP21 with this imagery,” Vevers said. “We’re also using virtual reality technology with Google Cardboard so we can take the policy makers and the media to go see the coral bleaching firsthand.”

 

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Researchers discovered high levels of lead in water sources used in Flint Schools.

Researchers have been increasingly concerned about high levels of BPA in school lunches. Now, it seems like school water sources may also be dangerously contaminated.

Tests conducted at schools in Flint, Michigan, showed unsafe levels of lead in the water that had been sourced from a nearby river.

Uncovering High Levels of Lead

Water being sourced from the Flint River contained high levels of lead.
Image: M Live

The levels of lead found in Flint water sources were above federal safety standards. This could be partially caused by cuts to funding for the children’s lead-screening program.

A few years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had $29.2 million allocated to the program. The funding was then cut by 93 percent.

But cuts to the lead-screening program isn’t the only culprit.  In April 2014, the financially troubled city disconnected from Detroit’s water system, now known as the Great Lakes Water Authority, in an attempt to save money.

The city began using water from the Flint River, which had absorbed lead leaking from the pipeline. Although the budget went up to $15 million last year, the screening program for children was still cut by half.

A report from the National Center for Healthy Housing in Columbia, Maryland believes the spike in contamination is caused by the lower staff numbers, specifically for outreach and education in vulnerable populations.

“Funding goes up and down in waves,” said pediatrician Jennifer Lowry, director environmental health center at 301-bed Children’s Mercy Kansas City (Mo.) hospital, who participates in lead-screening in Kansas and Missouri.

“Kansas has no lead program,” Lowry said. “Missouri thinks it’s an important one to have.”

Effects of Lead Poisoning

Lead poisoning causes serious health problems that disproportionately affect children in poverty.
Image: Asian Metal

Lead exposure can cause lower intelligence in children, lessen self-control in teens and cause criminal behavior in adults, said Professor T. Lyke Thompson, director of the Center for Urban Studies at Wayne State University in Detroit. The most frightening truth, however, is that the effects of lead poisoning can be permanent.

A 2011 Health Affairs analysis that calculated the societal costs of childhood lead poisoning, such as lower lifetime productivity, totaled $50.9 billion in 2008.

“Lead is ever-present in places where there is older infrastructure and older houses,” Thompson said. “You can deny its existence, but it will catch up to you.”

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician at Hurley Children’s Hospital in Flint, compared the amount of lead present in children in 2013 to the presence in 2015. It was during this timespan that the city switched from Lake Huron water to Flint River water.

The amount of children in Flint with 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood doubled since 2015. The levels present in children in Genesee County were much lower, increasing only slightly. The children who are most affected are economically disadvantaged, living in lower-income housing.

“What’s sad is there is already a disparity in lead poisoning, but now the disparity is widening,” Hanna-Attisha said.

Combating The Contamination

Michigan will rebuild infrastructure to bring clean water from Detriot’s system into Flint schools.
Image: Deleware Liberal

On Thursday, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder created a plan that would connect the city’s water system to Lake Huron. The plan would cost $12 million to funnel water from Detroit’s system.

The plan is one of many attempts to combat lead poisoning with an increase in government spending, which requires approval from the state legislature before it can be implemented.

When the CDC cut lead safety standards from 10 to 5 micrograms per deciliter of blood, the government cut its spending.

“When they reduced it to 5, that redefined half a million children as having an elevated level,” Lowry said. “That’s the same year they took all the money away.”

If children are found with high levels of lead in their blood, investigators often inspect the home to find the source and stop the exposure.

The study was frightening, but researchers hope Gov. Snyder will make a change to the Flint water system. Flint will begin using Lake Huron water until an 80-mile, $274 million pipeline that pulls water from Genesee County is up and running next summer.

“There is no safe blood level for lead, so let’s prevent the exposure from happening in the first place,” Lowry said.

