Covering some 40,000 square miles with an average elevation of 13,000 feet, the Atacama is located mostly in Chile. But its outer regions stretch into nearby Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. What's more, it's home to the driest spot on Earth.
Chemicals & Chemistry
This plant-based chemical is found in a number of growths, especially spearmint and caraway, and it's commonly used to flavor foods. In addition, there's an interesting chemical factoid here: Carvone actually comes in two almost-identical forms, which have different scents and flavors. Welcome to stereo-chemistry.
The liquid 1-bromopropane, also known as n-propyl bromide, is colorless and slightly soluble in water. It also has a sweet odor and it quickly evaporates into the air when released to the environment. Meanwhile, it has a range of industrial uses.
The pediatric group recently issued a policy statement riddled with chemophobic nonsense. Why are officials there whining so much? Here's why.
Though human noses get dismissed as amateurs as compared to the snouts on some animals, there is one compound where we do really well. We can smell geosmin, a chemical released by dead microbes at a level of 5 parts per trillion. That's right, trillion.
Plastic pollution in the ocean is almost exclusively due to the actions of Asia and Africa, not the United States. Banning straws and plastic bags will do nothing to solve the problem.
For do-gooders, the ends justify the means. Do-gooders believe they are saving the world, therefore any tactic is completely defensible. In Santa Barbara, selling a drink with a plastic straw could result in a $1,000 fine and six months in jail.
Some activists are claiming that a "cocktail" of harmless chemicals is somehow doing something greater than the individual harmless chemicals can. These people don't just deny chemistry, toxicology and biology. They deny simple arithmetic.
Asbestos is used in many building construction materials and vehicle products, due to its strength and ability to resist heat, fire and chemical and biological degradation. But as thousands of New York City residents are now aware, those who live near last week's steam-pipe explosion that sent a geyser of asbestos particles airborne, there's so much more to know about it.
This law firm shows no concern for the truth. It fits comfortably and profitably into our postmodern world, in which truth and lies are no longer distinguishable. Unscrupulous people can make a lot of money by exploiting the public's confusion over vaccines, chemicals and pharmaceutical products.
Lake Okeechobee, in South Florida, is being plagued by an enormous algae bloom. But what's causing the problem is not algae: it's a plant-like pathogen called cyanobacteria. Blooms from this type of bacteria are dangerous because they release a variety of deadly neurotoxins, which can kill humans and animals.
The NRDC, known for its phony chemical scares, may have outdone itself. The group used every trick and half-truth in the book in making a Facebook video claiming that Dow Chemical was using Nazi nerve gas on crops because the EPA okayed it. Good drama. Terrible science. As usual.