Tag: stanford university

Corn Ethanol: Study Says More Smog

New research out of Stanford University says ethanol-based fuels might
not be any better for the environment than gasoline. But as Dustin
Dwyer reports, that’s not expected to stop the drive to increase
ethanol use:

Transcript

New research out of Stanford University says ethanol-based fuels might
not be any better for the environment than gasoline. But as Dustin
Dwyer reports, that’s not expected to stop the drive to increase
ethanol use:


Researchers at Stanford University found that even while ethanol based
E85 fuel can reduce some harmful vehicle emissions, it increases
others.


The study shows that E85 can lead to higher ozone emissions, which
contribute to smog. And the study says that could cause up to 185 more
ozone-related deaths in the U.S. every year.


This isn’t the first study showing the possible hazards of ethanol.
Others have raised concerns about the impact corn-based ethanol could
have on the food supply, and how it could affect land use, but ethanol
supporters say it’s still the best available option to cut down on
foreign oil.


Ethanol remains politically popular, and Detroit automakers have
committed to making up to half of their annual vehicle fleets ethanol-
capable by 2012.


For the Environment Report, I’m Dustin Dwyer.

Related Links

Bird Extinction Rate Hikes Up

A new study indicates bird species are going extinct at a much faster rate than biologists previously thought. The GLRC’s Lester Graham has more:

Transcript

A new study indicates bird species are going extinct at a much faster rate than biologists
previously thought. The GLRC’s Lester Graham reports:


Researchers at Stanford University, Duke University and the Missouri Botanical Garden
conducted a more thorough analysis of bird data. The analysis determined the number of
bird extinctions since the year 1500 is a lot higher than previously estimated. Peter
Raven is with the Missouri Botanical Garden. He says the study, published in the journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows a lot more bird species have
disappeared.


“Which makes the extinction over the last 500 years go from about 150 to about 500,
about one a year instead of about one every three or four years.”


Raven predicts another 1,250 bird species will go extinct by the end of this century.
That’s a rate about 100 times higher than the natural rate before human influence started
changing the earth.


For the GLRC, this is Lester Graham.

Related Links

Relief on the Horizon for Allergy Sufferers?

  • To those who may recoil in terror from this picture, relief from peanut allergies may just be a vaccine away. (Photo by Mike Froese)

A new vaccine that reduces food allergies in dogs could
some day help people who suffer dangerous reactions to food like
peanuts, milk and wheat. The vaccine is also more evidence in
support of the so-called “hygiene hypothesis.” The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton reports:

Transcript

A new vaccine that reduces food allergies in dogs could some day help people who suffer
dangerous reactions to food like peanuts, milk and wheat. The vaccine is also more
evidence in support of the so-called “hygiene hypothesis.” The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Tracy Samilton reports:


Allergies to foods like peanuts have become much more common over the past 20 years.
Some researchers believe it’s because, as a hygiene-conscious society, we’re no
longer exposing our bodies to infections that stimulate the immune system and protect
us from allergies. Pediatrician Dale Umetsu of Stanford University mixed a component
of Listeria bacterium and peanuts into a vaccine. He then gave it to dogs
with allergies so severe that one peanut made them sick.


“After the treatment, the dogs could tolerate up, on average, to 30 to 40 peanuts,
so this was quite an increase and the effect lasted several months, at least,
after the treatment.”


Umetsu says it could be five years or more before a vaccine is available for human trials.
A vaccine could help millions of people with food allergies.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Tracy Samilton.

Related Links