The post Are America’s Children At Risk For Lead Poisoning? appeared first on Citizens Report.

By studying historical wildfire patterns, researchers linked the increase in burning in the Western hemisphere to even the slightest instances of global warming.

Wildfires in the Western part of America have been doing more damage in recent years than ever before. Scientists have discovered a reason for the spike.

A recent University of Wyoming study shows the increase in expansiveness, frequency and intensity of wildfires is caused by the effects of global warming.

The Study

The study analyzes the history of wildfires across a subalpine forest in northern Colorado over the past two millennia.
Image: Science Blogs

The study was conducted at the University of Wyoming and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It proves that the small instances of warming are linked to the monumental increase in wildfires.

The researchers evaluated charcoal samples from 2,000 years of wildfires that were taken from lake beds in a subalpine forest, which is located above 8,000 feet in northern Colorado’s Mount Zirkel Wilderness. They measured an increase in wildfire frequency throughout history and compared the results to the circumstances of warming today.

The Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) was 1,100 to 1,200 years ago at a time when the warming was similar to present day. The average temperatures in Northern Colorado were 0.5°C warmer than they were a century before.

Before this period, about 50 percent of the sample sites burned each century, increasing to 83 percent during the MCA and declining to 33 percent afterward. The majority of sites burned every 360 years prior to the MCA before burning every 120 years during the warm period at a 260 percent increase.

The temperatures cooled, but only after the fires began to stop. Researchers attribute this to a lack of forest left to burn.

They found that even a minimal increase in average temperature, about 0.5°C (0.9°F),  could alter wildfire activity at higher elevations. The study shows that the planet may be entering into a new era of high-elevation wildfires incomparable to the last 1,000 years.

Record-breaking droughts and sweltering heat have caused more than 50,000 wildfires affecting more than 9 million acres in the West and Alaska in 2015. Since 2006, the recent warming-induced wildfires have destroyed the most land.

Alaska temperatures have risen by 3°F in the last 50 years which is the estimated cause of wildfires. The study suggests that every 1°C (1.8°F) of warming causes an area burned by wildfire in the West that could quadruple.

Drawing Conclusions

“The large increase in the number of sites burned by fires highlights the risk that large portions of individual landscapes may burn as climates continue to warm today,” according to the study.
Image: Emergency Journalism

The study is the first to discover how much land across an entire mountain range burned over a period of 2,000 years. This shows that large wildfires similar to those burning today occurred during a temperatures increase, the study’s lead author, the University of Wyoming Ph.D. candidate John Calder, said.

“When we look into the past for evidence of these large wildfires we only see them one time when temperatures rose about 1°F,” he said.

“Our study then adds more evidence that the recent increase in large wildfires is related to climate change because the only time we see these types of large wildfires in the last 2,000 years was when we had a similar amount of warming.”

However, the information is only relevant to dense, high elevation forests whereas the Colorado wildfires that burned at lower elevations are not included.

“We don’t know how the other mountain ranges burned in the region, but expanding this study into other mountain ranges is something I would like to do,” Calder said.

The study provides evidence that the West may be entering into a new phase of catastrophic wildfire at high elevations, where severe fires typically burn less often because of cooler temperatures and greater moisture.

Tania Schoennagel, a research scientist at the University of Colorado’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, believes the study provides an important link between wildfires and climate change. It sheds light on the fact that scientists can expect what will happen with current and future warming.

“The MCA is a good analog for recent warming, and a larger proportion of the study area burned during the beginning of the MCA than we have witnessed recently in similar subalpine landscapes,” she said.

“However, the regional trends in wildfire across the West this year reflect the study’s findings of wildfire increases in response to warming,” Schoennagel said. “We should expect more of the same to come.”

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Monsanto is currently being sued by two workers who developed cancer after being exposed to the herbicide chemical Roundup.

Monsanto is famous for its bad reputation, but it seems that the consequences of the company’s actions are finally catching up.

