Sunsets in Pittsylvania County, VA!
2009 Science News of the Year: Environment
By Science News Staff
January 2nd, 2010; Vol.177 #1 (p. 28)
Routine tree deaths doubled
Small background rates of everyday tree death have doubled in old-growth, western forests since 1955, possibly because of climate change, researchers report (SN: 2/14/09, p. 8). Deaths accelerated in trees of various ages, altitudes and shade preferences, even in national parks — where the air is relatively unpolluted. Because more trees now die than sprout each year in the study areas, the forests may be faltering in their role as climate-friendly storehouses of carbon.
Plastic concerns
Animal studies link bisphenol A, which can leach from polycarbonate plastics (above), with heart arrhythmias and permanent damage to a gene important for reproduction (SN: 7/18/09, p. 5).
Oily aftermath
Two decades after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, research confirms that oil still taints Alaskan beaches and that many species have yet to recover (SN Online: 3/23/09).
Warming winters
Some half of North American bird species are wintering in more northerly climes — evidence, some scientists say, of global warming’s biological impacts (SN Online: 2/10/09).
Rot and release
Decomposition of dead trees following hurricanes and tropical storms returns more than 90 million metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere annually (SN Online: 4/27/09).
Growing bald spot
The world-renowned ice cap atop Mount Kilimanjaro could disappear by 2022, new research suggests (SN: 12/5/09, p. 11).
Child’s play
A boy’s exposure to phthalates in the womb can subtly demasculinize his play during childhood (SN: 12/19/09, p. 10). And a study links prenatal exposure to bisphenol A with subtle, gender-specific alterations in behavior among 2-year-olds (SN: 11/7/09, p. 12).
Ozone-layer slayer
Nitrous oxide pollution — largely from deforestation, animal wastes and the decomposition of plant material — has become one of the leading threats to Earth’s protective stratospheric ozone layer (SN Online: 8/27/09).
Emissions trump efficiency
The rapid growth of China’s export-driven economy earlier this decade fueled a dramatic increase in carbon dioxide emissions that overwhelmed the country’s substantial improvements in energy efficiency (SN Online: 3/6/09).
Clearing the air
A decline in European aerosols, including fog and haze, over the past three decades has cleared the air but has also fueled 10 to 20 percent of the continent’s warming over the same interval (SN: 2/14/09, p. 9).
Clouded climate picture
A new simulation considers chemical interactions between atmospheric aerosols — the suspended particles that can contribute to haze over some cities (Los Angeles shown) — and various gases.
Leaden IQs and hearts
School-age lead exposure can harm IQ more than earlier exposures — and diminish brain volume (SN: 6/6/09, p. 13). High blood lead levels point to elderly women at greater risk of premature death from coronary heart disease (SN Online: 4/6/09).
Toxic gossip
Certain metal nanoparticles can indirectly damage DNA, essentially by provoking nearby tissue to relay a toxic message to vulnerable bystander cells (SN Online: 11/5/09).
Read...
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/50951/title/2009_Science_News_of_the_Year_Environment
