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]
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Would covering 10% of hydro-power reservoirs with solar panels generate as much power as fossil-fuel plants worldwide?
This article in the journal Nature, claims that:
Covering 10% of the world’s hydropower reservoirs with ‘floatovoltaics’ would install as much electrical capacity as is currently available for fossil-fuel power plants. ... nearly 4,000 GW
Now,…
einpoklum
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Do windmills in freezing climates require power so they don't seize up?
This graphic shared on Facebook, says windmills require active heating in freezing climates when not producing electricity. Its exact text reads,
Germany's millions of solar panels are blanketed in snow and ice... (not working)... It's 30,000 Wind…
Evan Carroll
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Are a third of the proteins we consume dependent on synthetic fertilizer?
In July 1997, Vaclav Smil wrote an article in Scientific American on humankind's use of the Nitrogen Cycle (emphasis added):
Synthetic fertilizers provide about 40 percent of all the nitrogen taken up by [cultivated plants]. Because they…
Barry Harrison
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Is Bhutan the only carbon neutral/negative country?
Twitter moments recently had a moment about Bhutan being the only carbon neutral country in the world: Why Bhutan Is All Alone in the Carbon-Neutral Nation Club and one tweet in the Twitter moments said
Here's why Bhutan is the only carbon-neutral…
Andrew Grimm
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Do Starbucks' new lids use more plastic than the previous lids plus straws?
Have recently seen this claim circulating Facebook:
The image goes to a post by a group called UnbiasedAmerica... but it looks like the original source article is the story Starbucks Bans Plastic Straws, Winds Up Using More Plastic from the Reason…
JeopardyTempest
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Are pets as bad for environment as cars?
In this article referring to a book the authors claim:
Taking the dog for a walk to the store would seem like a more
environmentally-friendly option than piling into the SUV.
Not so, say two New Zealand scientists whose new book claims pets have
…
sashkello
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Was Greenpeace ever sponsored by KGB?
I've heard the claim as urban legend many times. Allegedly in 1970s KGB has sponsored various Western "anti-war" movements, especially the ones that could hinder Western nuclear tests. Fact is Greenpeace was one of such a movements, created in…
vartec
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Is the equivalent of 2000 American football fields lost every hour due to drought and desertification?
BBC states the following
Approximately 12 million hectares (46,000 sq miles) are lost around the world each year as a direct consequence of drought and desertification. That's the equivalent of 2,000 American football fields every hour. To put that…
Gustaf
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Do banana peels take 2 years to decompose?
A Google search for "banana peel decompose time" gives the result: 2 years.
This claim is repeated in several reputable sources, such as: Popular Mechanics, The Guardian, and BBC.
However, primary sources are not provided: Popular Mechanics refers…
Arnon Weinberg
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Is there more forest in the Northern Hemisphere now than 100 years ago?
In April 19, 2019, there was a public debating event called "Happiness: Capitalism vs. Marxism" featuring Canadian psychologist Jordan B. Peterson and psychoanalytical philosopher Slavoj Žižek as the two speakers. During this so-called "debate of…
SSimon
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Do candles create more carbon dioxide than light bulbs?
During the annual ritual of Earth Hour:
...around one billion people are expected to switch off their lights for one hour as a political statement against climate change and fossil fuels, and in support of carbon cuts and renewable energy.
Bjorn…
matt_black
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Is it more environmentally friendly to stir hot drinks with pasta?
In the café where I work, somebody tried introducing pasta, spaghetti in particular, in place of purpose-made wooden sticks, for stirring hot drinks, as it was thought to be more "environmentally friendly".
A number of other people recommend the…
puppybeard
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Are biofuels environmentally friendly?
Both the EU and the USA have programmes to encourage the use of biofuels in gasoline and diesel. This is supposed to help reduce oil imports and help the environment at the same time.
But government subsidies and mandates have been criticised (see…
matt_black
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Does individual recycling have no observable global impact?
Maddox in his anti-SOPA statement makes following claim:
[people think that...] Painstakingly recycling every single shred of garbage in your home
makes a difference. It doesn't. Even if you, your neighbors, and
everyone you've ever met…
vartec
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Is photosynthesis 60% efficient?
In this article it is claimed that photosynthesis efficiency could be up to 60%.
The closest process to artificial photosynthesis humans have today is photovoltaic technology, where a solar cell converts the sun’s energy into electricity. That…
FluidCode
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