Imagine driving through the misty mountains of North Carolina, and suddenly, rows of lush, green Christmas trees come into view. This is the scene in Newland, a town nestled about 90 minutes from Asheville. Here, farmers have dedicated themselves to nurturing the iconic Fraser fir, a favorite Americ
Idaho's waters are vital for life and leisure, but many face pollution problems from farming, city runoff, and old mine waste. The Clean Water Act steps in with a tool called Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) to fix this. TMDLs set the limit on pollutants a water body can handle while still being sa
In a fascinating study, scientists modified sewage sludge from an enhanced membrane coagulation process. They tried out different alkaline conditions, temperatures, and time durations to see what worked best. The ideal mix turned out to be a high pH level, a warm temperature of 55°C, and a full day
Imagine a hidden battle playing out in the rivers of Curitiba, Brazil. The culprits? Three drugs—azithromycin, ivermectin, and hydroxychloroquine—used widely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientists dove into this issue, finding alarming levels of these medicines in both water and sediment from urba
In 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency reclassified ethylene oxide (EtO) as a hazardous substance. After 2018, when pollution from EtO started causing concerns, both federal and state regulators listened to the public but followed a cost-benefit approach that slowed down risk reduction. This a
Ever imagined using something as tiny as a grain of sand to clean our water? Scientists have found a fascinating solution with D301 beads. These tiny beads were tested with a common water pollutant called humic acid. Using advanced tools like 3D fluorescence spectroscopy, researchers discovered that
Imagine turning your leftover fruits and vegetables into a clean energy source. That's what scientists are exploring with ultrasonic pretreated waste. They're mixing fruit and veg waste with sewage sludge and using anaerobic digestion to produce biomethane. This isn't just about reducing waste; it's
You know how rivers are like veins, carrying water from one place to another? Well, dissolved inorganic carbon, or DIC, is a crucial part of this watery journey. DIC is basically carbon that's dissolved in water, and it plays a big role in the carbon cycle. Scientists studied two rivers in a big cit
Accurate information about rainfall is crucial for understanding risks like floods and droughts. Scientists recently created a new model using methods called Random Forest and Wavelet Multi-Resolution Analysis (RF-WMRA). The goal was to improve data about rainfall in the area along the Sichuan-Tibet
California is known for its strict car emission rules, making it one of the toughest states in the U. S. on this issue. Some fuel producers are now challenging these rules, taking their case all the way to the Supreme Court. The core of the dispute is a special exemption, called a waiver, given by t
