Monthly Archives: December 2014

Indoor Air Quality and Environmental Health

Indoor Air Quality and Environmental Health
It is estimated that people spend up to 90% of their time indoors. (1)  As such, indoor air quality can have an immense impact on health and general quality of life.  Both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provide guidance based on research for indoor air quality but it…
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With Palynology We Can See the Tiniest Details

With Palynology We Can See the Tiniest Details
Palynology – the study of micro organic material such as spores, pollen, dinoflagellates and microfossils (1) - is a method employed by a range of disciplines all concerned with the environment. It is not an undergraduate degree subject due to its limited scope, and though there are some Master’s programmes in most countries, those wishing…
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Cold Hard Facts about Nuclear Power

Cold Hard Facts about Nuclear Power
Most countries in the western world have harnessed the power of nuclear technology for decades. Since the development of the atomic bomb, the human race has found other uses for this technology that still divides people – it provides power for our homes and has medicinal uses. Nuclear physics is a well-established division of the…
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Birds & Ecosystem Services

Birds & Ecosystem Services
The Value of Birds Birds are present throughout almost every habitat across the globe.  No matter where you go, there is always evidence of birds even if you don’t see the animals themselves.  Things like holes pecked in tree bark by woodpeckers or the remnants of a nest are indicative of the presence of birds. …
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Ambient Air Quality and Environmental Health

Ambient Air Quality and Environmental Health
Over 6,000 people became sick and 20 individuals lost their life in 1948 when a cloud of air pollution blanketed the town of Donora, Pennsylvania for 5 days. (1) Donora only had a total population of 14,000!  That translates to over 40% of the citizens suffered in some way.  The industrial revolution brought progress and…
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Nuclear Energy 101

Nuclear Energy 101
Out of all the ways we power the planet, nuclear energy may be the most divisive. When it first began as an offshoot of nuclear weapons programs, it seemed to promise unlimited electricity that would power a new atomic age. The first nuclear power plant came online in the USSR in 1954, followed three years…
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