Tag: mercury

Biden EPA Tightens Screws on Coal Plants

A new proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would boost emissions standards for coal-fired power plants, heartening public health advocates and raising questions from the energy industry about cost and feasibility. It comes after a February 2022 EPA ruling that reversed a Trump administration action in 2020 on the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards…


Extraordinary Planet Alignment Seen in Hong Kong Early Morning Sky

At Hong Kong time 4:47 a.m. on June 24, 2022, reporters observed a rare astronomical phenomenon of “eight-planet alignment” at the East Dam, Saigon, Hong Kong. Mercury, Venus, the Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn could be clearly seen with naked eye, and the “five-planet alignment” could also be clearly photographed by cell phones, but Uranus…


‘Planet Parade’: 5 Planets and Moon to Form Cosmic Lineup in June — Here’s What You Need to Know:

Kicking off June with a cosmic showstopper, a five-planet parade has already begun gracing the morning sky and will continue to greet early risers for the rest of the month. A rare gathering of several visible planets, which we’ve been enjoying in the predawn heavens for the last few months — including several close conjunctions…


Australian Chemists Develop Way to Extract Mercury from Water Using Waste Material

With mercury contamination of water a global problem and removal measures often too difficult or expensive in developing countries, experts from Flinders University South Australia have developed a new extraction material capable of quickly binding almost all mercury in polluted water. Tests showed that the sorbent, made entirely from low-cost waste from petroleum, citrus, and…


What Is a Vaccine-Friendly Plan?

When my children were 7, 5, and almost 3, our family moved to West Africa for a year. I’d been awarded a Fulbright grant to teach 19th-century American literature to English majors at the University of Abdou Moumouni in Niamey, Niger, as well as to do research on small-scale development projects. We went to our…


European-Japanese Space Mission Gets First Glimpse of Mercury

BERLIN—A joint European-Japanese spacecraft got its first glimpse of Mercury as it swung by the solar system’s innermost planet while on a mission to deliver two probes into orbit in 2025. The BepiColombo mission made the first of six flybys of Mercury at 7:34 p.m. EST Friday, using the planet’s gravity to slow the spacecraft…


A Return to Divine Beauty: Socrates and Phaedrus

The Eye of the Beholder: Reflecting on the Purpose of Beauty and Art We’ve all heard the phrase “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” but what does this mean and does it hold weight? In this series, we’ll take a casual look at the philosophical debates concerning our experiences with beauty and art….