Environment Archives - Page 2 of 4 - thesmartcityjournal.com

For stress relief, look at the trees

New research shows that introducing more natural features in urban landscapes can help improve city dwellers’ well-being It is no secret that the urban lifestyle affects mental health, and that nature could help ease mental health burdens. But how exactly can we make this happen? According to a new study conducted as part of the…

Researchers (MIT) develop a detector for continuously monitoring toxic gases

The material could be made as a thin coating to analyze air quality in industrial or home settings over time Most systems used to detect toxic gases in industrial or domestic settings can be used only once, or at best a few times. Now, researchers at MIT have developed a detector that could provide continuous…

Everest mountaineer’s letters digitised for the first time

So wrote the mountaineer George Mallory to his wife Ruth, the last letter he would write to her before his fatal attempt on Everest in 1924. His body would only be found 75 years later, in 1999 “The candle is burning out and I must stop. Darling I wish you the best I can -…

Landmark study definitively shows that conservation actions are effective at halting and reversing biodiversity loss

The University of Oxford has contributed to a first-of-its-kind review on the success of a wide range of conservation actions. The results, provide the strongest evidence to date that not only is nature conservation successful, but that scaling conservation interventions up would be transformational for halting and reversing biodiversity loss and reducing the effects of…

Oxford researchers comment on the plastic waste crisis for Earth Day 2024

Each year, Earth Day acts as a reminder of the importance of environmental conservation and sustainability, encouraging us to come together and take action for the planet For the 2024 Earth Day, taking place today, the theme is s ‘Planet vs Plastics.’ Oxford University researchers comment on the global plastic waste crisis, and the opportunities…

Study improves understanding of effects of household air pollution during pregnancy

Researchers from Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Women’s & Reproductive Health have found that pregnant mothers' exposure to air pollution from indoor stoves did not affect the development of their babies in any statistically significant way, challenging conventional wisdom regarding the impact of household air pollution on fetal growth The study, published in Lancet Global Health, was conducted in…

Smart City Sweden increases focus on water and the built environment

Will take part in Sweden’s major innovation investment for the 2030s, Impact Innovation, which will increase the pace of the green transition to a sustainable society A wide range of actors is collaborating in the Impact Innovation programmes, from business, public activities, academia and civil society. In total, about half a billion SEK of government…

Study: Global deforestation leads to more mercury pollution

Scientists quantify a previously overlooked driver of human-related mercury emissions About 10 percent of human-made mercury emissions into the atmosphere each year are the result of global deforestation, according to a new MIT study. The world’s vegetation, from the Amazon rainforest to the savannahs of sub-Saharan Africa, acts as a sink that removes the toxic…

Sensors made from ‘frozen smoke’ can detect toxic formaldehyde in homes and offices

Researchers have developed a sensor made from ‘frozen smoke’ that uses artificial intelligence techniques to detect formaldehyde in real time at concentrations as low as eight parts per billion, far beyond the sensitivity of most indoor air quality sensors The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, developed sensors made from highly porous materials known as…

Common Chemical Production Made Safer, More Environmentally Friendly

In a paper appearing in the journal Science, Manthiram's lab describes the development of a catalyst for producing a widely used chemical feedstock without the toxic and dangerous chemicals normally required for its production The chemical industry has long been shadowed by unwelcome images of billowing smokestacks and pipes discharging toxic effluent. Modern manufacturing practices…