Rocco Passafaro
Contributor
Ethanol, the biofuel made from corn and other plant materials, was once acclaimed as the solution to the United States’ dependence on foreign oil. Yet growing evidence, including a recent study from the University of Michigan, shows how the fuel is not reducing CO2 emissions as previously thought, but is instead contributing to the environmental demise of the American Great Plains,
Home to breathtaking views of the Cascade and Olympic Mountains and nestled between the waters of the Puget Sound, Ebey’s National Historical Reserve, located on Whidbey Island in the US state of Washington, is a thriving rural community, with a history of exploration and settlement. Originally populated by the Lower Skagit Native American tribe, land use has remained
In response to an alarming rise in the poaching of the African elephant population, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has announced a near-total ban on the sale of ivory products in the country, even across state lines. It will take effect on the 6th of July. While ivory import bans and restrictions have been in
Yellowstone was the United States’ first national park, created 140 years ago. It covers an area of nearly 9,000 square kilometres over the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Its natural wonders are well-known worldwide, making it a major tourist attraction with a record breaking four million visitors in 2015 alone. But with popularity, problems
Driven by an endless thirst for new technology, Americans keep buying new gadgets, leaving behind older models. The result is the accumulation of huge amounts of toxic electronic waste. Some companies show ethics and responsibility by recycling within US borders despite high costs and low profitability. However, most manufacturers, more interested in their profits than
A report has sounded the alarm about the dangers of global warming for the citizens of the United States. The report, The impacts of climate change on human health in the United States, was released by the country’s government in 2016. Climate change is causing a surge in mental and respiratory illnesses, allergies, deaths from
The 26th of April 1986 is still an indelible date in the minds of millions of people around the world. The explosion that destroyed reactor number four at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the former Soviet Union changed people’s perception of nuclear power forever, making them question its safety. Controversy regarding the death toll
It is “the largest mass poisoning of a population in history,” the World Health Organisation had said back in 2010. Now, a Human Rights Watch survey has found that arsenic contaminated water in Bangladesh is still drunk by 20 million people, exposing them to one of the most toxic chemical elements known to humankind. Those
The scientists and organisations involved in the Joshua Tree Genome Project are doing something unique: developing genetic tools that could save the Joshua tree from extinction. This unusual looking tree is found only in the hottest and driest place in North America, the Mojave Desert, in the southwestern United States. Important to the local Native
The bill against labelling genetically modified organisms (GMOs), nicknamed the Denying Americans the Right to Know (DARK) Act, has been voted against in the United States Senate thanks to the tireless efforts of advocacy groups and thousands of concerned citizens who called their senators. The controversial bill, drafted by the Grocery Manufacturers Association, and introduced by
Five years have passed since the 11th of March 2011, when one the most devastating natural disasters of our decade took place in Japan. The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant accident was the consequence of a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, so strong that it permanently moved Japan’s main island more than two metres to the east, which
