News by Subject Atmospheric Science

Historically, shared resources have often been managed with an aim toward averting "tragedies of the commons," which are thought to result from selfish overuse. Writing in BioScience (https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/biosci/biab052), Drs. Senay Yitbarek, Karen Bailey, Nyeema Harris, and colleagues critique this model, arguing that, all too often, such conservation has failed to acknowledge the complex socioecological interactions that undergird the health of resource pools.

For the most accurate accounting of a product's environmental impact, scientists look at the product's entire life cycle, from cradle to grave. It's a grand calculation known as a life cycle assessment (LCA), and greenhouse gas emissions are a key component. For corn ethanol, most greenhouse gas emissions can be mapped to the fuel's production, transportation, and combustion, but a large portion of the greenhouse gas calculation can be traced right back to the farm.

Glyphosate is an herbicide commonly used in forestry operations throughout British Columbia, Canada. Researchers investigated how the chemical may affect the reproductive health of prickly wild rose, a perennial plant found beneath the forest canopy. The new study, by the open access publisher Frontiers, found that pollen viability decreased by an average of 66 percent compared to untreated plants a year after the herbicide was initially applied, with traces of glyphosate persisting for at least two years.

Chemical additives used in plastic production have been found in herring gull eggs, new research shows.

Microplastic pollution of waterways has become a huge concern, with the tiny pieces of plastic entering food webs and potentially having harmful effects on animals and people. In addition, microplastics can act as breeding grounds for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Now, researchers reporting in Environmental Science & Technology have analyzed antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) on five types of microplastics at different locations along the Beilun River in China, finding much higher abundances in urban than rural regions.