Salty Crew Rocks Docks Blue Short Sleeve Button Up Shirt
Nicole Welle | November 30, 2020
University of Iowa undergraduate Alissia Milani recently led a group of researchers in discovering a new compound in the atmosphere that can help track the effects of personal care products (PCPs) on air quality.
Common PCPs, like antiperspirants, shampoos and hairspray, contain colorless and odorless chemicals called cyclic volatile methyl siloxanes. These chemicals can quickly evaporate into the atmosphere after they are applied, and Milani's group worked on identifying a secondary aerosol tracer called D4TOH in urban environments like Houston and Atlanta to better understand the impact of pollution from PCPs. D4TOH is the oxidation product of D5, one of the most prominent methyl siloxanes found in PCPs, according to the group's new article.
The health and environmental impacts of PCP use are not yet fully understood, but this work will help provide a new way for researchers to begin tracing and assessing those impacts. Milani hopes that her work will allow researchers across the globe to begin detecting this compound and use it to better understand how PCPs can affect air quality in both urban and rural environments.
This crucial work is only the first step toward better understanding the health and environmental implications of PCP use, but there are steps the public can take in the meantime. Milani says that people should look into the chemicals that make up the products they use and think about what they might be exposing themselves and others to. Some potentially harmful chemicals found in PCPs are not currently regulated, so it is important for people to learn about those chemicals and seek out alternatives that work best for them.
Milani received support from the Iowa Center for Research by Undergraduates and was joined in her work by Dr. Betsy Stone, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Iowa. The article outlining their work was accepted on November 11, 2020.
Maxwell Bernstein | November 27, 2020
The USDA Food Loss and Waste Liaison released tips and facts on reducing food waste at Thanksgiving. The average American family of four annually loses $1500 or 1,160 pounds of uneaten food.
The USDA recommends:
- Planning holiday meals.
- Storing or giving away leftovers.
- Use leftover food creatively by incorporating them in other dishes.
- Donate extra food through Feeding America or the EPA's excess food opportunities program.
- Composting.
- Preventing leftovers from ending up in a landfill.
Families can freeze Thanksgiving food and use it long term as a way to prevent food from being wasted.
Nicole Welle | November 26, 2020
Activist and author Catherine Coleman Flowers' work spurred a study in 2017 that revealed environmental and sanitation problems in rural America.
The 2017 study discovered that more than one in three people in Lowndes County, a rural county in Alabama, had tested positive for hookworm. This parasite was previously thought to have been eradicated in the United States because it usually only infects people in areas without access to proper waste management and sanitation, but this study revealed that it is not an issue confined to "developing" countries. The large number of infections in rural America revealed significant gaps in access to basic sanitation and led activists to look further into the cause of the issue, according to an Iowa Public Radio article.
When looking at rural areas in Alabama, Flowers found that many families lacked access to an on-site septic system and were sometimes facing fines and jail time when they could not afford to have one installed. Lowndes County has dense clay soils and a high water table, so families living there need access to a special, more expensive septic system that can cost around $28,000. Most families, both poor and middle-class, do not have the resources to have one installed and are forced to deal with improper sanitation and legal action.
The current septic system technology was designed before climate change caused sea levels and water tables to rapidly rise and changed rainfall patterns. Flowers says that the next steps toward solving the sanitation problem in Lowndes County and elsewhere will require people to acknowledge climate change and work towards developing new, more affordable technologies that will account for rising sea levels.
Maxwell Bernstein | November 25, 2020
President-elect Joe Biden has picked former secretary of state John Kerry to be his presidential climate envoy, according to the Washington Post.
John Kerry tweeted, "America will soon have a government that treats the climate crisis as the urgent national security threat it is. I'm proud to partner with the President-elect, our allies, and the young leaders of the climate movement to take on this crisis as the President's Climate Envoy."
Kerry will be tasked with mending fractured relationships with global leaders when it comes to combating climate change. The Trump administration withdrew the United States from the Paris climate accord and rolled back rules to reduce the United States' emissions.
This is the first time that the National Security Council will include someone whose designated role is to fight climate change. With this role, Kerry will exercise soft power to convince China and India to cut greenhouse-gas emissions as their economies continue to grow.
Thomas Robinson | November 24th, 2020
The Johnson Clean Energy District (JCED) held a virtual tour of solar energy installations across Johnson County this past Friday.
The event was held to celebrate and discuss clean energy transitions occurring within the county. The tour included the Prairie Hill Cohousing site, the Johnson County solar power installation by the county building, and an installation at Herbet Farms. Attendees included state legislators and community members who are involved in the district.
Clean energy districts are local groups that strive to speed up transitions to clean energy. These organizations have been styled after the soil and water conservation districts that emerged in the 1930s following the Dust Bowl. The first district formed in Iowa was the Winneshiek Energy District and the idea has spread to surrounding states like Illinois and Wisconsin. The JCED works for homeowners and businesses alike, through education on available energy incentives, as well as their STEP program that installs energy efficiency measures directly in homes.
In a recent brief, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has confirmed that solar energy is the cheapest electricity in history. Their report emphasizes the importance of a clean energy transition, and the potential cost reductions it could bring for consumers around the world and right here in Iowa.
