Blog about ecology and conscious consumption
Spatial patterns of biodiversity provide core knowledge for conservation, and understanding the mechanisms for the assembly and maintenance of species co-occurrences remains one of the key goals of community ecology. What is meant by patterns of biodiversity? Biodiversity pattern in species is the understanding that the number of species found on Earth varies globally, locally …
Does Houston really recycle? The city of Houston has four recycling drop-off centers which take commonly recycled items, such as newspaper and plastic drink bottles. Six neighborhood depository/recycling centers, which take larger junk items like stoves and tree waste on top of your usual household recyclables, are sprinkled throughout the city. How much waste does …
The impact of climate change is most prominent in areas where changes to the environment will either undermine the quality of decisions being made by local government (such as by creating investment uncertainty) or will increase the costs of providing local public services (such as by reducing the availability of … What is the role …
The Environmental Protection Agency says aluminum cans have about 68 percent recycled content compared to just 3 percent for plastic bottles in the United States. As a result, aluminum is widely seen as the better choice for the environment. Is aluminum or plastic worse for the environment? Recycling plastic is more complex, leads to degradation …
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) is the public law that creates the framework for the proper management of hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste. The law describes the waste management program mandated by Congress that gave EPA authority to develop the RCRA program. What act is used in the US to regulate hazardous waste? …
Recycling reduces the use of natural resources by reusing materials: 94% of the natural resources used by Americans are non-renewable. Non-renewable, natural resource use has increased from 59% in 1900 and 88% in 1945. Recycling saves non-renewable resources. How does recycling reduce waste? Recycling prevents the emissions of many greenhouse gases and water pollutants, and …
Recycling treated wastewater also threatens human health because this water contains microbial pathogens, including bacteria, protozoa, viruses, and helminthes (which are basically parasites). Although most people don’t become ill from exposure to these pathogens, some do. Is recycling water bad for the environment? By cleaning sewage effluent to extract pure water, it’s possible to create …
Urban climate change resilience (UCCR) embraces climate change adaptation, mitigation actions, and disaster risk reduction while recognizing the complexity of rapidly growing urban areas and the uncertainty associated with climate change. Why is urban resilience important? Resilient cities are cities that can better handle natural and human-made disasters, protect human life, absorb the impact of …
Further, ecosystem restoration for India is not only about protecting its ecosystems and biodiversity or mitigating the impacts of crises occurring at a global scale; it provides solutions to solving challenges of food and water security and of securing the livelihoods and the well-being of millions in the country. What is ecosystem restoration? Ecosystem restoration …
While NEPA is chiefly a procedural statute, EISs should discuss “other environmental laws”109 that impose substantive requirements on projects, such as the Clean Air Act (CAA) and Clean Water Act (CWA). Is the NEPA different from other environmental laws? NEPA helps produce better projects Unlike other environmental laws such as the Clean Air Act and …