All Environment Stories
The following table provides selected links with additional information on mold and mold contamination issues in homes. Sponsoring Organization/Topic Internet Web Site Address Aerotech Laboratories, Inc. -Indoor air quality
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For decades, natural gas has been used to provide clean power to thousands of households and businesses nationwide. Today, more than 1,000 vehicles traveling U.S. roads are powered by
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Why should people use CFLs? Switching from traditional light bulbs (called incandescent) to CFLs is an effective, simple change everyone in America can make right now. Making this change
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Although wetlands are often wet, a wetland might not be wet year-round. Some of the most important wetlands are only seasonally wet. Wetlands are the link between the land
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Do you think all wetlands are the same? They’re not! Each wetland differs due to variations in soils, landscape, climate, water regime and chemistry, vegetation, and human disturbance. Below
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What is the energy payback for photovoltaics? Producing electricity with solar photovoltaics (PV) emits no pollution, produces no greenhouse gases, and uses no finite fossil-fuel resources. The environmental benefits
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Today’s U.S. geothermal industry is a $2-billion per-year enterprise involving over 2800 MW of electricity generation capacity, about 620 MW of thermal energy capacity in direct-use applications such as
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Not all changes in the climate are gradual. There is the possibility of greater changes in climate than current scenarios and models project. The long record of climate found
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Rising global temperature All climate models project that human-caused emissions of heat-trapping gases will cause further warming in the future. Based on scenarios that do not assume explicit climate
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Some continued warming of the planet is projected over the next few decades due to past emissions. Choices made now will influence the amount of future warming. Lower levels
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There is extensive statistical evidence from so-called “fingerprint” studies. Each factor that affects climate produces a unique pattern of climate response, much as each person has a unique fingerprint.
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Precipitation patterns are changing Precipitation is not distributed evenly over the globe. Its average distribution is governed primarily by atmospheric circulation patterns, the availability of moisture, and surface terrain
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Carbon release and uptake Once carbon dioxide is emitted to the atmosphere, some of it is absorbed by the oceans and taken up by vegetation, although this storage may
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Carbon dioxide concentration has increased due to the use of fossil fuels in electricity generation, transportation, and industrial and household uses. It is also produced as a by-product during
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Key Messages: Human activities have led to large increases in heat-trapping gases over the past century. Global average temperature and sea level have increased, and precipitation patterns have changed.
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Observations show that warming of the climate is unequivocal. The global warming observed over the past 50 years is due primarily to human-induced emissions of heat-trapping gases. These emissions
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What is this Series? this Series summarizes the science of climate change and the impacts of climate change on the United States, now and in the future. It is
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Ethanol is a renewable fuel made from plants. Essentially non-drinkable grain alcohol, ethanol is produced by fermenting plant sugars. It can be made from corn, sugar cane, and other
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With the weight of scientific data pointing to the changes in the environment due to increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases—called climate change—the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has
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Increasingly complex farm machinery is an essential contributor to the productivity gains of U.S. agriculture. Expenditures on farm machinery in 1995 made up 13 percent of total production expenditures.
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More than 20 million people in the United States are estimated to have asthma. Among children, it is the most common chronic illness. A substantial body of research, including
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Flip a switch and light up a room—what could be easier? Push a button on the TV remote control and be entertained. It all seems so simple that we
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The Earth’s crust is a bountiful source of energy—and fossil fuels are only part of the story. Heat or thermal energy is by far the more abundant resource. To
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In the United States, more than 100 nuclear reactors supply about 20% of our electricity. Worldwide, more than 400 reactors provide 17% of the world’s electricity. Nuclear power plants
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A National Cancer Institute (NCI) survey published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, March 20, 1991, showed no general increased risk of death from cancer for people
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What will happen to a hurricane that runs through this oil slick? Most hurricanes span an enormous area of the ocean (200-300 miles) — far wider than the current
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Introduction Those who depend on foreign oil for transportation fuel have seen prices roller-coaster between $5/gallon and $1.75/gallon and back up again. The economic impact of our dependence on
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When energy prices soared during the 1970s, most Americans recognized the inherent danger in the U.S.’s dependence on imported petroleum. Despite current complacency, the potential economic and national security
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Biomass Cofiring Cofiring is a near term, low-cost option for efficiently and cleanly converting biomass to electricity by adding biomass as a partial substitute fuel in high-efficiency coal boilers.
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The Benefits of Biomass Using biomass, such as energy crops, crop processing waste, and agricultural residues, to produce energy benefits the nation, especially rural areas. The U.S. Departments of
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Benefits Productive use of marginal lands Establish management practices for production of switchgrass as a potential alternative new crop Encourage rural economic growth and development Applications The results of
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Selection Weatherstripping can seal leaks around movable joints, such as windows or doors. You need to choose a type of weatherstrip-ping that will withstand the friction, weather, temperature changes,
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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is committed to advancing technological solutions to promote and increase the use of clean, abundant, affordable, and domestically- and sustainably-produced biofuels to diversify
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Advanced vehicles of the future will provide much better fuel economy and emissions savings than today’s conventional vehicles. However, there are only a few alternative fuel vehicles available for
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Another way to use renewable energy in your home is to use solar energy for water heating. Today’s systems carry a rating that tells you how well they’ll meet
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The following briefly describes renewable energy technologies that might be offered in green pricing programs or competitive markets in your area. If you do not currently have the option
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What is Renewable Energy? Certain forms of energy are called “renewable” because these fuel sources are constantly replenished and will not run out. Renewable energy—like the sun and wind—is
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Before you start landscaping, you must first develop a plan. The components of your plan could include deciduous trees and plants, coniferous forests of trees and plants, soil Berm,
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Widespread tree planting and climate-appropriate landscaping offer substantial environmental benefits. Trees and vegetation control erosion, protect water supplies, provide food, create habitat for wildlife, and clean the air by
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Are you looking for cost-effective yet eye-pleasing ways to lower your energy bills? Planting trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, and hedges could be the answer. In fact, landscaping may be
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