Bioplastics no safer than other plastics
Bioplastics contain substances that are as toxic as those in ordinary plastics.
Pollution
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New lessons from the worst oil spill disaster ever
Ten years ago, the Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico killed eleven men and resulted in the largest accidental oil spill in history. Years of investigations concluded that the drilling crew missed critical warning signals that would have stopped the problem. A new analysis suggests that wasn’t the case.
Water flow can be traced with synthetic DNA sand
If your drinking water is contaminated, you’d no doubt like to find out where the pollution comes from. Researchers are working to make this easier.
How much microplastic is there in your laundry basket?
Every time you wash clothes, you are releasing microplastics into the sea, but we know little about the amount and distribution of such material from different types of textile. Research scientists are now working on measuring and capturing microplastics in our laundry.
Tracing the journey of microplastics in the Arctic
By now it’s well established that microplastics are a problem in the environment, even in the remotest parts of the planet. But where do different microplastics come from and how they get there, especially in the Arctic?
Ammonia may hold key to greener combustion
One way to reduce flight shame may lie in a ring of flames. And in the gas that’s generated in an outhouse.
Finding ways to use less salt on snowy roads
It’s springtime in much of the northern hemisphere, although spring snowstorms are still possible. When that happens, salt trucks and ploughs help make roads safe. But road salt can be bad for the environment, and can rust cars, bicycles and other metal. New research shows that salt use can be safely — and substantially — cut in certain circumstances.
Making it easier to capture CO2 in the cement industry
Cement manufacture accounts for as much as seven per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. A new hybrid technology makes it easier and less expensive to capture and purify CO2 produced by the industry. And the technology can be retrofitted to existing plants.
Clothing, furniture play a role in ocean and freshwater pollution
Lakes choked with algae and marine “dead zones” result from too many nutrients in the water. The traditional culprit is agriculture, which relies on fertilizer to boost plant growth. But the production of consumer goods, like clothing, is also a major — and growing — contributor.
New filter removes run-off chemicals
The filter will first be used to recover aircraft de-icing chemicals. In the future it will also be used in urban areas to remove environmental toxins, pollution and probably microplastics.
New study estimates the carbon footprints of 13,000 cities
Many see cities as the new front lines of the climate change fight. Identifying the mayors and city councils in cities with the biggest carbon footprints, and the most power to make big changes, could mobilize a wave of reinforcements.
Nine things to know about microplastics
Picking up a plastic bag from the beach makes a bigger difference than you might imagine.
Plastic in rivers and lakes a growing concern
Almost all research on plastic contamination in water systems focuses on oceans. But the biggest problem is plastic that ends up in freshwater ecosystems, according to an NTNU biologist.
Predicting the fate of oil spills in a frozen world
Global warming and political decisions are opening the Arctic and its frosty seas to increased development. But what will happen if that expansion results in oil spills in the frozen ocean?
The super material that can replace plastic
Plastic trash is a rapidly growing environmental problem. But a biodegradable and natural material could replace plastic packaging and eliminate this problem.
Global hot spot maps link consumers with impacts
A new model creates global hot spot maps to illuminate how what we buy pollutes the planet and where. The idea is to help governments, industries and individuals target areas for cleanup.
Researching the dark side of microplastics
Minute particles of plastic, called microplastics, are everywhere. An international research team is now about to investigate how toxic microplastics are to marine animals such as plankton, crabs and fish, and to find out if such plastics accumulate in the food chain.
Bombs away— WWII bombs provide living laboratories for cold-water coral reefs
Ocean dumping of munitions from WWII was common in Norway and along the European coast. Some of these bomb dumps offer a natural living laboratory where biologists can study cold-water coral reefs.
ABC — anything but coal
Policymakers, industry and government officials will have to invest US $2.5 trillion for electricity generation over the next 20 years. A new report presents the environmental costs and benefits linked to different renewable energy sources, and makes one thing abundantly clear: anything is better than coal.
Awash in trash at the top of the world
Every year, an estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic waste blows, falls or flows into the world’s oceans. Earlier this autumn, participants in the annual Svalbard Course plucked up 512 kg of the stuff from just one beach in two hours.
Clay can be used for carbon capture
Ordinary clay can be as good as more advanced materials for capturing carbon dioxide.
Hope for the climate, hope for clean air
Climate talks in New York this week have offered a glimmer of hope that the world’s political leaders finally understand the need to act to curb global warming. An NTNU researcher says that these actions will have a beneficial side effect: cleaner air in some of the most polluted places on the planet.
“Super bacteria” cleaning up after oil spills
Researchers in Trondheim have achieved surprising results by exploiting nature’s own ability to clean up after oil spills.
The 80 per cent solution
By recycling used water, we can live with just a couple of buckets of fresh, clean water a day, while the rest of our water will come from recycled sources.