When it comes to green and environmental issues, airports and aeroplanes are usually seen as the villain of the piece. However new research shows that in terms of carbon emissions, the sector may not be so bad after all.

American researchers have found that the US health sector is responsible for nearly a tenth of the country’s carbon emissions – almost three times the amount of carbon that the airline industry pumps out. Despite this disparity, the health care sector hardly ever gets flack for it’s less-than-green credentials whilst the airline industry seems to have more than it’s fair share of criticism.  Read more... (220 words, 1 image, estimated 53 secs reading time)

Rent your clothes instead of buying them to help save the Environment. Sound a bit wacky? Well, it’s the latest advice from the UK Government’s waste watchdog.

The Waste and Resource Action Programme (Wrap) have said that ending the current obsession with owning material goods could help reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

The idea is this: rather than buying expensive clothes and accessories that are only used a couple of times before being thrown away, people should hire expensive items such as shoes, dresses and suits instead.  Read more... (409 words, 1 image, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)

According to the UK’s Environment Agency, a large area of seaweed is choking England’s South Coast. The seaweed is cause for concern as it is threatening wildlife and creating difficulties for boats in the area.

The seaweed has grown rapidly thanks to the weather over the past two months – June was hot with July being quite rainy, and this has allowed the algae to grow up to 8 inches thick in places.

France has also seen a large number of algae blooms on their coast line and this has potentially caused health issues as rotting seaweed above the high tide mark can release potentially deadly toxic gases.  Read more... (225 words, estimated 54 secs reading time)

New research has shown that mosquitos that breed in sewage-contaminated streams are bigger and faster than those who have bred in cleaner waters.

The new findings are a cause for concern for certain regions in America which use a sewage overflow system. Under normal circumstances, storm run-off is mixed with a lightly treated wastewater before being delivered to a sewage treatment plant. However when there is a huge storm, the contents of the pipes bypass the facility and flow direct into rivers and lakes. This system is used in several areas, mainly in older cities in the northeast and midwest of America.  Read more... (188 words, estimated 45 secs reading time)

Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest is on the increase according to the latest satellite images.

Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research analysed satellite images of the Amazon and discovered that in June, 578 square kilometres (223 square miles) of Amazonian woodland was either burnt or cut down. The figures are four times those seen in May causing concern as the Amazon is seen by many as one of the largest areas that help buffer against the global warming.

Over the past year, the satellite images have shown that more than 4,700 square kilometres of Amazon rainforest has been cut down on burnt.  Read more... (141 words, estimated 34 secs reading time)

A foreign predator is threatening the local wildlife and ecology in the Everglades in Florida.

Alligators in the area used to be at the top of the local food chain however in the apst 17 years, Burmese pythons are starting to gain a foothold and are challenging the alligators for top spot in the food chain.  Read more... (497 words, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

British supermarkets pledged in 2006 that they would try and cut the number of plastic bags being given out by 25 percent by spring 2009. Incredibly, the campaign to reduce the reliance on plastic bags has seen the target smashed by nearly halving the amount of plastic bags being given out.

In May 2009, the big six supermarkets gave out 452 million plastic bags. This figure compares to May 2006 where 870 million plastic bags were used. This means that the number of plastic bags given out has been reduced by 48 percent.  Read more... (228 words, estimated 55 secs reading time)

According to recent satellite photos of the Sahara, areas of the desert are in retreat. It is common belief that climate change will increase the area that are deserts. However the new Sahara satellite images are calling into question whether that assertion is really true.

At present, it is impossible to tell whether the receding parts of the Sahara are a short-term change – the changes could be down to rainfall – or whether it is part of a long-term shrinkage.  Read more... (180 words, estimated 43 secs reading time)

The Petermann glacier, the largest glacier in the Arctic, is about to lose a major chunk of ice which measures roughly the same size as Manhattan.

Last summer, scientists noticed that the glacier’s tongue had a large crack across it, a crack which measured around 16km in length. The discovery was so concerning that researchers returned to the glacier’s ice tongue this year and have setup cameras and sensors around the glacier to monitor it’s progress and to get a really accurate picture of the breakup, if and when it happens.  Read more... (339 words, estimated 1:21 mins reading time)

Research has shown that damaged ecosystems can recover within a lifetime if the cause of the damage is stopped.

Yale University looked at 240 independent studies investigating the recovery rates of ecosystems and their recoveries after being damaged by both human and natural causes. The researchers looked at several key damage and recovery factors and evaluated how long it took each ecosystem to recover to their original state having suffered from damage. The research also looked whether there was a correlation between amount of damage done and how quickly the eco system recovered.  Read more... (297 words, estimated 1:11 mins reading time)