Named NOTT-300, the new porous yet absorbent material is made from mix of water, aluminum nitrate salt, and cheap organic materials, and is non-toxic compared to the ammonia-based carbon capture materials currently used in the process. According to the research published in the journal Nature Chemistry, the NOTT-300 material requires less energy to regenerate and reuse once carbon saturates it and is removed for storage.

“I feel this can been viewed as a revolution to a certain degree,” said Sihai Yang from Nottingham University. “There is promising potential to overcome the traditional amine material on both environmental and economic grounds.”

Lab experiments with the new material captured close to 100 percent of the carbon dioxide it was exposed to and the scientists say it should maintain at least a 90 percent success rate in real world conditions. The material picks up harmful gases like sulphur dioxide yet shows no adsorption of hydrogen, methane, nitrogen and oxygen. For commercial applications, the team believes the material could be used in a series of interchangeable filters which can be removed, cleaned, and put back into service repeatedly, making it even more efficient (and cheaper) than systems currently in development.

Carbon capture is not without naysayers, including those who are right to point out that we are not sure what will happen to all that CO2 stored underground for long periods of time. But for the time being, until we are willing to make real substantial cuts in emissions, we need a stopgap measure to slow the release of CO2 into our atmosphere before it tips the scales too far. NOTT-300 may be just the material to help us do that.

[via Yahoo News]

Image Credit: Public Domain Photos

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A group of 36 scientists from 18 countries launched the Tropical Americas Coral Reef Resilience Workshop to track coral reef ecosystems in the Caribbean. They found that reefs in some areas in the Caribbean are faring fine – the reef ecosystem in the Cayman Islands, for example, is “relatively intact compared to average conditions in the region.” But in other places, like Jamaica and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the coral cover falls below 10 percent (compared to 30 percent in the Caymans), there is a dangerous level of microalgae and “virtually no fish larger than a few centimeters.” Total coral in the Florida Keys, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico “has progressively declined from 25 to 35 percent in the 1970s to less than 15 percent today.” The report calls it a “catastrophic collapse.”

While the workshop team is careful not to point fingers at any one cause, it says that “human exploitation and disturbance” play an “obvious role.” It notes that the healthiest reefs are in places with low levels of land pollution, some regulation and enforcement of fisheries’ practices, some financial prosperity, and “lower frequency of hurricanes, coral bleaching and disease.” But it stops short there, saying they need to do more research.

Even if the exact causes are still up for debate, the consequences of inaction are not. Warning that “time s running out for corals on the Caribbean reefs,” the IUCN is calling for urgent measures to cut pollution and aggressive fishing methods. What can you do? Start by eating less fish.

Main photo credit: Shutterstock

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According to the Indiegogo fundraising page, more than 2 billion people still cook indoors over wood-burning fires. These inefficient wood fires contribute to deforestation, climate change and the aforementioned premature deaths.

But how can the PlanetStove help?

The creators of this stove, Dylan Maxwell and Olivier Kolmel, say that the PlanetStove can help both people and the environment in the following ways:

1. Reduce indoor cooking smoke to a minimum.
2. Mitigate airborne soot, which is responsible for 5-10 percent of man-made global warming.
3. Reduce deforestation by increasing stove efficiency; villages reported using roughly 1/3 less wood than with traditional stoves.
4. Sequester carbon (in the form of biochar) within the soil.
5. Improve the soil structure and drought resistance.
6. Improve the financial situation and living conditions of rural populations.

How does the PlanetStove work?

It is a TLUD stove, which stands for “Top-Liti Updraft.” Basically, you light kindling on top of a vertical tube full of densely packed wood. That vertical tube is nested inside a larger vertical tube. The fire on the top heats the wood and resulting hydrogen and carbon monoxide rise toward the top where they meet with oxygenated air drawn through the space between the tubes.

The stove essentially gasifies the wood. The resulting charcoal can then be returned to the earth in the form of biochar — which still contains at least 50 percent of the carbon that was in the original wood.

How can you help?

At the time of this writing, the PlanetStove Indiegogo project has received $4,053 worth of the $25,000 it needs to fund the campaign, with 34 days left remaining.

The lowest level of contribution is $25 and will basically subsidize the cost of a PlanetStove for a family in the developing world. You’ll get a photo of the family that received the stove, as well as a follow up with that family after a year of using the stove. Obviously, other contribution levels are available, so hit up the PlanetStove fundraising page and see if it strikes a chord with your passions.

Main image credit: Novotera

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In August 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) to reduce the flow of pollution from 28 states to their downwind neighbors, estimating that its implementation would prevent up to 34,000 premature deaths. But 15 of those states challenged the law, and today, a divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in their favor, striking down the law and the limits it put on sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from power plants. By requiring states to reduce emissions beyond their own contributions, the court said, the EPA went beyond its legal authority. It also found that the ruling violated the Clean Air Act by not allowing states to propose their own pollution control plans.

