Mastodawn

#Webinar - #Marsh and #Stream Explorers: A Treasure Hunt to Find Healthy Freshwater #Habitats in #Maine

Apr 22 2026
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

"Curious about what critters live in your local streams and freshwater marshes? Come learn about Maine Marsh and Stream Explorers, a collaborative #CommunityScience project between #MaineAudubon and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (#MEDEP). This program trains volunteers to survey for #macroinvertebrates, or large #AquaticInsects, in streams and freshwater #marshes statewide. With many macroinvertebrates sensitive to temperature, #pollutants, and other environmental stressors, their presence or absence serve as an important indicator of overall wetland health. This data then becomes an invaluable screening tool for #MaineDEP to prioritize where more-indepth water quality assessments should be conducted.

"In this webinar you’ll learn about what the Marsh and Stream Explorers project has accomplished and its impact on water quality monitoring statewide. We’ll look at our overall results, share our successes, and talk about future goals of the project. If you’re interested in getting outdoors, learning something new, and protecting your local watershed, this community science project is for you! Come learn more about how you can get involved. In-person field training for survey techniques to follow."

FMI and to register:
https://maineaudubon.org/events/marsh-and-stream-explorers-a-treasure-hunt-to-find-healthy-freshwater-habitats-in-maine/

#SolarPunkSunday #MaineAudubon #OnlineEvents #CitizenScience #NatureBasedLearning #MarshExplorers #StreamExplorers #WaterIsLife #ClimateChange #CitizenScientists #ObservingNature

Richard Michael Blaber Apr 17

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/17/air-pollution-making-people-in-uk-get-long-term-illnesses-earlier-study-finds; https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11357-025-01806-3 (abstract & refs. only). "'The most striking finding was the sheer breadth & severity of the impact from #airpollution exposure. We found that #air #pollutants were significantly associated with the accelerated onset of different chronic #diseases, spanning almost every major organ system. We were particularly surprised by the high sensitivity of #neurological & #psychiatric disorders.'"

Air pollution making people in UK get long-term illnesses earlier, study finds

Pollution is ‘silent accelerator that robs individuals of their healthiest years’, say researchers

The Guardian

CBC Top Stories Apr 16

Ultrafine particles are everywhere. Should you be worried?
There’s growing concern about a new category of unregulated airborne pollutants, so tiny they can pass through the lungs and into the bloodstream. For The National, CBC’s Ashley Fraser explains ultrafine particles (UFPs) and why scientists say they have the potential to cause major health problems.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ultrafine-particles-should-you-be-worried-9.7164905?cmp=rss

Knowledge Zone Apr 4

Why #Seawater Isn’t the Answer to #Wildfires : Medium

Listen to #Earth’s #Rumbling, #Secret #Soundtrack : Tech Review

#Chemical #Pollutants are #Rife across the #World’s #Oceans : Nature

Latest #KnowledgeLinks

https://knowledgezone.co.in/resources/bookmarks

DoomsdaysCW Mar 23

Why is #BlackRain Falling on #Tehran and What Does It Mean for Health?

Written by Nadine
Medically Reviewed by Colleen Fleiss, M.Sc on Mar 23 2026 3:39 PM

Excerpt: "Toxic Emissions From Damaged #Oil Facilities

A spokesperson for the World Health Organization, Christian Lindmeier, stated on 17 March that the destruction of #Iran's oil infrastructure released hazardous #hydrocarbons, #SulfurOxides, and #NitrogenCompounds into the atmosphere.

When rain combines with these #pollutants, it can lead to #ChemicalBurns and #LungInjury. He emphasized the seriousness of the situation and noted that authorities in Iran have urged residents to remain indoors.

"#BlackRain refers broadly to rainfall contaminated with atmospheric pollutants, explains Farzana Kastury, an environmental scientist at Adelaide University in Australia. Such rain often results from bushfire smoke or the burning of heavy fuels, which are by-products of crude #OilRefining.

In Iran's case, the black rain likely contains pollutants generated from the combustion of these fuels during fires triggered by missile attacks, including substances such as #acetone, #toluene, and #carcinogenic compounds like #benzene and #methylenechloride ."

#NoWar #WarIsToxic #USWarOnIran #WorldWar3 #IsraeliWarCrimes #USWarCrimes #WorldPol #ToxicRain #ToxicRainInTehran

Why is Black Rain Falling on Tehran and What Does It Mean for Health?

Toxic black rain containing cancer-causing chemicals falls on Tehran after missile strikes damage oil facilities, prompting WHO warnings.

