Green Science

Green Science is the application of eco-friendly thinking to scientific disciplines. Learn about global warming, pollution and other impacts on nature and the planet, plus what we can do to combat them.

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Climate change is the defining issue of our time, and we are at a defining moment of history. What can you do to make a difference? We've got 10 tips for you.

By Katie Lambert & Sarah Gleim

When you're camping, it's nice to have a light in your tent. But lanterns can catch fire and flashlights eventually run out of batteries. Does the sun offer a better solution?

By Julia Layton

The ozone layer prevents much of the sun's ultraviolet light from reaching the Earth. But there's a problem: a gaping hole the size of Antarctica. What can we do about it?

By Tracy V. Wilson & Julia Layton

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Artificial light lets us stay up through the night or feel secure in the dark. But those midnight noons push our bodies out of whack and confuse the natural world. Is there a fix for light pollution?

By Jessika Toothman

What if the land you relied upon simply blew away? In the 1930s, poor stewardship and crushing drought created black blizzards and an internal American exodus known as the Dust Bowl.

By Maria Trimarchi

Electrifying dance moves might impress your friends, but they usually don't help power the club you're dancing in. What's piezoelectricity, and how could it help twist the future of energy generation?

By Maria Trimarchi

If ranchers and landowners invest in grass banks, will their payout be nothing but green? Or is grass banking a temporary solution, delaying Mother Nature's inevitable bankruptcy?

By Jennifer Horton

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We've been warned plenty about the mercury content of fish. And most of us know our new high-efficiency CFLs also contain the shiny neurotoxin. So which source should cause us more concern?

By Julia Layton

Is the same substance that makes your shampoo so sudsy really going to give you cancer? Here's the real dirt on whether sodium lauryl sulfate is bad for you.

By Julia Layton & Valerie Stimac

Can you walk to restaurants from your home? Or do you have to hop in the car for every outing? How do you determine your neighborhood's walkability without taking to the streets yourself?

By Maria Trimarchi

When Thomas Malthus warned that the human population would eventually outpace Earth's resources, he wasn't anticipating the green revolution. So why do rising food costs have some folks worried we're running at capacity?

By Julia Layton

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Everyone knows air pollution isn't good for your lungs, but it turns out that it's not doing your heart any favors either. Why do the particulates in the air we breathe interfere with our heart's basic job: to keep things ticking?

By Julia Layton

The worst bad guys in the world of video games aren't virtual. Vampire power, overpackaging and energy-draining consoles make gaming unnecessarily bad for the environment. What are video game manufacturers doing to go green?

By Stephanie Watson

If you've ever seen a kid frying ants with a magnifying glass, you know that the concentrated power of the sun can create great heat. But what if that heat were applied to something a bit more productive -- something like cooking food?

By Julia Layton

It may look like a wasteland now, but a mysterious mound-building civilization once called Peru's arid valleys home. Did a shift in climate drive them to settle -- and eventually disappear?

By Julia Layton

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Ashes to ashes, dust to dust -- unless of course you've been embalmed, buried in a steel and hardwood coffin and interred in a concrete vault. For some people, the luxurious excess that accompanies traditional burial is no longer appealing.

By Maria Trimarchi

How do plants compare to solar cells when it comes to collecting solar energy? Would you get more power from an acre of ground by putting solar cells on it or by raising plants?

We want the ozone layer, but we don't want ozone pollution... Good in the atmosphere but bad on the ground? Find out about ozone pollution, how it affects you and what you can do about it.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

We know that paper comes from trees, but just how much does it take? Let's do the math and figure out how much paper your average tree can be made into.

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During the summer I am always hearing about ozone warnings in my city. This ozone is bad. But then I hear about the ozone layer, which is good. How can ozone be both good and bad?

What happens to all of that trash you put on the curb every week? It doesn't just disappear into a parallel universe. Much of it probably goes to the local landfill, and how it gets handled there is a very involved system.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D. & Patrick J. Kiger

Oil is a nonrenewable resource. Have we found all the oil there is to find, or is there more out there somewhere? What's the best way to wean ourselves from our oil dependency?

By Josh Clark

Wind energy is great, but what happens when there's no breeze? The Iowa Stored Energy Park will store compressed air underground. Can it replace traditional energy sources?

By William Harris

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Environmentalists have found a way to harness the military precision of missile-tracking technology for a decidedly nonviolent mission: replanting forests. So what do C-130 aircraft have to do with reforestation?

By Jennifer Horton

Plants absorb carbon dioxide and feed us oxygen. So it's pretty much a no-brainer: Plowing down our forests is a bad idea. What's driving the destruction? And is anything being done to stop it?

By Debra Ronca & Sascha Bos