Nicole Welle | November 23, 2020
The American Farm Bureau has strongly opposed legislation aimed at slowing global warming in the past, but its recent decision to form the Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance indicates that it may be changing course.
This coalition brings together climate advocates and agricultural lobbies that plan to urge the government to adopt policy changes that will make it cheaper and easier for farmers to reduce emissions. The coalition's list of proposals do not include an increase in regulation or mandatory cuts to agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, the proposals are voluntary and, in some cases, involve paying farmers for their efforts, according to an Iowa Public Radio Article.
The recent shift in farmers' willingness to address climate change is happening for a few different reasons. Many big food companies, like Pepsico and Kellogg's, have committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and are pushing farmers to make changes as well. Some are even paying farmers to do so. More farmers are also starting to feel the effects of climate change as droughts and flooding events become more common.
The coalition did not quantify the impact of their proposed policy changes, and some environmentalists are against the idea of farmers making money from their greenhouse gas reductions since it is not known how much pollution might actually be reduced. However, while farmers are still opposed to direct regulation, many environmentalists are celebrating the coalition as a step forward in adding farmers to the conversation about climate change.
Maxwell Bernstein | November 20, 2020
The Climate Explorer is a user-friendly tool to create maps and charts on climate data in different areas throughout the United States. The collected data and tool are the result of a collaboration between several government agencies such as NASA, NOAA, the EPA, and more.
The user enters information about their location and The Climate Explorer shows information about projected climate variables such as the tides, weather data, historical thresholds and more.
For further information about the methodology behind the data collection and predictions that the tool maps out, check out the about page for The Climate Explorer.
Nicole Welle | November 19, 2020
The Trump administration is using its final weeks to push through dozens of environmental rollbacks that weaken protections for migratory birds, expand arctic drilling and increase future threats to public health.
One proposed change would restrict criminal prosecution for industries that cause the deaths of migratory birds. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 currently protects over 1,000 species of bird including hawks and other birds of prey, and it is used to recover damages in situations like the BP oil spill in 2010 that killed more than 100,00 seabirds, according to an AP article. The Trump administrations wants to ensure that companies face no criminal liability for preventable deaths such as this in the future. Officials advanced bird treaty changes to the white house two days after news organizations declared Joe Biden's win.
Another recent proposal put forth by the Trump administration would set emission standards for dangerous particles of pollution emitted by refineries and other industrial sources. Others would allow mining and drilling on public lands around the Chaco Canyon National Historical Park in New Mexico and in Alaska.
Most of these proposed changes directly benefit gas and oil industries, and some of them could be difficult for President-elect Joe Biden to reverse once he takes office. Biden could easily reverse some with executive action, but others, like putting protected lands up for sale or lease, could pose a bigger challenge.
Most of the proposed changes will go quickly through the approval process. It is not unusual for presidents to push rule changes through at the tail end of their terms, but many environmentalists and former officials believe this environmental deregulation reflects a pro-industry agenda taken to the extreme. It could have serious negative impacts on the safety of imperiled wildlife, climate change and human health.
Maxwell Bernstein | November 18, 2020
As of Tuesday, the Trump administration auctioned off development rights for land in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to allow oil and gas companies to drill, according to NPR.
The Bureau of Land Management will receive all nominations and comments on the tracts of land before Dec. 17, 2020, according to the official "Call for Nominations and Comments for the Coastal Plain Alaska Oil and Gas Lease Sale."
The Arctic refuge's coastal plain, the region that is being auctioned, is about 1.6 million acres of land where caribou migrate, polar bears den, and migratory birds feed.
In 63 days president-elect Joe Biden will take office on Jan. 20, 2021, making this auction a last push for the Trump administration to benefit oil and gas companies.
Thomas Robinson | November 17th, 2020
Researchers at the University of Iowa have reported that between 51,000 and 79,000 Iowans may be exposed to unsafe lead levels in their drinking water
In a recent paper, Iowa researchers have used data collected for compliance with the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) to estimate how many Iowans might be at risk for lead exposure from their drinking water. Their findings demonstrate that current in home water testing measures fail to adequately capture lead exceedances, and that water systems serving smaller populations were more likely to exceed accepted limit. From their estimates, around 65,000 Iowans are likely at risk for lead exposure above the EPA's maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 15 parts per billion (ppb).
There is no safe level of lead in drinking water, particularly for young children. Low levels of lead exposure can have a large influence on children's development resulting in behavioral and learning problems as well as slowed growth. Surprisingly, most lead in drinking water comes from pipes in individual homes meaning that enforcement of lead limits for water utilities likely misses lead exposure at the point of consumption.
While Iowa is not facing a lead crisis like those in Flint, MI or Washington D.C., the testing for lead in drinking water opens the door for consumers to be unknowingly exposed in their homes. The findings of Iowa researchers suggests that changes are needed in how we ensure public protection from legacy toxins in our drinking water.
Source: https://iowaenvironmentalfocus.org/2020/11/
Post a Comment for "Salty Crew Rocks Docks Blue Short Sleeve Button Up Shirt"