Medindia

DoomsdaysCW Mar 21

#Colorado’s #OilAndGas industry is vastly underestimating #methane emissions

Jennifer Oldham
Thu, February 26, 2026 at 6:00 AM EST

Excerpt: "A unique aerial measurement campaign found that emission inventories compiled by energy companies to account for planet-warming methane leaking from equipment on Colorado oil and gas production sites undercount such #pollutants by at least two times.

"Results from the $3.25 million project, led by a team of university researchers and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, provided officials for the first time with a more complete picture of the invisible pollutant emitted from well pads. #FossilFuel extraction is the state’s second-largest source of methane pollution, which has a global warming potential roughly 80 times that of carbon dioxide during a 20-year period."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/colorado-oil-gas-industry-vastly-110014181.html

#BigOilAndGas #Oiligarchy #BigOilLies #BigGasLies #MethaneEmissions #MethaneLeaks #USPol #TrumpSucks #TrumpsEPA #EPAFail #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming

Colorado’s oil and gas industry is vastly underestimating methane emissions

This story was originally published by Capital & Main. A unique aerial measurement campaign found that emission inventories compiled by energy companies to...

Yahoo News

Show thread

Timothy Schwinghamer (he/him)Mar 14

Albertans continue to wait for the decisions: on the remaining litigation for the uncertainty created by the Government of #Alberta due to the lack of #consultation; on the new #coal policy; and on the approval process for Northback’s Grassy Mountain project.

The Grassy Mountain project, given the assessment of the Joint Review Panel, remains ‘not in the public interest.’ The reasons are simple: coal #mines produce waste from which #pollutants leach into surface and #groundwater.

8/14

CBC Technology Science Mar 11

Black rain is falling in Iran after strikes on oil facilities. Scientists warn of long-term consequences
The World Health Organization issued a warning Tuesday about toxic pollutants in the air after U.S.-Israeli strikes on oil depots in and around Tehran raised thick, dark clouds that produced black, oily rain. Scientists tell CBC News the strikes have raised serious health and environmental concerns that could im...
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/black-rain-oil-depot-strikes-9.7123197?cmp=rss

Giuseppe Michieli Mar 9

What is the ‘ #acid #rain ’ in the wake of #US #bombings in #Iran? An atmospheric scientist explains https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-acid-rain-in-the-wake-of-us-bombings-in-iran-an-atmospheric-scientist-explains-277849

''... To me, this black rain indicates toxic #pollutants such as #hydrocarbons, ultrafine particles known as #PM2.5, and #carcinogenic compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have made their way into the rain.''

What is the ‘acid rain’ in the wake of US bombings in Iran? An atmospheric scientist explains

This rain would include acids but also likely many other pollutants harmful to humans and the environment. It may be worse than the term ‘acid rain’ conveys.

The Conversation

DoomsdaysCW Mar 8

#GoldExtraction from #EWaste gets 10 times more efficient with new sponge material

Researchers developed a nanoscale cross-dimensional composite material via self-assembly of two-dimensional graphene oxide and one-dimensional chitosan macromolecules.

By Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Oct 27, 2024

"Researchers have developed a new type of material that’s 10 times more efficient at extracting gold from e-waste than previous adsorbents. Developed by chemists and materials scientists at the National University of Singapore, the material is a type of sponge made of #GrapheneOxide and #chitosan [shrimp shells].

"The material can reportedly transform the way gold is extracted from electronic wastes, which has been described so far as a dirty business with low yields and results in toxic #pollutants.

"The cheaper, cleaner and efficient method was tested by researchers using real e-waste provided by a recycling company."

[...]

"While the present work focused on gold, the team say the technique could be adapted to recover other valuable metals such as #silver, #platinum or #palladium from #ElectronicWaste or even #mining residues. And that is not all: as well as e-waste, the technology might be applied to a wider range of environmental cleaning efforts, such as filtering out #HeavyMetals from #PollutedWater sources or industrial effluents, reported Physics World."

Read more:
https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/gold-extraction-from-e-waste-sponge

Article in Physics World - Eco-friendly graphene composite recovers gold from e-waste

24 Oct 2024

https://physicsworld.com/a/eco-friendly-graphene-composite-recovers-gold-from-e-waste/

#SolarPunkSunday #NoGoldMining
#EWasteRecycling #MetalsExtraction #Electronics #RareEarthMinerals #Recycling #NewTechnology #ShrimpShells

Gold extraction from e-waste gets 10x more efficient with new material

Developed by materials scientists at the National University of Singapore, the material is a type of sponge and 10 times more efficient at extracting gold from e-waste.

Interesting Engineering