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  • Global Threats: Contamination of Surface Waters by Agricultural Insecticides

    April 26, 2015 /

    By Roberta Attanasio The use of agricultural insecticides — toxic substances developed to target and kill insects that damage crops — has sparked controversy since the dawn of the “chemical age”, which started in the 1950s. The benefits of agricultural insecticides — for example, increased food production — are undeniable. Unfortunately, along with benefits, there are considerable unwanted effects. Ideally, insecticides must be lethal to the target insects, but not to non-target species. However, these toxic substances do not target only insects — they target many more organisms, including man. Thus, the toxic brew of agricultural insecticides threatens the ecological integrity of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Indeed, agricultural systems play a…

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    Flame Retardants in Honey?

    December 19, 2013

    Global Threats: Water Scarcity and Uncertainty in the Estimates of Groundwater Availability

    June 28, 2015

    Wasting Syndrome and Starfish Die-Off

    February 9, 2014
  • Small Predator Diversity Plays a Significant Role in the Spread of Infectious Diseases

    March 23, 2015 /

    By Roberta Attanasio Biodiversity is a term coined to describe the diversity of all living things, from human beings to microorganisms. A New York Times editorial published almost two decades ago aptly describes the importance of the biodiversity concept: “Biodiversity is a hugely important concept that stresses the coherence and interdependence of all forms of life on earth and a new willingness to appraise the meaning of that interdependence, not just for humans but for every one of life’s component parts.” The editorial goes on to illustrate the alarming effects of biodiversity loss: “Biodiversity is a way of talking about what scientists have long understood and a way of reminding…

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    Ivory Poaching Drives the Global Decline of African Elephants

    August 22, 2014

    Sustainability in Action: Christmas Trees Provide Habitat for Coho Salmon

    December 29, 2013

    A Toxoplasma’s Journey: From Cats to Sea Otters

    January 19, 2014
  • Climate Change: A Key Driver of the Syrian Conflict?

    March 11, 2015 /

    By Roberta Attanasio Climate change is happening here and now, with significant damage to natural systems and society. The shrinking of the Arctic sea ice, the melting of the Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets, the acidification of the oceans, the sea level rise, the shifting patterns of precipitation, and the amplified threat of wildfires, are some of its well-recognized effects. There are also significant concerns related to the consequences that climate change could have on freshwater availability and agricultural productivity worldwide — resulting in increasing poverty and further weakening of fragile governments. Indeed, climate change has been identified as a “threat multiplier” — it can exacerbate political instability in the…

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    Carbon Dioxide Fertilization Effect and Greening of Deserts

    July 13, 2013

    Climate Change Arguments? Use Flowchart Help!

    April 29, 2013

    Fine Particulate Matter: The Global Toll

    October 18, 2013
  • Nanoparticles and Sunscreen Products: Toxicity to Sea Life in Coastal Waters

    August 31, 2014 /

    By Roberta Attanasio The debate on the safety of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles contained in sunscreen products is still on. Some scientists have raised concerns about the negative impact that these tiny particles — generally between one and 100 nanometers (between one and 100 billionths of a meter) across — may have on human health. Due to their small size, nanoparticles might do harm to humans by seeping through the skin and into the bloodstream. A few months ago, despite the widespread safety concerns, Paul Wright (a toxicology expert at RMIT University) told The Guardian that sunscreen nanoparticles don’t get past the outermost dead layer of human skin cells. In contrast, Paul Westerhoff (a professor at Arizona…

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    Clean Air: The Effects of U.S. Power Plant Carbon Standards on Human Health

    May 4, 2015

    Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water?

    April 25, 2016

    As coal mining declines, community mental health problems linger

    August 2, 2016
  • Ivory Poaching Drives the Global Decline of African Elephants

    August 22, 2014 /

    By Roberta Attanasio Poaching — the illegal killing of wild animals — is responsible for the death of tens of thousands of African elephants a year.  Poachers kill elephants to hack off the tusks, which are then sold to make valuable ivory trinkets, mostly for Asian markets.  In 2012, Jeffrey Gettleman wrote in the New York Times that Africa is in the midst of an epic elephant slaughter. How many African elephants, then, are slaughtered every year for their ivory? Results of a new study (Illegal killing for ivory drives global decline in African elephants) published a few days ago in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences show…

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    Minute 319: The Delta of the Colorado River Gets a New Life

    March 19, 2014

    Central Asia Large Mammals: Victims of (Cashmere) Fashion

    August 16, 2013

    Small Predator Diversity Plays a Significant Role in the Spread of Infectious Diseases

