How Do New Zealand Lakes Compare in Plastic Pollution to the Rest of the World?
Deniz Özkundakci, University of Waikato Photo by Sarah Precious on Unsplash The level of microplastic pollution in New Zealand lakes is comparable with those in the US or Europe, despite much lower population densities, according to our global analysis of...
Is Biodegradable Plastic the Answer to Consumerism and Climate Change?
Biodegradable plastic could change the future of consumerism and its impact on climate change, thinks Dr. Heon Park, a Senior Lecturer in Chemical and Process Engineering at the University of Canterbury. While acknowledging that petroleum-based plastic poses long-term...
How can we make our air cleaner and fresher?
Our researchers investigate what’s really in the air we breathe and how we can make it cleaner and fresher in our urban areas. The wood burner crackles away merrily, spreading warmth throughout your home. Its smoke goes up the chimney and out of sight. But you may be...
How can we limit destruction from oil pollution in the transition to renewables? 🔊
On October 22, 2021, evidence of a major oil spill off the coast of California was reported. A pipeline spilt an estimated 30,000 gallons of oil into the ocean and onto the beaches. This oil spill caused significant environmental, ecological, and economic damage. What...
How do microplastics impact the environment and our health?
By Laura Revell Microplastics are in the air we breathe and in Earth’s atmosphere, and they affect the climate. Microplastics are found in the most remote places on land and in the ocean as well as in our food. Now several studies around the world have confirmed they...
Could space junk prevent future space exploration?
By Laura Pirovano There’s too much junk in space and a real need to know where it is moving, to protect important spacecraft and satellites, writes Laura Pirovano. Space – vast and almost empty. This has always been our view and it has hardly changed even with...
How can we get New Zealanders out of their cars?
By Timothy Welch To get New Zealanders out of their cars we’ll need to start charging the true cost of driving. In light of last week’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report confirming human activity is “unequivocally” driving global warming, here’s a...
What is the impact of air pollution on life expectancy?
By Nilakshi Waidyatillake, Mark Stevenson & Shyamali Dharmage Air pollution is already having devastating effects on human health, now a new study shows how particulate matter in the air is associated with premature deaths. Since early 2020, when much of the world...
How can we clean up space?
By Gilbert Wong Space might be the final frontier, but, like all frontiers it’s strewn with junk. Luckily, Professor Guglielmo Aglietti, director of the Auckland Space Institute has a plan. Three giant monitors line the front of the Mission Operations Control Centre...Subscribe by Email
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