Referring to the surrounding ecosystem of the planet Earth, its natural mechanisms and balances, and study of the effects of human interaction with it.
Questions tagged [environment]
191 questions
179
votes
4 answers
Does a webpage with a black background save energy?
Blackle is a search engine that claims to save energy because it uses a black background. Is there any evidence to back up their claim that a website using a black background will save energy, and if so, how much energy will be saved?
user1936
144
votes
2 answers
Do solar panels create 300 times more toxic waste per unit of energy than nuclear-power plants?
From Slashdot:
A new study by Environmental Progress warns that toxic waste from used solar panels now poses a global environmental threat. The Berkeley-based group found that solar panels create 300 times more toxic waste per unit of energy than…
user5341
- 31,075
- 8
- 130
- 178
123
votes
1 answer
Did Germany produce so much renewable electricity on May 8th 2016 that their power prices went negative?
This picture has been floating around the internet
On May 8th, 2016, Germany's solar, wind, hydro and biomass plants generated so much energy, power prices actually went negative.
Is this true? I was under the impression that while renewable…
David says Reinstate Monica
- 3,468
- 4
- 22
- 28
113
votes
3 answers
Do 10 Asian and African rivers generate 90% of plastic trash in the ocean?
I found this image shared on Facebook [Warning: image contains a bleeding turtle.] with the following text:
Your Straws Did NOT Do This
[image of turtle with foreign body in nostril]
Americans are being told we must risk our health with expensive,…
Tom M
- 1,001
- 2
- 6
- 9
107
votes
3 answers
Do coal plants release more radiation than nuclear power plants?
As a response to the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant I've heard the claim that fossil-fuel power plants using coal release more radiation than a nuclear power plant. I searched for some information and found an article supporting this…
Mad Scientist
- 43,643
- 20
- 173
- 192
104
votes
4 answers
Does the production of a Tesla battery produce as much CO2 as driving 200,000 km?
Recently I read on Greenpeace's website, that the production of a 100 kWh battery, as in the Tesla Model S, produces as much CO2 as driving a regular car for 200,000 km.
Source: Tesla car battery production releases as much CO2 as 8 years of…
user1721135
- 2,706
- 4
- 17
- 24
100
votes
2 answers
"One year without beef saves 3432 trees"
This statement is doing the rounds on Facebook:
Going one year without paper saves 8.5 trees
Going one year without beef saves 3,432 trees
Alas, as with so many of these 'claims' on FB, actual data is missing.
And in this case, the lack of units…
user22865
90
votes
3 answers
Does a car with a hybrid engine and Lithium batteries pollute more than a car with conventional technology?
You hear a lot of claims that, once you include manufacturing and battery replacement, hybrids pollute more than an efficient, more conventional engine. Are there any end-to-end studies measuring any type of pollution for both types of vehicles,…
Russell Steen
- 12,872
- 1
- 64
- 86
89
votes
2 answers
Are cars in Arizona melting in the 2018 summer heat?
Facebook just posted to my timeline this picture claiming that cars in Arizona are melting in the heat.
Is it true?
Pieter Geerkens
- 934
- 1
- 6
- 12
89
votes
1 answer
Does the Constitution of Bhutan state that 60% of Bhutan must be forested?
Transcription:
Did you know?
The constitution of Bhutan specifies that 60% of the country must remain forested.
-- MightyFacts.com
Title and picture is pretty self explanatory. Is the picture right?
bleh
- 1,571
- 14
- 24
60
votes
4 answers
Have several hundreds of thousands of people died because of the Chernobyl disaster?
The Wikipedia article on this is littered with [citation needed] and a commenter on hacker news linked to it while stating:
Chernobyl cost several hundred thousand lives. Let's hope and pray Fukushima will not exact a similar cost.
However I read…
Kit Sunde
- 18,636
- 12
- 93
- 127
59
votes
2 answers
Is there a worldwide helium shortage?
I've seen a number of news articles about scarcity of Helium lately, for example:
At the moment, helium is cheap, primarily because the US government built up a large surplus supply, then decided to get out of the helium business. But the Earth…
Jeff Atwood
- 1,289
- 4
- 24
- 27
58
votes
4 answers
Have we wiped out 60% of vertebrate populations since 1970?
According to The Guardian (reporting an analysis by WWF) humanity stands on the verge of an ecological catastrophe as:
Humanity has wiped out 60% of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles since 1970, leading the world’s foremost experts to warn that the…
matt_black
- 56,186
- 16
- 175
- 373
57
votes
2 answers
Does a dishwasher consume less water than manual dish washing
I've always heard the claim that a dishwasher is more water efficient. I can attest that I once washed the dishes with a clogged pipe, and put a bucket below the sink, and was appalled at the amount of water used, and this was while using low flows…
Gilad Naor
- 791
- 5
- 12
53
votes
9 answers
Is public transport less fuel-efficient than cars?
Someone who is opposed towards energy saving and climate change (I did not realise they existed until I met him) has told me that public transport (buses, trains and so on) are less efficient than individual cars.
I found it difficult to believe. A…
Thomas O
- 11,908
- 7
- 53
- 72