Scientific American

Who's Paying the Price for Global Warming?

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:08 EST

Climate change is already melting the Arctic, queering weather and threatening food supplies. So who's paying the price for all these global warming impacts?

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Diesel Program Cuts Pollution but Faces Budget Cuts

Wed, 01 May 2013 13:30:00 EST

More than 50,000 high-polluting diesel engines have been cleaned up or removed from U.S. roads in a federal program designed to reduce smog and greenhouse gases, according to a new Environmental Protection Agency report to Congress.

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Chemicals from Personal Care Products Pervasive in Chicago Air

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:00:00 EST

On the brink of federal regulatory review, chemicals in deodorants, lotions and conditioners are showing up in Chicago’s air at levels that scientists call alarming.

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Top 10 Green Buildings Improve Surrounding Environment and Users Health

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:05:00 EST

Most paragons of architectural greatness distinguish themselves by an ability to stand out from their surroundings. The American Institute of Architects, by contrast, has just recognized a handful of buildings for their capacity to blend in.

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Obama s 2014 Science Budget Proposal Revitalizes STEM Education, Reduces Environmental Conservation

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 12:40:00 EST

Among the winners in Pres. Barack Obama’s 2014 federal budget: the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of Education and National Science Foundation (NSF). The losers include agribusiness and the Environmental Protection Agency. Obama’s plan, announced April 11, is less a vision for a progressive science agenda than a reflection of political reality--specifically, the fact that he still must work with a conservative Congress. The budget gives a boost to science education and research, long-standing administration priorities. In a nod to fiscal conservatives it trims administrative costs and slashes subsidies for agribusiness. On the matter of fossil fuels, however, it largely maintains the status quo, preserving funding for drilling and fracking. Here’s a quick list of winners, losers and how the new White House budget would affect them.

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Cut Soot to Stave Off Sea Level Rise

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 13:01:08 EST

Soot . The dirty, dark particles clog lungs, causing asthma and other chronic breathing problems. Turns out cleaning up such soot, along with certain other types of air pollution, could help slow sea level rise too. That's according to new research published in Nature Climate Change . ( Scientific American is part of Nature Publishing Group.)

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Organic Pollutants Now Accumulating in Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 17:00:00 EST

Toxic chemicals are accumulating in the ecosystems of the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau, researchers warn in the first comprehensive study to assess levels of certain organic pollutants in that part of the world.

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Behind the Numbers on Energy Return on Investment

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 07:20:00 EST

When I proposed an article to Scientific American on energy return-on-investment , also known as EROI, I didn't realize how much legwork would be involved in gathering the numbers needed for an infographic to accompany the story.

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"Iron Lady" Took Strong Stance on Climate Change

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 14:30:00 EST

Margaret Thatcher, the "Iron Lady" of British politics who died Monday at the age of 87, is being lionized as the woman who tilted British domestic and economic policy to the right.

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New Faces Will Shape Science Policy in Obama s Second Term

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 09:00:00 EST

Meet the New Secretary of Energy Nominee: Ernie Moniz [More]

Linked Renewables Could Help Germany Avoid Blackouts

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 13:30:00 EST

LONDON – Critics of renewables have always claimed that sun and wind are only intermittent producers of electricity and need fossil fuel plants as back-up to make them viable. But German engineers have proved this is not so.

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High School Students Debate Climate Change: Adapt or Geoengineer?

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:30:00 EST

Editor's Note: Each year, the Bickel & Brewer/NYU International Public Policy Forum directs a policy position at high schools worldwide for debate, pro or con. This year, organizers issued a climate-related challenge: "Resolved: Adaptation should be the most urgent response to climate change." 213 teams from 34 states and 29 countries responded, each writing 2,800-word essays making the case for their position. The following are two essays that survived the first round--one from Bozeman, Mont., making the case that adaptation is the only viable response and the other from high schoolers in Sherman Oaks, Calif., arguing that geoengineering is the best choice. The IPPF World Champion will be named on April 13, following oral debates in New York City.

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Is the U.S. Exporting Coal Pollution?

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 11:45:00 EST

LONDON – The good news is that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are continuing to decline. "Over the last four years, our emissions of the dangerous carbon pollution that threatens our planet have actually fallen," said President Obama in his State of the Union address last month.

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Can a Pope Change the World?

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 09:00:08 EST

There are more than a billion baptized Catholics in the world who count themselves within the flock of the pope. So when a new pope talks up the environment , it might signal a real change.

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Chavez's Death Could Affect Oil Prices, Production and Pollution

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 09:00:08 EST

A Venezuelan oil minister once referred to his country's main export as the " devil's excrement ." We’ll see how the death of Hugo Chavez affects production levels of this Faustian fuel--which influences both the global oil market and the climate.

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Will There Be Enough Water?

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 10:00:08 EST

Some 2.5 billion gallons of water are used to frack oil or gas wells in the U.S. Every day. Nearly all of that water is lost, either in the fracking or by disposing it down a borehole. And industry's water consumption is dwarfed by agriculture, responsible for more than 80 percent of this country's enormous water use.

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Ice Core Data Help Solve a Global Warming Mystery

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 15:45:00 EST

Scientists can study Earth’s climate as far back as 800,000 years by drilling core samples from deep underneath the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica. Detailed information on air temperature and CO2 levels is trapped in these specimens. Current polar records show an intimate connection between atmospheric carbon dioxide and temperature in the natural world. In essence, when one goes up, the other one follows.

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New Geothermal Data System Could Open Up Clean-Energy Reserves

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 07:00:00 EST

Geologic data does not come cheap, especially when you are using it to build a multimillion-dollar geothermal power plant. Just ask Susan Petty, president and chief technology officer at AltaRock Energy. Her company is part of a $43.8-million pilot project to tap thermal energy from Oregon's Newberry Volcano . Engineers are injecting water deep underground to fracture superheated rocks and create a geothermal reservoir. Their eventual goal is to recirculate pressurized steam back to the surface to test a new kind of technology called an enhanced geothermal system (EGS) . Unlike conventional power plants that rely on near-surface hydrothermal systems like springs and geysers, EGS can draw energy up to depths of three to five kilometers. Over the next 50 years, the U.S. Geological Survey estimates, EGS power plants could produce 100 gigawatts of economically viable geothermal energy , an amount equivalent to about 10 percent of the country's current electrical capacity.

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Nitrogen Pollution Soars in China

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:00:00 EST

Nitrogen-containing pollutants from agriculture, transport and industry in China has increased by more than half in 30 years, a study shows, adding to concerns about the country’s deteriorating environment.

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Science and Tech in President Obama's SOTU

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 20:42:08 EST

Welcome to the Scientific American podcast Science Talk, posted on February 13, 2013. I’m Steve Mirsky. On this episode: “Now is the time to reach a level of research and development not seen since the height of the Space Race.” That’s the president, of course. In his 2013 State of the Union address, Pres. Obama talked about climate change, energy and manufacturing technology innovation, and STEM education--that is, science, technology, engineering and math. Here are the approximately 12 minutes of the speech that dealt with those subjects:

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