Where would Malibu be without its surfers and where would its surfers be without safe water?

That’s part of the driving energy behind the Legacy Park project. Construction has been launched this week as veteran wave riders joined Malibu City Council to reduce stormwater pollution in Malibu Creek, Malibu Lagoon and world-famous Surfrider Beach.

According to the L.A. Times, the sand breaking drew pioneering surfers Cal Porter and Richard Davis as well as Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, state Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), Assemblywoman Julia Brownley …

Tags: aluminum , beaches , cyanide , environment , Legacy Park , los angeles , Malibu , Malibu Creek , Malibu Lagoon , Marine life , ocean , pathogens , pollution , stormwater , surfers , Surfrider Beach , urban runoff

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It’s not unusual in California to see from 1,500 to 2,000 sea lion deaths on our beaches each year. But this year is off – way off – and no one can figure out why.

Starting in May and continuing through September, an unexpected onslaught of emaciated, young sea lions has been beached along the coast, requiring a tremendously heightened response among the marine mammal rescue networks throughout the state.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which coordinates these networks, is just as concerned about what is …

Tags: beaches , California , Canada , disease , eco , human interference , Marine life , parasites , pollution , research , sea lions , seals , toxins , waste

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A new study by University of California scientists finds exposure to local traffic-generated pollution increases a pregnant woman’s risk of developing preeclampsia (pregnancy-induced hypertension) and/or having a premature baby.

The study focused on a review of over 81,000 medical records that documented births in the Long Beach/Orange County area between 1997 and 2006. Having built a database capable of estimating what the pregnant women breathed within the three kilometres of their homes, the researchers examined the records to determine where the highest numbers …

Tags: air , birth defects , California , emissions , pollution , preeclampsia , premature birth

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Imagine your village’s water supply was about to be contaminated by nuclear waste from a nearby dump and the federal government simply offered to put a fence around it. If you were the Hopi Nation, you’d sue.

In the 1950s, the Bureau of Indian Affairs created an unlined, unrestricted dump a few miles from a uranium mill on Navajo and Hopi land. Everything from uranium tailings to medical waste has been dumped there over the decades. The dump was closed – covered over with sand and dirt – in …

Tags: contamination , drinking water , hopi , indian , native american , pollution , uranium , water pollution

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We’re already well into May – and that means it’s National Bike Month. To celebrate our favorite mode of transportation (sorry, Segway, try again next year), here are a few reasons to put feet to pedals.

Did you know…

…that cycling is almost comically efficient? You’re getting around 3 times as fast as walking but burning the same amount of energy. You’re like a car that does …

Tags: bicycle , cars , cycling , health , pollution , transportation

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Last year, it was widely reported that drinking water in many major metropolitan areas was contaminated with trace amounts of drugs. All types of drugs – everything from over-the-counter pain medications to antidepressants to prescription medication for high blood pressure and heart disease.

The drugs we ingest pass right through our bodies and are expelled in our urine. These drugs aren’t removed in the water treatment process and the water is released into our rivers and lakes, which serve as our water supply.

The chatter eventually died down with assurances …

Tags: contamination , drugs , groundwater , pharmaceuticals , pollution , tap , water

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There are few sounds in the natural world that are as soothing as the restless sea – so it’s a shame we’re drowning it out.

In yet another assault on the biophony, human beings are flooding the depths of the oceans with noise pollution, turning the formerly Silent World into a busy-sounding place. All humanity’s sea-going machinery send out vibrations – some of them very substantial indeed – and for marine creatures that have evolved to pick up the faintest of noises and communicate with …

Tags: biophony , conservation , environment , natural , nature , pollution , science , sea , sustainable

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According to a new study published in the recent Acta Pædiatrica journal, American women might be wise to skip the baby making during spring and summer months. The study, which analyzed the 30.1 million births in the United States between 1996 and 2002, found that there was an increased number of babies with birth defects born to those women who conceived in April, May, June, and July.

But what’s behind all this? Turns out this is the time of the year when there is also an increase

…

Tags: acta paediatrica , birth defects , correlation , month of conception , pesticides , pollution , toxicity , water

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British scientists have come up with a colourful and creative way to detect pollution in the sea. They have created a carp-shaped robot that looks like a fish, acts like a fish, but of course, isn’t a fish.

Each “˜robo fish’ is capable of navigating around without human intervention and has chemical sensors that  enable  it to sniff out potential hazardous pollutants.  Information collected can be transmitted back to shore in real time via WiFi technology.

These cute but costly ($29,000 each) little fellows are roughly the size of a seal and have …

Tags: detection , environment , Gijon , pollution , robot fish , robotics , science

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