Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [environment]

Referring to the surrounding ecosystem of the planet Earth, its natural mechanisms and balances, and study of the effects of human interaction with it.

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Did the US ban the Volkswagen XL1 for being too fuel efficient?

There are dozens of articles similar to this one floating around claiming the new Volkswagen XL1, which can get 300+ MPG (0.78 L/100 km) in ideal driving conditions, has been banned in the USA because it is too fuel efficient and it would cut into…
MDMarra
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Shouldn't an electric car be thermodynamically at a disadvantage towards one with a combustion engine?

I have the greatest respect for the work of the Rocky Mountain Institute, but this recent blog post triggered my general scepticism towards electric cars, or more specifically, their fuel efficiency. This is how the RMI calculates the payback for a…
Hanno Fietz
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Is indoor air pollution higher than outdoor air pollution?

I keep seeing these claims, for example The indoor air quality is worse than the outdoor air, even in the most industrialised cities. but I'd believe that air pollution levels are highly variable based on what type of building you're in Is indoor…
InquilineKea
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Does the US Federal Government want to cut down and burn trees on a property to protect an extinct frog?

Edward Poitevent made a claim on the Tucker Carlson show that the government wants to take his land in Louisiana without paying, cut down all trees and burn it in the name of protecting an extinct frog. They claim [the frog] was there because they…
ventsyv
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Can magnets be used to clean laundry?

According to the Magnetic Laundry site, magnets can be used instead of detergent to clean laundry! For a "scientific" explanation, their video states: These magnets work at an atomic level to lower the surface tension of the water doing naturally…
Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE
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Is the net output of CO₂ from Nuclear Energy lower than the net output of other energy sources?

While CO₂ is not produced directly when producing electricity from nuclear power, it is obvious that obtaining the radioactive material and preparing it for its use in a plant inevitably produces some CO₂. Thus, the claim that nuclear power is CO₂…
Lagerbaer
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Solar energy in place of conventional energy sources

The first time I came across these arguments against solar energy was in "Overload" by Arthur Hailey. Admittedly, this is fiction, but the arguments seems to have some merit. Using solar cells to produce comparable amount of energy will need so…
rest_day
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Do people know when they're being looked at?

I've heard, and even once recall reading, that people have a sort of "6th sense" where they can tell if they're being looked at. From personal experience, there were many times where I felt I was being watched, turned around, and indeed - someone…
yydl
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Are towers being built in China that can turn smog into diamonds?

This article about a new project that builds towers that can turn smog into diamonds makes some pretty incredible claims. It claims that: Towers intended to turn carbon in the air into diamonds have been built in China. "The towers suck up polluted…
James G.
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Is 90% of the large fish biomass gone, when compared to pre-industrial levels?

According to this video only 10% of the fish biomass that was in the ocean during the pre-industrial era is left, due to overfishing. This claim seems to be based on a study by Myers and Worm which has been published 2003 in Nature. This seemed…
LeoR
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Does sharing a shower use less water?

From what I found on the Internet, a brief shower is more water efficient than a bath. I was wondering if there is any research about water use with more than one person using a shower? My gut feeling is that two people showering uses around 150%…
Diederik
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Did the fallout from American nuclear tests kill hundreds of thousands of American civilians?

A recent paper has been making the social media rounds, that estimates the number of American deaths due to radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons testing to be between 340,000 and 690,000 between 1951 and 1973. Here is one such article in Quartz:…
RToyo
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Does 80-90% of the environmental and health damage a car causes come from manufacturing?

Claim from the video The First 3D-Printed Supercar: How we make them [cars] is much more important than how we fuel them and whether they have a tailpipe or not. 80 to 90 percent or more of the damage, the environmental damage and the health…
Ben
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Can a person lose weight by being cold?

I encountered a person not wearing a jacket in cold weather. He said he does this to lose weight. He explained his theory: By allowing his body to lose calories (heat energy) to the environment, his body would have to burn more calories to stay…
RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket
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Is global warming irreversible?

I have heard countless times the perils of global warming and how we should all do our fair share to save the Earth for future generations. Here is but one example from an NPR article: "Global Warming is Irreversible, says Study" "People have…
Paul
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