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.
196 questions
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Was the concept of ecological or carbon footprint invented by fossil fuel PR to shift the blame for climate change?
Several sources claim that the concept of an ecological footprint or carbon footprint was invented by fossil fuel lobbyists to shift the responsibility for climate change from big oil to private ...
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Do car tires create more pollution than exhaust fumes?
The article Exhaust fumes don't pollute nearly as much as this part of a car
claims that tires cause more pollution than exhaust fumes.
Car tires are worse for the environment than exhaust fumes
In ...
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Has Azerbaijan "not had any environmental activist initiatives for the past decade"?
A long article about the Azerbaijani blockade of the (now former) Lachin corridor claims that:
Azerbaijan is an authoritarian country that has not had any environmental activist initiatives for the ...
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Do lost people tend to unintentionally walk in circles?
Is it fact/myth that when you get lost in the wilderness, you go round in circles?
Common belief has it that people who get lost in unfamiliar terrain often end up walking in circles. Although ...
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Was the 2023 Ohio train derailment the 'worst environmental disaster in US history'?
According to Impact Nottingham:
East Palestine, Ohio: Exploring The Worst Environmental Disaster in
the History of the USA
On 3rd February 2023, a freight train carrying various potentially
hazardous ...
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Does flying a small GA aircraft use less fuel than driving the same distance by car?
This is a notable claim by Friedrich Merz, head of the CDU party and a member of the German parliament:
„Ich bereue nicht, dass ich zur Hochzeit von Christian Lindner geflogen bin. Um es mal auf den ...
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Was plastic from a seaplane shot down in 1944 recently found in an albatross stomach?
The environmentalist website Ocean Sentry makes the claim (citing Calgary Herald) that:
The massive clockwise North Pacific Gyre is carrying plastic that is over 50 years old. Last year, plastic ...
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Does glass decompose in one million years?
Is there any authoritative reference to the claim that glass decomposes in one million years? I came across that figure multiple times (for example, 1, 2, 3). They often cite The New Hampshire ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Publication Bias in Climate Sensitivity Estimates
It is claimed by Rickova and Irsova, in a paper titled "Publication Bias in Measuring Climate Sensitivity" [A], that:
We present a meta-regression analysis of the relation between the ...
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Does 1 acre of hemp produce more oxygen than an equivalent amount (let alone 25x) of forestland? [closed]
I have a friend who likes to promote hemp on Facebook, and one of the posts had this "factoid":
Looks highly doubtful to me but I can't find any real supporting/disputing info.
Is there ...
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Did British homes increase greenhouse gas emissions by 4% in 2018?
According to this report from The Times,
Greenhouse gas emissions fell in every sector — including transport, industry and energy — in 2018, but emissions from homes went up 4 per cent, government ...
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Have 500 million mammals, birds and reptiles died in the 2019 Australian bushfires?
Several news sites have reported that almost 500 million animals* have died in the 2019 Australian bushfires. Example: article in news.com.au (Jan 1st 2020)
Ecologists from the University of Sydney ...
- 235
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Did the 2018 drought in Europe result in 2019 worldwide grain crop not meeting demand?
An essay on T-Online.de makes the following claim:
Schon ein einziger Dürresommer in Europa 2018 führte dazu, dass die Getreideernte in diesem Jahr weltweit den Bedarf nicht mehr deckt (noch gibt es ...
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Is the water used in coal burning power plants "never returned to the environment"?
According to a Duke University press release titled Replacing Coal with Gas or Renewables Saves Billions of Gallons of Water:
Water consumption – the amount of water used by a power plant and never ...
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Did Finding Nemo encourage people to flush pet fish down the toilet?
A Smithsonian article about goldfish starts out with (emphasis added):
The 2003 Pixar film Finding Nemo popularized the misconception that all drains lead to the ocean, encouraging young fans to ...
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Is food becoming less nutritious because of depletion of soil minerals and nutrients?
Over and over, I have heard and read claims that the soil growing much of the planet's crops is "depleted" and thus our foods do not have sufficient minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients.
Five ...
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Has ExxonMobil sequestered over 40 percent of all captured CO2?
From ExxonMobil's website on carbon capture and storage (CCS):
With a working interest in approximately one-fifth of the world’s total carbon capture capacity, ExxonMobil is a leader in one of the ...
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Does Germany produce more waste than the US?
According to the German Environment Agency, Germany produced 411 million tons of waste in 2016. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the US produced about 260 million US tons (236 ...
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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 ...
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Does carbon dioxide pollute the atmosphere? [closed]
Following the explosive growth in the use of coal for industrial processes, in which the UK from the late 1800s to the mid-1900s was memorably darkened with soot, the public became aware of "pollution"...
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Do vegan diets have lower environmental impact? [duplicate]
The Guardian has a 2018 article, Avoiding meat and dairy is the single biggest way to reduce your impact on earth, which is commonly brought up by my vegan friends:
Avoiding meat and dairy products ...
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Have we wiped out 60% of vertebrate populations since 1970?
According to The Guardian (reporting an analysis by WWF) humanity stands on the verge of an ecological catastrophe as:
Humanity has wiped out 60% of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles since 1970, ...
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Has regulated hunting never led to threatened or endangered wildlife populations?
Hunting advocates and various fish and game bureaus argue that hunting is an effective and needed means to control various species and manage wildlife. One such claim says that "hunting benefits all ...
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