Environment & Sustainability

In the search for sustainability of the ocean’s fisheries, solutions can be found in a surprising place: the ancient past.

Ancient manuscripts written by Arabic scholars can provide valuable meteorological information to help modern scientists reconstruct the climate of the past, a new study has revealed. The research, published in Weather, analyses the writings of scholars, historians and diarists in Iraq during the Islamic Golden Age between 816-1009 AD for evidence of abnormal weather patterns.

Anyone who thinks amalgams are limited to tooth fillings is missing something: Amalgams, which are alloys of mercury and other metals, have been used for over 2500 years in the production of jewelry and for the extraction of metals like silver and gold in mining operations. These days, the inverse process is of greater interest: the removal of mercury from wastewater by amalgamation with precious metals in the form of nanoparticles. Kseniia Katok and colleagues have now reported new insights in the journal Angewandte Chemie: if the diameter of silver nanoparticles is made even smaller, significantly more mercury can be extracted relative to the amount of silver used.

The New York Times and USA Today bestseller, Doing More With Less builds on President and Founder of AHC Group, Dr. Bruce Piaseck's, extensive work in the area of social responsibility, offering an original take on the increasing role that sustainability and energy issues play in competitiveness. Based on thirty years of experience working with companies throughout the world, Piasecki offers a ground-breaking approach to thinking about and doing business in this new era.

The world’s coastal marine ecosystems are being overlooked, both in terms of their ecological importance and their potential as a rallying point for conservation. Writing in Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems Project Seahorse Director Dr. Amanda Vincent argues that increased protections are needed for the first 10 metres of depth of the world’s oceans, where the richest diversity of marine habitats and animal life can be found and where most ocean-related human activity takes place.

The debate may largely be drawn along political lines, but the human role in climate change remains one of the most controversial questions in 21st century science. Writing in WIREs Climate Change Dr Kevin Trenberth, from the National Center for Atmospheric Research, argues that the evidence for anthropogenic climate change is now so clear that the burden of proof should lie with research which seeks to disprove the human role.

Collisions between wild deer and vehicles not only hinder conservation efforts but pose a serious danger to drivers. In new research, published in the Wildlife Society Bulletin, Canadian scientists examined locations and time periods of high rates of deer vehicle collision to assess the effectiveness of warning signs to prevent fatalities.

Janine Selendy brings experts together from across the medical and environmental fields in the fight to eradicate and prevent water and sanitation-related diseases

Digital Landscape and Nature Photography For Dummies is now available to give amateur photographers the instruction they need to create their own beautiful nature and landscape portraits.  Packed with constructive, expert advice, this full-color and extra large trim beginner’s guide escorts readers through the basics of photography and explains how to apply those fundamentals when taking high-quality outdoor photos.

IDS research challenges widespread development assumptions in context of financial, fuel, food and climate crises

The Future of Value reveals what it takes for companies to grow and outperform the competition in today's growth-constrained, sustainability conscious world.

Exceptionally preserved fossils of insect cocoons have allowed researchers in Argentina to describe how wasps played an important role in food webs devoted to consuming rotting dinosaur eggs.

Click through to get a list of our author experts available to discuss the nuclear situation, structural engineering, environmental impacts, business and finance, the geography of the region as well as lifestyle topics including grief, depression, parenting, and giving back

One of the world’s most distinguished experts of paleoanthropology presents two landmark volumes chronicling the greatest story ever told: the origin of our species.

Prevention of infectious diseases is vital following sudden flooding disasters, according to an infectious diseases specialist.

Writing in the latest issue of Emergency Medicine Australasia, the journal of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, Dr Tony Allworth, Director of Infectious Diseases at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, offered advice to the public as well as to emergency workers.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010 devastated the Gulf of Mexico ecologically and economically. However, a new study published in Conservation Letters reveals that the true impact of the disaster on wildlife may be gravely underestimated. The study argues that fatality figures based on the number of recovered animal carcasses will not give a true death toll, which may be 50 times higher than believed.

A comprehensive new review published in the journal Respirology indicates that lung problems are major causes of morbidity and mortality following natural disasters.

The debate surrounding carbon capture and storage intensifies as scientists from the Earth Sciences Division at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) examine the capacity for storing carbon dioxide underground, in a study published today in the new journal Greenhouse Gases: Science & Technology.

The study debates some of the conclusions drawn in an earlier study by Ehlig-Economides and Economides¹, countering their claims that carbon dioxide cannot feasibly be stored underground. These earlier findings, according to the Berkeley Lab researchers, only considered closed-system subsurface formations, with limited mechanisms for relieving the pressure.

WIREs Climate Change the award winning interdisciplinary review series from Wiley-Blackwell, presents a “Climate Change Master Class”, bringing together a unique collection of papers by leading authors from across the research spectrum.