In her 44-page dissent, Judge Judith Rogers chided the majority for straying from its past precedents and ignoring the “plain text of the Clean Air Act,” whose Good Neighbor provisions allow the agency to limit emissions that cross state borders.

Unsurprisingly, industry leaders and Republican politicians cheered the decision. Though Pennsylvania was not one of the states filing suit, state Sen. Pat Toomey stated said he was “pleased with today’s decision and hope[s] it will send a strong message to the EPA as it reconsiders its regulatory approach.” While some emphasized the decision’s importance in allowing states to handle pollution themselves, without interference from the federal government, others saw it as just a delay. Doug Biden, president of the Electric Power Generation Association in Pennsylvania, said “Some power plants in places like Texas may be breathing easier, and it may buy some time for a few here in Pennsylvania, but I don’t see a lot benefiting because many have already put in controls.”

In addition to the predicted health benefits of the law, the EPA also expected it to cut sulfur dioxide emissions by 73 percent and nitrogen oxide by 54 percent. So while power plant executives may be breathing easier, the people living in those states are not. Whether the EPA will draft a new rule or appeal the court’s decision is yet to be seen. In the meantime, emissions will continue as usual.

Main photo credit: Geograph

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Nanostellar Inc. has created a manmade catalyst that it says could radically improve the pollution control technology used in diesel engines. The material, known as Noxicat, is designed to replace platinum in emissions control systems.

A study of the new catalyst published in the journal Science found the material is significantly cheaper than platinum and can reduce pollution up to 45 percent better. Bulent Yavuz, Nanosteller’s vice president of sales and marketing, said in a company press release that heavy-duty diesel engine makers are already excited about adopting the new technology.

From an environmental perspective, diesel engines are a mixed bag. They’re much more fuel efficient than gasoline engines, but they spew out more pollution, including nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide. They generally use petroleum-based fuel, but they can also run on biodiesel, which is renewable and less polluting.

In recent years, higher government standards around emissions have forced manufacturers to make improvements to catalytic converters that eliminate some pollutants from diesel exhaust. Noxicat could mean another step in that direction.

Noxicat is an artificial form of mullite, a type of oxide that takes its name from the Scottish Isle of Mull, where it was first found. Using computer modeling, researchers found that it can interact with nitrogen oxides and oxygen to eliminate much of the toxic emissions for exhaust. The company is also exploring other uses for mullite, including fuel cells.

Aside from Nanosteller, the study received funding from the Texas Advanced Computing Center and the National Research Foundation of South Korea.

Main photo credit: Shutterstock

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Post-doctoral fellow Daniel Hanley at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada is the author of a new study which discovered that local levels of environmental contamination could be predicted by the color of herring gull eggshells found around the Great Lakes region. By examining 700 eggshells stored at the National Wildlife Research Centre in Ottawa which were gathered from different years between 1977 to 1993, Hanley and study co-author Stephanie M. Doucet from the University of Windsor were able to match variations in coloration to different levels of environmental contamination from chemicals such as PCBs.

Herring gull eggshells are normally blue-green and brown, but by using a spectrophotometer to measure color variation the team discovered that the more contamination there was in the region the less coloration the eggshells exhibited.

“Our goal here was to be able to use some of these eggs … to be able to determine whether or not you can use colour as an indicator of environmental stress,” Hanley said.

By utilizing such a natural form of measurement – eggshells – to research the effects of contaminants on the local environment, Hanley and Doucet are demonstrating that sometimes it doesn’t take millions of dollars and technological advancements to show how our treatment of the planet effects everything else living on it. This study proves that nature itself acts as an early-warning system if we would just take a moment to notice. “Like a canary in a coal mine,” Hanley said about his results, and I couldn’t agree more.

[via Guelph Mercury]

Image Credit: foxypar4/Flickr

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In February 2010, PG&E voluntarily began investigating and testing the soil in the Marina district as well as the tourist-heavy Fisherman’s Wharf. The company was looking for any toxic residue that might have been left by PG&E’s former coal gas facilities, the last of which were destroyed by the famous 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Although the Department of Toxic Substances Control, which was consulted during the investigation, found residents were unlikely to come into contact with any contamination, PG&E said it wanted to responsibly clean up its old mess to ensure the community and the environment’s protection.

“While results to date indicate there is not a current health concern … under existing conditions, results in some locations may warrant cleanup activities,” said spokeswoman Nicole Liebelt.

Though PG&E has been actively seeking input from residents, not everybody is looking to learn about what is happening. Kat Anderson, vice president of the Marina Community Association, said, “There was trickiness to it, because property owners that were affected by it didn’t want to know too much, because then they would have to disclose the information and it might lower their property value. Another concern was that we all knew the stuff was in the Bay, and when we asked what they were doing about that, they were a little vague.”

Liebelt said PG&E is working with the S.F. Recreation and Park Department to determine what, if any, action needs to be taken to protect the Bay.

