How to clean up an oil spill
There’s a new method for removing oil contaminating bodies of water. The process involves skimming the oil with water-repellant leaves or textiles. These materials don’t absorb the oil but act as an adhesive. They transport the oil into clean containers. And the oil can be reused. As of February 2020,…
30 years later: The lasting impact of the Chernobyl meltdown
In April 1986, the most catastrophic nuclear accident the world has ever seen happened in the former USSR, near the city of Chernobyl. A nuclear reactor exploded and burned, spreading radiation as far away as Sweden. More than 300,000 people were eventually evacuated, and an exclusion zone was established around…
Toxic tea: Another way plastic pollution is taking a toll
Discarded plastics don’t just wash up on beaches and interfere with marine life. They also steep in our oceans, creating a toxic brew that harms the bacteria responsible for generating 10 percent of our oxygen. A new study shows that plastics with chemical additives are the worst offenders. Researchers hope…
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