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Air pollution soots its way into mothers' placentas -- maybe the fetus, as well

Very Not Good™.

How dirty, soot-covered birds can track down pollution over a whole century

Back in the day when Chicago and Pittsburg were the world's Beijing and New Delhi.

Air pollution much more dangerous than climate change for global agriculture

Scientists have long known that climate change has a major negative impact on global agriculture, potentially even threatening global food security. But a new research shows that air pollution is actually much more threatening. Anthropogenic climate change caused 3.5% decrease in potential wheat yield on a country level in India; air pollution caused more than 32% […]

Alarmingly high mercury concentrations in the Arctic might be due to Siberian rivers

Besides ever thinning ice, permafrost melting, soot deposits, habitat loss, you might as well add another significant factor threatening the arctic ecosystem – mercury. For some time, the alarmingly high mercury concentrations in the regions were rather unaccounted for, in part, however a new research by scientists at Harvard’s Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling Group suggests that […]

Simple, cheap measures could reduce global warming and save many lives

An international team of scientists showed that simple, inexpensive measures to cut emissions of two common pollutants will significantly slow global warming, boost crop production throughout the world and save many lives in the process. The climate change debate is traditionally centered around carbon dioxide emissions – one of the major problems and causes of […]

Melting polar ice makes way for new shipping routes

Record low ice volumes in the arctic caused by global warming have been reported this year, and if there are still some climate skeptics among you, recent events concerning trading in the region might provide proof enough of dramatic change. Supertankers and giant cargo ships could next year travel regularly between the Atlantic and Pacific […]

Sea level rise of up to 1.6 meters projected for 2100

It is no longer a question if multi-meter sea level rises will happen, but only of when. According to the latest estimate from the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme it seems the accelerated climate change in the Arctic including a thaw of Greenland’s ice could raise world sea levels by up to 1.6 meters by […]

Soot responsible for rapid Arctic melting?

An international research team is in the land of snow and ice, in search of soot or black carbon, in an effort to judge whether or not it is responsible for the alarming rapid warming in the area lately. The research team includes scientists from Norway, Russia, Germany, Italy, and China, whose members are working […]

Fighting against soot - more important than ever

Most of the talk about global warming revolves around carbon dioxide, sometimes giving the false impression that it alone is responsible for global warming and all its implications. However, numerous studies have revealed a new enemy, one almost as dangerous as carbon dioxide: soot. The black powdery pollutant is responsible for numerous climatic shifts, especially […]