    March 23, 2015
  • It’s Not Warming, It’s Dying: A New Campaign to Raise Awareness of Climate Change

    August 14, 2014 /

    By The Editors Milton Glaser, one of the most celebrated graphic designers in the United States, has launched an environmental campaign to raise awareness of climate change. He is known for the ubiquitous I heart NY logo, his Bob Dylan poster, the Brooklyn Brewery logo, and a lot more. You can view a collection of his work here.  The campaign — It’s Not Warming, It’s Dying —  is based on a strong message that is meant to create a sense of urgency around climate change, a well-established major global threat. For his campaign, which defines climate change as “The most important fact on Earth“, Glaser designed a visual for buttons and…

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    Dante’s Fainting: A Medical Enigma from the Middle Ages

    May 15, 2015
    Edith Meusnier' textile art in a forest

    Edith Meusnier — an environmental artist inspired by forests

    March 16, 2021

    Nanotechnology: Lycurgus Cup and Sensors

    August 29, 2013
  • Global Threats: Soil and Topsoil Erosion and Degradation

    August 9, 2014 /

    By Roberta Attanasio “Soil anaemia also breeds human anaemia. Micronutrient deficiency in the soil results in micronutrient malnutrition in people, since crops grown on such soils tend to be deficient in the nutrients needed to fight hidden hunger. (…) Managing our soil and water resources in a sustainable and equitable manner needs a new political vision.” M.S. Swaminathan — the “Indian Father of Green Revolution”. Soil, the earth’s skin, is one of our most valuable resources — it’s a dynamic and complex ecosystem that acts as a growing medium. Plant and animal life depend on the recycling of primary nutrients through soil processes. It plays a major role in determining the composition of the…

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    Turn Down the Heat: A New Report on the Effects of Climate Change

    June 20, 2013

    Soils Are Threatened: Can We Halt The Problem?

    December 4, 2015

    Climate Change: A Key Driver of the Syrian Conflict?

    March 11, 2015
  • Double Blue: Blue Economy and Blue Growth

    July 21, 2014 /

    By Roberta Attanasio The ocean is one of the most valuable natural resources of our planet. We need to preserve and maintain its health, resilience and productivity for the prosperity of present and future generations — in other words, we need to achieve the sustainable development of the “Seven Seas”.  A few months ago, José Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), said: “Major changes in how the planet’s marine resources are managed and used are needed to safeguard global food security and ensure the well-being of coastal and island countries. We cannot keep using marine and aquatic resources as if they were endless. And we…

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    Maternal Antibodies, Brain Development and Autism

    September 8, 2013

    Climate Change: Influence on the Spread of Lyme Disease

    March 30, 2014

    Salmon Farming: The Chilean Massive Die-Off

    May 21, 2016
  • Minute 319: The Delta of the Colorado River Gets a New Life

    March 19, 2014 /

    By Roberta Attanasio For six million years, the Colorado River ran from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California—through 1,450 miles of mountains, deserts, canyons, and the lush delta in Mexico. Now, it no longer reaches the sea. The once vast and fertile delta of the river is dry—a parched wasteland. In 1931, the United States Bureau of Reclamation built the first of a series of large dams along the lower Colorado River, which now provides water to two states in Mexico and 30 million people in seven U.S. states. Until the 1950s, the delta was still a network of freshwater and marine wetlands with meandering river channels—an opulent habitat…

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    Large Animal Extinctions and Soil Fertility

    August 13, 2013

    The Great Global Die-Off: Frogs and Lymphocytes

    October 28, 2013

    Tasmanian Devils: Contagious Cancer Drives the Risk of Extinction

    December 5, 2014
  • A New Kind of Global Die-Off: Bananas Hit by Rapidly Spreading Diseases

    February 23, 2014 /

    By Roberta Attanasio The world loves bananas. Actually, the world loves the Cavendish bananas, mostly because it is (almost) the only variety commercially available worldwide. The entire global banana industry relies on this seedless and, therefore, sterile variety made of bananas all essentially identical to each other — and equally susceptible to infection by the same harmful microbes, which can spread very easily across plantations around the world. This is not a hypothetical scenario — instead, it’s happening as we speak. Two species of fungi are threatening the world supply of the Cavendish bananas. One is Mycosphaerella fijiensis, a fungus that causes a disease dubbed Black Sigatoka, also known as…

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    The European Seafloor: More Litter Than We Thought

    May 1, 2014

    Do Sunscreen Products Harm the Coastal Marine Ecosystem?

    August 30, 2013

    Environmental Toxins and Damage to the Immune System: Transgenerational Effects

    December 5, 2019
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