Posted by Meaghan Daly | Oct 20, 2009 | 1 Comments
For many who have been following the saga of the Everglades of South Florida, it seemed that restoration and conservation plans formed during the last decade were only getting more complicated and mired in bureaucracy. That is, until Gov. Charlie Crist stepped up to the plate to make a game-changing proposition to buy back land [...]
Posted by Tanya Heikkila | Sep 10, 2009 | 3 Comments
The “Golden” State doesn’t seem so golden these days. LA’s recent wildfires and Sacramento’s recent budget crises have left a dark cloud hanging over the state. Compounding the state’s financial woes and charred image is a problem potentially even more challenging: drought. Since 2000, the state’s reservoirs have been depleted and current climate change [...]
Posted by Meaghan Daly | Aug 22, 2009 | 1 Comments
As the United States searches for sources of alternative energy and a means to reduce its production of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, solar power plants have emerged as a leading candidate to address both of these problems. While these plants do indeed provide an additional means of producting energy that could potentially reduce the amount [...]
Posted by Meghna Bhattacharjee | Aug 4, 2009 | 3 Comments
The grass may be greener in Hawaii, but now so are its houses.
Solar powered hot water heaters are now replacing electric heaters that burn fossil fuels, and in the process release harmful carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. Hawaiian Electric Company is heavily encouraging all home owners to convert to [...]
Posted by Ju Young Lee | Jul 4, 2009 | 1 Comments
Fourth of July fireworks across the United States are definitely a long tradition that millions of people eagerly wait and enjoy. The concern is that fireworks traditionally have included potassium perchlorate as the oxidizer, a material that provides the oxygen that fireworks need to burn and that perchlorate is an environmental pollutant with potential adverse effects on people (it affects the functioning of the thyroid gland) and wildlife. However, the good news is that we are making the right way to “green” fireworks, green as in environmentally friendly. According to American Chemical Society news, Fourth of July fireworks might go green in near future.
Posted by Jennifer Vettel | Jun 23, 2009 | 4 Comments
People often cringe at the thought of water that was once wastewater being treated and used as drinking water. However, in Tampa, Florida, voters will be deciding next year on whether to use reclaimed water as part of the city’s drinking water.
Reclaimed water is highly treated wastewater that is often used as a replacement for [...]
Posted by Ju Young Lee | Jun 22, 2009 | 0 Comments
Last Tuesday (6/16), White House issued a report about how climate change will affect the United States in the next century. The 13 U.S. agencies–including NASA, the Department of State and the Department of Energy–collaborated for this report. Using the most up-to-date scientific data, The Global Climate Change Impacts in The United States report says that unprecedented changes [...]
Posted by Grant Goodrich | Jun 16, 2009 | 0 Comments
On Saturday, June 13, 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with her Canadian counterpart, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon, in Niagara Falls to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the Boundary Waters Treaty. While the Treaty governs all international waters shared by Canada and the USA, its primary application is to Great Lakes’ policy. As part of the [...]
Posted by Meaghan Daly | Jun 10, 2009 | 3 Comments
We’ve been following some of the issues related to the drought in California. In response to water shortages, a “water bank” has been implemented to allow users who do not use all of their water to sell it to other users. In theory, such a system allows water to be used in an efficient manner, [...]
Posted by Grant Goodrich | Jun 2, 2009 | 1 Comments
The Columbia Water Center is leading intellectual inquiry into the assessment, prediction and solution of the growing scarcity of fresh water. Although the CWC is looking at water issues across the globe, up until now, little attention at the Center has been focused on the Great Lakes. Some past student projects have explored in-depth the [...]
