Pollution

Atmospheric levels of carbon were registered at 415 ppm for the first time in three million years. This number was measured at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The measure continues the upward trend of atmospheric carbon concentration that lies at the heart of global warming and the climate crisis.

A large and growing literature estimates the effects of climate change, but these numbers vary widely, and there is a debate surrounding how they should be applied for policymaking. Though long-term outcomes remain uncertain, policymakers should plan for updates to the policy, adjust their goals, and account for new information, technology, and diplomatic developments.

Northern California is currently suffering from some of the worst wildfires the state has ever seen, including the ongoing Mendocino Fire, which is now the largest fire in recorded history.

Many of us are now more familiar with plastic pollution and its consequences for marine life. More and more creatures are being poisoned by micro-plastics as you read this; meanwhile, the dumping and migration of this material into marine areas continues unabated. People who want to do something about it are hampered by a lack of effective tools that detect and locate plastic pollution, however.

Not just adults but also infants and people with chronic heart and lung diseases are hospitalized and sometimes even die from excessive exposure (above 35 ppm) to the toxic gas, carbon monoxide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it has caused more than 400 deaths per year in America alone because of what is called carbon monoxide poisoning.

Urban beehives are becoming more and more popular, offering people living in the city a chance to reconnect with nature and their communities whilst producing a sustainable local product and protecting our dwindling bee population. One concern though, is that the levels of pollutants and contaminants may be higher in honey produced by bees living in urban areas.

All sorts of trash ends up in our oceans, with a lot of it floating in currents before ending up in five huge floating ‘garbage patches’. Within these patches, there’s estimated to be up to five trillion pieces of plastic, ranging from small plastic bottle tops to huge fishing nets. All of this impacts oceanic

The environmental impact of oil spills is immense, and scientists are always looking for better ways to minimize this. Currently, for oil spills in open waters, one of the most commonly used methods is to carry out what is known as ‘in-situ burning’. This involves burning off the oil from the surface of the ocean before it has a chance to sink or move with the ocean currents and cause a huge amount of ecological damage over a large area.

When it comes to global warming, we all know who is the biggest culprit: carbon dioxide. This simple molecule produced from the combustion of gasoline and other fuels gets most of the attention in the media because the amount of it is increasing in the atmosphere and its interaction with sunlight “traps” heat near the planet’s surface, causing its average temperature to rise.