Two individuals exposed to Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup are suing the multinational agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation for causing their cancer.

Former Workers Taking Legal Action

Monsanto’s underhanded tactics have been widely protested. The lawsuits claim that Monsanto hid the dangerous effects of its herbicide Roundup. 
Image: Common Dreams

The lawsuits were seperately filed by a farmer and a horticultural assistant who both developed cancer after coming into contact with Monsanto’s herbicide.

On top of that, the plaintiffs claim that Monsanto attempted to cover up the risks of working with the Roundup chemical in order to trick regulators into approving its use.

Enrique Rubio is a 58-year-old farm worker who labored in California, Texas and Oregon. He toiled cucumbers, onions and other vegetable crops. Rubio was given the task of spraying fields with Roundup and other pesticides.

He was diagnosed with bone cancer in 1995. On Sept. 22, he filed for legal action in a U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

Judi Fitzgerald is a 64-year-old horticultural assistant who worked at a horticultural products company in the ’90s where she was exposed to Roundup.

Fitzgerald filed a New York suit on the same day as Rubio. She was diagnosed with leukemia in 2012.

A Predicted Increase In Lawsuits

Roundup, originally classified as “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” is now thought to be “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
Image: The Ecologist

Roundup is a weed killer with an active chemical called glyphosate. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently categorized glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”

Now that the WHO has publicly outed the cancer-causing effects of Roundup, attorneys expect more people to come forward and take legal action against Monsanto.

“I believe there will be hundreds of lawsuits brought over time,” attorney Robin Greenwald said.

According to Charla Lord, a Monsanto spokeswoman, Glyphosate is safe if used as intended.

“Decades of experience within agriculture and regulatory reviews using the most extensive worldwide human health databases ever compiled on an agricultural product contradict the claims in the suit which will be vigorously defended,” she said.

Attorneys will argue that Roundup is “unreasonably dangerous” to consumers and that the company willingly hid or ignored the carcinogenic risks associated with glyphosate.

According to the lawsuits, the Environmental Protection Agency changed glyphosate from “possibly carcinogenic to humans” to “evidence of non-carcinogenicity in humans” after being pressured by Monsanto.

However, the WHO cites studies that link glyphosate to cancer despite disagreements from Monsanto. Lawyers will continue to support plaintiffs in class-action lawsuits for the cancer-causing effects of glyphosate.

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Shell has decided to stop hunting for an Arctic oil source after the most recent Alaskan drilling project, Burger J well, yielded disappointing results.

Multinational oil and gas provider Royal Dutch Shell plans to stop hunting for new sources of oil in Alaskan waters. After a failed attempt that cost the company billions of dollars, Shell will no longer search for spots to set up Arctic drilling.

As usual, the defeat of one is the victory of another. Environmentalists, who tried to prohibit the not-so-green voyage for fuel, rejoiced at the announcement.

A Disappointing Exploration

Shell spent $2.1 billion to gain permission to check out a well in the Chukchi Sea but discovered an insufficient amount of fuel.
Image: G Captain

Shell was planning to initiate offshore drilling near the Alaskan coast to secure a site that would generate future profits. The company invested more than $7 billion in Arctic offshore exploration, specifically in a project called the Burger J well.

However, the company was disappointed after finding out the site didn’t contain sufficient quantities of oil and gas.

In 2008, Shell spent $2.1 billion to gain permission to check out a well in the Chukchi Sea, an area about 80 miles near the northwest coast of Alaska. A team of 28 ships drilled to 6,800 feet but discovered little fuel.

“Shell continues to see important exploration potential in the basin, and the area is likely to ultimately be of strategic importance to Alaska and the U.S.,” Marvin Odum, president of Shell USA, said in The Hague, Netherlands. “However, this is a clearly disappointing exploration outcome for this part of the basin.”

In a press announcement, the company has said they will halt exploring the Alaskan waters for “the foreseeable future.”

