Environmental Engineering & Toxicology

The U.S. Navy is enlisting the help of seals – but not the kind of highly trained special operatives with whom it usually associates. Real seals, specifically their whiskers, may be the key to a new way for ships and underwater vehicles to sense their environment, scientists think. When a fish swims by, a hungry seal senses the wake with its whiskers. It can tell characteristics of the fish, such as shape and size, and track the location even when it’s murky or dark. ...

Many environmentalists have expressed concern about the incoming Trump Administration, since several of the President-elect’s picks for cabinet appointments are people who question the human impact on climate. Many fear a government pullback from efforts to combat climate change. The Department of Defense, however, is continuing work to adapt its bases to deal with possible threats associated with a warmer planet.

Politics, capitalism, and energy poverty are combining in strange ways across India. The result looks like progress—sometimes.

About the segment: Last week a coalition of leading physicians, scientists and health advocates called for tougher regulation of chemicals in common household items — including flame-retardant furniture and food wrapping. We’ll talk with experts about how these chemicals could impact your child’s development, and about how to reduce your family’s exposure. We’ll also discuss the sweeping new federal law on toxic chemicals, which Congress passed last month.

Hunters and anglers should stop using lead products that can poison animals, a Nova Scotia wildlife rehab centre says. The Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Brookfield sees the results in sick animals who have ingested the lead-based bullets. Earlier this year they rehabbed an eagle nicknamed Birdzilla, which got very sick from lead poisoning. ...

Biologists have discovered high levels of pesticides and other contaminants from marine mammals in the tissues of endangered California condors living near the coast that they say could complicate recovery efforts for the largest land bird in North America.

Cornell University biological engineers have deciphered the cellular strategy to make bioethanol, using an anaerobic microbe feeding on carbon monoxide – a common industrial waste gas. “Instead of having the waste go to waste, you make it into something you want,” said Ludmilla Aristilde, assistant professor in biological and environmental engineering. “In order to make the microbes do our work, we had to figure out how they work, their metabolism.”

Editor's note: The profile was written by Friends of the Earth, the organization Kendra works for. Next up is Staff Scientist Kendra Klein who supports our agroecology work. She has over 14 years of experience as a writer, researcher and environmental advocate. Her areas of expertise are environmental sustainability, environmental health and food and agriculture. She talks with us today about why she joined Friends of the Earth and the role of women in the environmental movement.