Iodine-131 and cesium-134/137 are radioactive isotopes that have been released from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant as a consequence of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan. Large amounts of this radioactive material have gone into the Pacific Ocean. That’s the bad news. The good news is that scientists at the University of Tsukuba in the Kantō […]
By Danielle Carpenter (June 2012) – Rio+20 sounds like the name of a band, or perhaps a kind of sunscreen that works best in the southern hemisphere. In fact, Rio+20 is the short name for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. It will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20-22 June 2012. Coming […]
At the beginning of May, Swiss athlete Ernst Bromeis attempted to become the first person to swim the 1,230-kilometers of the Rhine river, from its source in Tomasee, Switzerland, through 6 countries, to its mouth in Holland. The idea to swim an average of 50 kms per day for one month through strong currents, rapids and swirls, in ice-cold […]
This story has been reported by several news channels in the last few days, but it’s worth repeating. The UN has reached one of the millennium development goals ahead of schedule. Goal number 7 is to “Ensure environmental sustainability.” Within that goal, target 7C is to “Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without […]
Here’s part 3 of the series on water conservation by global expert James Workman, pictured here. Last installment: next Friday! James Workman is author of Heart of Dryness: How the Last Bushmen Can Help Us Endure the Coming Age of Permanent Drought. He is a visiting professor at Wesleyan University’s College of the Environment and co-founder […]