But the inadequate amount of oil in the most recent well isn’t the only reason that Shell is throwing in the towel. The company also cites “challenging and unpredictable federal regulatory environment in offshore Alaska” as an additional cause for calling it quits.

“The well will be sealed and abandoned in accordance with U.S. regulations,” according to the announcement.

Shell will be taking two oil rigs, the Polar Pioneer and the Noble Discoverer, in a southward direction.

According to Shell spokeswoman Megan Baldino, the project workforce has yet to be relocated. However, it’s likely that stopping the project will result in a lessened need for staff, which is probably code for downsizing.

Reducing Risks For Arctic Animals

Originally environmentalists attempted to block the project, which could have damaged the Arctic’s fragile ecosystem.
Image: Polar Bears International

The Chukchi and Beaufort sea will be affected by the project abandonment. Margaret Williams of the World Wildlife Fund in Anchorage said the withdrawal is stunning.

“That’s incredible. That’s huge,” she said. “All along the conservation community has been pointing to the challenging and unpredictable environmental conditions. We always thought the risk was tremendously great.”

The exploration could have damaged the fragile ecosystem of the Arctic, causing increased greenhouse gases, crude oil spills and threats to polar bears, walruses and ice seals. In addition, environmental activists cite storms, shifting ice and extended dark months as dangers to the workers.

“Polar bears, Alaska’s Arctic and our climate just caught a huge break,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans program director for the Center for Biological Diversity, in a statement. “Here’s hoping Shell leaves the Arctic forever.”

The Nation’s Oil Dependency

The oil industry is beginning to change as gas prices drop and the public calls for cleaner energy sources.
Image: Washington Times

The federal permit allowing Shell to drill expired in September, giving the company one month to retreat before sea ice forms.

The Arctic waters possess an estimated 23 billion barrels of oil, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The Chukchi basin was seen as “a potential game-changer” by Shell officials. Using the oil from Arctic wells, Shell hoped to fuel America for 50 years.

The company drilled six wells so far, but originally planned to continue exploration for another year. The production process could have taken more than a decade.

The outcry from environmentalists is a stark contrast to sentiments from Alaskan officials, who supported Shell in hopes that the newly harvested oil could fuel the trans-Alaska pipeline, currently running at less than one-quarter capacity.

A growing demand has shifted in the oil industry as prices have dropped, along with increasing support for cleaner energy sources. The world will need another 10 million barrels of oil a day between 2030 and 2040.

“Areas like the Arctic are one of the areas that, if we’re going to be able to do this, we need to examine,” he said.

The post Shell Puts An End To Alaskan Oil Chase appeared first on Citizens Report.

Researchers sampled over 70 seafood species in Pacific waters and discovered the presence of plastic and textile contaminants.

An investigation into the quality of fish in California and Indonesia has shown that prominent species in the seafood chain are contaminated with plastic and textile fibers.

Researchers analyzed the contents of two fish markets and found human-derived debris caused by differing waste management systems that could potentially harm consumers.

The Study

The study was able to discern the kinds of contaminants prominent in fish caught in different coasts along the Pacific Ocean.
Image: Vegan-Magazine

Researchers led by Chelsea Rochman at the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine sampled a variety of fish species in Half Moon Bay and Princeton, California and in Makassar, Indonesia.

The California sample included 76 fish from 12 species along with one species of shellfish. In Indonesia, the researchers sampled 76 fish from 11 species. The fish were caught by regular fisherman in local waters.

Researchers dissected the fish species and analyzed the contents of their guts. The process of chemically dissolving tissue allowed them to uncover plastic and fiber debris inside the fish.

In the Indonesian sample, 55 percent of fish possessed human-derived debris, including Indian mackerel, shortfin scad and silver-stripe round herring. Of the fish sampled, 28 percent contained debris.

One fish had a total of 21 pieces of plastic in its guts, as plastic debris were most prominent in Indonesia’s fish.

