Bike ridership low due to promotion of helmets, urban motility expert says
Biking is considered a way of life in Denmark, but bike ridership in Copenhagen, the capital, is actually decreasing.In Copenhagen, there are 217 miles of bike trails. About 25 miles of tree-lined...
View ArticleTobacco industry linked to proliferation of flame retardants in American homes
According to the Chicago Tribune, Big Tobacco is behind the proliferation of flame retardants packed into household products. Flame retardants are a family of synthetic chemicals designed to help...
View ArticleNew research says commonly used chemicals are partly to blame for obesity
A majority of Americans are overweight and a third are medically obese. Sedentary lifestyles, easy access to calories, inadequate sleep and genes are all factors.But Bruce Blumberg of the University of...
View ArticleOn eve of Rio environmental conference, Brazil pushes back forestry changes
The Brazilian Congress recently passed a bill that would reduce protection of forests in the Amazon. So activists appealed to President Dilma Rousseff.Everybody from the Brazilian Academy of Sciences...
View ArticleDeclining moose population in upper Midwest may be due to climate change
Whether in the opening credits of Northern Exposure or in the fictional town of Frostbite, Minn., moose are most often associated with cold climates.But Bullwinkle could become a rarity in Minnesota,...
View ArticleLawsuit over BP oil spill threatens academic freedom, critics say
The massive Deep Water Horizon oil spill not only devastated the ecology of the Gulf of Mexico and its fishing industry, it may also be damaging academic freedom.Scientists from the Woods Hole...
View ArticleAs ocean gets more acidic, situation is exacerbated in Puget Sound
Puget Sound in Washington has become sharply more acidic in recent years — a trend being experienced by the oceans in general but exacerbated in the closed waters of the sound.The oceans absorb a large...
View ArticleNew effort to dismantle aging U.S. dams aims to improve wildlife habitats
Earlier this month, members of the Penobscot tribe held a ritual honor dance on the banks of the Penobscot River in Maine.The ceremony helped mark the destruction of the Great Works Dam. It was built...
View ArticleWhat's behind the grizzly bear attacks in Yellowstone?
Nearly 3.5 million people visited Yellowstone National Park last year, but at least two of them didn’t make it out alive. They were killed, one partially eaten, by grizzly bears.Now many are wondering...
View ArticleTurks suspicious after a dead 'Israeli' bird found in a field
The article in the Turkish national daily Haberturk was serious. A European bee-eater, “Merops apiaster,” was found dead in a field. Its leg had a metal ring stamped with the words “Israel Tel...
View ArticleBoston's mass transit system burdened by debt and increased ridership
Rising demand and increased costs have pushed mass transit systems in cities across the United States to their financial breaking points as they struggle to keep up.Few have had a harder time balancing...
View ArticleNew study finds greater risk of wildfires in U.S. from climate change; others...
Summer just started this week and yet wildfires are already raging across the United States.Thousands of acres have been burned in Colorado, New Mexico and other states across the American west. Drier...
View ArticleAt Rio+20 Summit, little actual disappointment over lack of progress
America's political leaders have long been outspoken about global warming.Years ago, Al Gore was traveling the country laying out the case for decreasing emissions. When he was campaigning, Barack...
View ArticleUnited States debates joining Law of the Sea
The United Nations treaty that governs the world’s oceans is once again being discussed in Congress.It’s been 30 years since the U.N. Law of the Sea was first established, and the United States still...
View ArticleSweden imports waste from European neighbors to fuel waste-to-energy program
When it comes to recycling, Sweden is incredibly successful. Just four percent of household waste in Sweden goes into landfills. The rest winds up either recycled or used as fuel in waste-to-energy...
View ArticleKey West officials debate use of genetically modified mosquito to fight...
Researchers at the biotechnology company OxiTec have created a type of mosquito birth control by genetically sterilizing the males, a scientific breakthrough they say could help prevent Dengue fever...
View ArticleForest fires, power outages make nation-wide sweltering heat more troubling
At least 13 states were under some sort of heat warning or advisory on Monday as cities and states all across the country dealt with a sweltering heat wave.Temperatures in the 90s and 100s were common...
View ArticleLouisiana bayou slow to recover from Gulf oil spill
The Louisiana bayou is still struggling to recover from the 2010 oil spill that caused its coastal wetlands to erode at historic rates.Louisiana's delicate marshes were rapidly disappearing before BP's...
View ArticleCheetahs in race of their lives -- to save their species
Step into Patricia Tricorache’s home in the Florida Keys, and it’s clear where her loyalties lie.Framed pictures of cheetahs hang on the wall. Cheetah spots freckle the pillows and curtains.Even her...
View ArticleSpanish hotel, built in national park, symbol to many of what's wrong with...
Spain is hinting that it might loosen restrictions on homes and other buildings built too close to its coastlines.The government is under enormous pressure to modify a 1988 law that requires tearing...
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