Rio summit exposes Guanabara Bay’s Dire Pollution

In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Guanabara Bay used to be a near-legendary paradise, with healthy mangroves, sandy beaches and a rich ecosystem. Sadly, decades of urbanization and deforestation have taken their toll, and today it is long-suffering from unprecedented levels of pollution. Since 1995, one-billion dollars have been invested in fighting the pollution.

When Sand Moves

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution oceanographers found that when sand moves, whether carried by tides, winds, or waves, it carries bacterial DNA with it.

Senate Panel Approves Sea-Level Rise Bill, North Carolina

Unfazed by a heavy barrage of worldwide criticism and outright ridicule by sources ranging from Scientific American to the “Colbert Report,” the N.C. Senate’s Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Committee approved a new version of a bill that restricts the use of scientific modeling in state and local public policy and regulations to predict future sea-level rise.