In the sample taken in California, 67 percent of species had debris, including the pacific oyster, pacific anchovy, striped bass and Chinook salmon. About 25 percent of the fish sampled were affected.

Researchers noted a difference between the kinds of debris in each location, with American fish posessing mostly textiles pollutants compared to the plastic pollutants dominating Indonesian waters.

“I was very surprised to see such a difference in type of debris between locations,” Rochman said.

Causes Of Contamination

Textile fibers from washing machine wastewater was found in fish sold in the United States.
Image: Chemical & Engineering News

Each country has a different system used to dispose of waste. Researchers believe that these systems illustrate why fish species in certain areas contain different contaminants.

In Indonesia, the waste management system allows plastics to be thrown into the ocean. The United States has implemented a plastic recycling initiative, which accounts for the lack of plastic debris.

Fish near the California coast contain high levels of textile fibers, which could be attributed to the prevalence of washing machines. The discharge from washing machines is sent to wastewater treatment plants, where it could easily seep into the ocean.

“Fibres are a ubiquitous contaminant in the effluent from wastewater treatment plants due to their small size and abundance in the waste stream. They have been found in several marine habitats and animals,” Rochman said.

Consumption of textile and plastic fibers can cause a number of health concerns, but the extent remains unclear until more research is conducted. Rochman urges policymakers and citizens to protect the oceans in order to keep the problem from worsening.

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Researchers estimate the amount of people who die early from diseases caused by exposure to air pollution will more than double by 2050.

More than 3 million people die prematurely from prolonged exposure to air pollution each year, according to the World Health Organization.

A new study shows the number could more than double by 2050. Researchers predict that 6.6 million people could die early from exposure to air pollution.

The Study

Researchers found that residential energy emissions significantly contributed to air pollution.
Image: eur web

The study, published in the international journal Nature, measured outdoor emission sources in urban and rural environments. It included residential and commercial energy use, agriculture, power generation, industry, biomass burning, natural causes and land traffic.

The study identifies various causes of air pollution that lead to serious diseases. By analyzing country-specific population and health statistics from the World Health Organization, researchers were able to measure different sources of air pollution that could cause premature death.

Fuel emissions from cooking and heating in countries such as India and China had the largest impact worldwide, according to Jos Lelieveld, a leading study author and a professor at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Germany.

“When most people think of outdoor air pollution, they tend to think of traffic and industry having the largest impact on global premature mortality, not residential energy emissions and agriculture,” Lelieveld told CNN..

The study was conducted using atmospheric chemistry devices that took measurements on the ground and via satellite. The technology compared the amount of fine particle matter in air pollution from different emission sources globally.

“Testing for the effects of air pollution emissions in different parts of the world was a very challenging task,” Lelieveld said, “especially in many developing countries, where air quality monitoring systems are minimal.”

Major Causes Of Pollution Worldwide

In the United States, agriculture and traffic emissions mix in the atmosphere to create a dangerous brew of pollutants.
Image: Humans Are Free

The highest death rates caused by exposure to air pollution are in the Western Pacific region,  eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Asia.

The main cause of early death in major areas of Asia, such as China, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Nepal was due to low-quality fuels used for cooking, heating and waste disposal.

Agricultural emissions are the most significant contributors in the Eastern United States, Europe, Russia, Turkey, Korea and Japan. Secondary causes are traffic and power generation emissions.

Chemicals mixing in the atmosphere create a brew that is harmful to your body. Fertilizers and animals release ammonia that fuse with traffic emissions, which contaminate the air.

The study also cites natural forms of pollution such as desert storm sands, which are prominent in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia.

Risk of Disease

Air pollution causes lung cancer and other respiratory illnesses that lead to premature death.
Image: NYM

Chronic exposure to air pollution particles contributes to the risk cardiovascular issues, respiratory diseases and lung cancer, according to the WHO.