Main image credit: Asmodehn

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Ship emissions may not be visible in the same way car and truck emissions are, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less harmful to the environment. Most large-scale shipping vessels, including cruise ships, use massive diesel engines that introduce significant levels of emissions, including nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur oxides (SOx).

In 2010, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, or MARPOL, introduced an amendment to the international pollution reduction treaty that would require the use of low-sulfur fuel for large marine vessels operating within 200 miles of the coast (known as the Emissions Control Area or ECA). Under the new agreement, vessels must switch to 1 percent sulfur diesel by August 2012 and 0.1 percent by 2015.

The United States belongs to MARPOL, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has accepted the 2010 amendment. By 2020, emissions from ships operating in the ECA are expected to be reduced annually by 320,000 tons for nitrogen oxide, 90,000 tons for fine particulate matter and 920,000 for sulfur dioxide, the EPA said.

For those of us who like breathing clean air, this amendment sounds great: less secondary particulate in the air to give us respiratory problems and create smog. To members of industry in Alaska, however, the amendment is a direct attack on their profit margins, thereby putting the state’s economy in jeopardy.

“In effect,” stated Rachael Petro, President and CEO of the Alaska Chamber, “The ECA levies a shipping tax upon Alaskans without demonstrating any legitimate scientific justification or proving there will be any measurable environmental benefits of such extreme regulations.” Members of the Alaskan shipping industry say complying with the new rule would increase fuel costs by 8 percent, which would in turn make passenger tickets about $18 more expensive.

What do you think? Does the treaty amendment place an unfair burden on Alaska, or is it a reasonable price to pay for cleaner air?

Photo Credit: Alaskan Dude/Flickr

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As you might imagine, big farms use a lot of fertilizer. Farmers depend on successful harvests in order to make a living, so they slather on as many growth-boosting chemicals as they can get their hands on. Chemical fertilizers are full of phosphorus and nitrates–nitrogen and oxygen molecules that help crops grow better-faster-stronger. That might be OK if the nitrates stayed in the soil, but they don’t.

According to Scientific American, thanks to rain and irrigation, these nitrates eventually make their way into rivers, lakes and oceans, giving birth to blooms of algae that deplete oxygen and leave vast “dead zones ” in their wake. There, no fish or aquatic plant life can survive.

All this runoff has turned Ohio’s lakes into algae tanks, and threatens to take a chunk out of the state’s yearly $40 billion tourism industry. To fight back, three state agencies will collaborate to support a new program designed to reduce farm pollution and the toxic algae it helps create in Ohio’s lakes.

The Ohio Clean Lakes Initiative is a program geared to improve water quality and reduce harmful algal blooms in the Western Basin of Lake Erie. The voluntary program encourages farmers to “use the right fertilizer source at the right rate at the right time and with the right placement.”

“Agriculture is important to Ohio–it is the No. 1 industry in our state,” said Ohio Department of Agriculture Director David Daniels. “The Ohio Clean Lakes Initiative focuses on reducing excess nutrients in our waterways resulting not only from agriculture, but from a variety of urban and residential sources, such as sewage overflow. Together our agencies believe we can address the challenges facing Ohio’s waterways through this program.”

Other areas of focus moving forward to combat phosphorus in Ohio lakes include continued research into nutrient management with an emphasis on dissolved reactive phosphorus, communications and education efforts with farmers and other interested parties on agricultural nutrient management and the benefit of cover crops, controlled drainage structures and variable rate technology.

Although the program’s main focus is to preserve important freshwater ecosystems, the environment won’t be the only thing to improve if it’s successful. Good nutrient stewardship not only benefits the environment, it also benefits farmers by saving money and time instead of applying unnecessary or excessive fertilizer to the field.

 Main photo credit: andyarthur/Flickr

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Researchers studied a gull-like bird called the Northern Fulmar, examining a group of 67 that washed up dead on shores in British Columbia and northern Washington State. The Fulmar is related to the albatross, and forages in large ranges over the sea, eating food from the surface of the sea.

On average, the dead birds had eaten 0.385 grams of plastic—over 200 percent more than in a 1987 study, and over 800 percent more than in a 1969-1977 study. It’s now also much more likely that any particular bird will have ingested plastic; 92.5 percent of the birds in the current study had.

When birds eat plastic, it displaces space for food, and can lacerate the stomach lining. There is also the risk that contaminants absorbed by the plastic may leach out into a bird’s body. The researchers reported that some of the birds they examined had stomachs that were completely filled with plastic.

“We have known about this problem for 40 years and not only have we failed to do anything about it, it has actually gotten worse,” said Dr. George Wallace, Vice President for Oceans and Islands at American Bird Conservancy, a leading U.S. bird conservation organization. “Two things are for certain – one, this problem is not going to go away on its own – it will get worse; and two, developing ways to slow or stop the flow of plastics into the oceans will only get more expensive the longer we wait.”

Main image credit: Flickr user Bill Bouton

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