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
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Which baby diaper is more Earth-friendly -- cloth or disposable?
We have a lot of friends who use cloth diapers, and I've heard some say that cloth diapers are actually more un-ecologically friendly than disposable diapers. I have a hard time buying that. I can find some sources going both ways online:
From the…
Hendy
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Does the production of a home PV solar panel provide a net benefit to the environment?
Considering everything that goes into producing a single PV solar panel; from obtaining the necessary materials, transportation etc. is there a net benefit to the environment over the lifetime of the panel?
A net benefit would be one in which less…
FarmerGiles
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Does the phase-out of incandescent light bulbs measurably reduce overall electrical power consumption?
Many countries are phasing out incandescent light bulbs. For example, in the European Union, various types of classic light bulbs have been removed from the market in the last years.
The claim is that this process will help reduce overall electrical…
Heinzi
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Does grass alone produce enough oxygen for life?
Over a work happy hour tonight, two employees were talking about their different lifestyles -- one likes riding four wheelers, which the other considers to be recreational pollution. Somehow the fact that the four wheel rider plants trees got…
Hendy
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Did fertilising the ocean with 100 tons of iron sulphate increase the salmon catch by over 100,000 tons?
In July 2012 American businessman Russ George, dumped 100 tonnes of iron in the ocean off British Columbia to encourage plankton growth and thus increase salmon stocks (link). It is now claimed that this has increased the salmon catch by over…
ChrisJP
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Is pollution the main cause of Notre Dame Cathedral's deterioration?
A 2017 Time article discussing the crumbling, wearing out, and water damage of France's Notre Dame Cathedral prior to the 2019 fire writes (emphasis added):
Notre Dame, which looms over the capital from an island in the center of the city, is a…
Barry Harrison
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Did we have a "global cooling" 40 years ago?
I was reading Superfreakanomics and the book argues that we had a global cooling period 40 years ago? Is that claim accurate?
Vinoth Kumar C M
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Did Canada go from 2.5 million protected lakes and rivers, to just 159?
This claim, apparently originating with the Canadian New Democratic Party, states that under the Harper government, the number of protected lakes and rivers has dropped dramatically:
On Facebook this image has received 1924 likes, 43030 shares, and…
gerrit
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Why do we not have vehicles that meet or exceed the MPG ratings of vehicles that were available in the 1990s
I'm seeing some conspiracy theories making the rounds which claim that car-manufacturers are intentionally making cars that aren't as fuel efficient as they used to be. They often point to the Geo Metro and claim it got 50 mpg, which is better than…
jshen
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Are drinking straws a minor source of ocean plastic pollution?
An opinion piece in Bloomberg: Plastic Straws Aren’t the Problem claims that drinking straws are a minor source of plastic pollution in oceans:
Yet even if all those straws were suddenly washed into the sea, they'd account for about .03 percent of…
Andrew Grimm
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Is replacing paper towels with electric hand dryer blowers beneficial to the environment?
I'm sure paper towels don't harm the forests, because they are made from reforestation crops. So using them only harm trees that were already destined to being cut.
I found this article that tries to compare the carbon emissions of each "paper…
ariel
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Is banning plastic bags beneficial to the environment?
There's always this big talk about plastic bags, but how much can you compare banning them to other measures?
Bottomline: Is it worth the whole media coverage about this issue, or is it just a pointless factoid to distract from other much more…
ariel
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Do trees soak up pollution?
You often hear a variation on the idea that plants "absorb" air pollution. For example, in a Yahoo News article on Beijing smog, the reporter writes:
The China Daily said there are also not enough 'green areas' in the city 'to help soak up the…
denten
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Was the "hole in the ozone" caused by CFCs?
Burt Rutan (the aviator) has put out a critique of climate change:
An Engineer's Critique of Global Warming "Science"
On page 7, this caught my eye:
Modern Human-Extinction Scares
...
• Hole in the Ozone layer, caused by CFCs, 1970s & 1980s
(We now…
Mike Elkins
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Do electric heaters with open heating elements "dry the air" or "burn up oxygen"?
There is a popular belief in Russia that electric heaters with an open nichrome heating element (red hot) "burn up oxygen" and "dry the air", unlike oil-filled ones.
Is it true that a Joule heater with an open heating element would reduce absolute…
Quassnoi
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