“The total number of deaths due to HIV and malaria is 2.8 million per year,” Lelieveld said. “That’s half a million less than the number of people who die from air pollution globally.”

The study uses toxicity levels to identify the source of pollution in order to improve public health. Each country is better able to address the atmosphere when they’re aware of the specific issues.

“It takes more than making the technology available. You have to convenience people to abandon traditional ways of doing things, which is not easy,” Lelieveld said. “This can be a win-win situation. Changes on the individual level can have a positive impact, not only on our health but also on climate change.”

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Residue from carbon dioxide can be converted to carbon nanofibers to slow the progression of global warming and benefit industrial science.

Climate change predictions are pretty grim, but a new invention could help to change that bitter future.

Researchers from George Washington University have invented a solar-powered process that could convert carbon dioxide pollution into carbon residue, which could then be used to create carbon nanofibers.

Carbon nanofibers are lightweight structures that are commonly used in technologies like iPhones. Ideally, if the materials were less expensive, they could be beneficial to building larger innovations such as spaceships and airplanes.

The overall hope is to be able to grow the system to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, which would slow climate change and progress industrial science forward.

According to the EPA, the extent of future climate change will depend on what we do now to reduce the effects of global warming.

Check out the detailed description of the process from Discovery News.

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Hundreds of thousands of American mines were unregulated and left abandoned. Metals like copper and lead leaked out of the rock and into nearby watersheds, creating unstable sites that could contaminate Western American groundwater.

The western region of the United States was untouched before thousands trekked far from home in search of the American dream.

These men wanted to build a life. They began to stretch out, swallow the land and use it for profit. Many were employed as miners, breaking into the earth’s rock day in and out to uncover valuable minerals.

The mines were largely unregulated during the great migration and subsequent industrial boom. Fast forward hundreds of years later and these regional mines are now abandoned, left to contaminate Western water sources with dangerous metals.

The Evidence of Contamination

Drainage from unmaintained mines has affected 40 percent of western watersheds thus far, but the real toll has yet to be calculated.
Via: Reveal News

In 2011, the Government Accountability Office released a report that found at least 161,000 abandoned hardrock mines in 12 western states and Alaska. These mines pose an environmental risk, with at least 33,000 leading to the contamination of surface and groundwater.

Drainage from these unmaintained mines has affected 40 percent of western watersheds. In Colorado, 230 mines have leaked metals into 1,645 miles of rivers and streams, according to The Department of Public Health and Environment.

In addition, 161,000 sites were identified as environmental risk factors, with 332,000 unstable areas that could decay, collapse and cause a toxic waste-water leak.

The contamination stems from a lack of regulation imposed on western mining sites and the site’s owners. When miners struck the rock, they released iron sulfide, which blended with air and pyrite and created sulfuric acid. The acid dissolved the rock and allowed metals like copper and lead to flow into the mine’s wastewater.

Despite the fact that there was knowledge of the worsening situation, no one was required to stop it.

“In the old days, there was very little control, and not much attention paid to control,” Ronald Cohen, an environmental engineer at the Colorado School of Mines, explained to public radio station KUNC.

The Clean Up

Earthworks action is only one environmental organization calling on regulators to clean up the abandoned toxic sites.
Via: Clean Up The Mines

Earthworks Action, an environmental advocacy organization, created a comprehensive list of all the currently identified abandoned mines and the issues that have stemmed from the lack of regulation.

The list includes sites in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Earthworks Action estimates that it would take $72 billion to fix the mess, which was allowed to worsen without restraint. And that’s not including the mines that have yet to be identified and investigated.

These mines not only contaminate the water supply. They also pollute soil, kill wildlife and harm humans. Since no one claims ownership to the mines, taxpayer money would most likely fund the clean up.

If 33,000 abandoned mines could end up to contaminating surface and groundwater and 332,000 unstable areas could collapse and lead to toxic exposure, government agencies have a lot of work to do.

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