Not so Pristine—Study Reveals Nanoplastic Pollution in High Alpine Locations A new study has uncovered nanoplastic pollution in some of the most remote high-altitude glaciers in the Alps, raising concerns about the far-reaching impact of plastic waste. The research, published in January 2025 by a team around Dušan Materić, Head of Research Group for Microplastics, Nanoplastics and Elements at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Leipzig (‘UFZ’), Germany, used […] Industry News Julia Schneemann | March 13, 2025 0 Comments
NASA: Snow and Haze in Utah – Why Salt Lake City is One of the Most Polluted Cities in the US With a population of 1.2 million people, the Salt Lake City metropolitan area is relatively small. However, outbreaks of smog and particle pollution occasionally make its air among the most polluted in the United States. That was the case between February 2-4, 2023, when data from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Air Now system measured fine particulate matter (PM2.5) rising […] SnowBrains | February 16, 2023 1 Comment
South Lake Tahoe, CA, Bans Plastic Bottle Sales The South Lake Tahoe City Council voted recently to pass a ban on the local sale of single-use plastic water bottles and updated regulations on polystyrene and plastic food packaging. The bill was first proposed In September, voted into place early in October by the City Council, and appropriately will go into full effect on the next Earth Day (April […] Brains Dana Andresen | October 31, 2022 1 Comment
The 9 Least Polluted States Who doesn’t want clean air and water? Not only do they make life more enjoyable, but they are vital to long-term health. U.S. World and News Reports used data from 2021 to rank states based on air and water quality, as well as pollution levels. Pollution was analyzed based on air and water emissions from industry and utilities. The data […] Industry News Brent Thomas | September 14, 2022 0 Comments
With the Final Push Underway, SCUBA Divers Have Already Removed 18,215 Pounds of Trash from Lake Tahoe Brought to you by the Tahoe Fund TAHOE CITY, Calif. (Nov. 10, 2021) – Despite a summer dive season filled with challenges, the SCUBA dive team that embarked on the effort to clean up Lake Tahoe is now well past the halfway point, having reached the west shore. The team has covered over 43.5 miles of shoreline since the clean-up […] SnowBrains | November 10, 2021 0 Comments
Why the Smoke Pollution From the West is the Worst It’s Been in 10-Years The story ‘Smoke Across North America’ first appeared on NASA Earth Observatory and was written by Adam Voiland. While plumes of wildfire smoke from western North America have passed over the northeastern U.S. and Canada multiple times each summer in recent years, they often go unnoticed. That is because smoke that spreads far from its source typically moves at a fairly […] Fire Firebrains | July 23, 2021 0 Comments
Colorado to Start Banning Plastic Bags in 2024 On average, a typical American family accumulates 60 plastics bags within only four trips to the grocery store, according to Penn State. Within a year, the average American family accumulates almost 1,500. Related: Jackson, WY Just Banned the Free Distribution of Single-Use Plastic Bags While that statistic may not appear too damning, plastic bags are produced with fossil fuels, which […] Industry News Breya Bergom | July 12, 2021 1 Comment
NASA: Local Lockdowns Brought Fast Global Ozone Reductions This article was first published by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at California Institue of Technology When lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic cut local nitrogen oxide emissions, the effect on ozone pollution was global and unexpectedly rapid. Related: Mount Everest is Visible From Kathmandu, Nepal for First Time in Living Memory As the coronavirus pandemic slowed global commerce to a crawl […] SnowBrains | June 10, 2021 0 Comments
Microplastics Found in Snow in Siberia, Russia Researchers recently found microplastic pollution in Siberia, one of the world’s most remote areas. These recent findings are another example of human pollution permeating the environment. Related: USGS Report: “It’s Raining Plastic”: Microplastics in the Mountains? At Tomsk State University, researchers found airborne plastic fibers in snow samples taken from twenty different Siberian regions. Snow sampled from the Altai Mountains, […] Brains Alex Mangels | March 25, 2021 0 Comments
Estimated 1.56 Billion Masks Entered Oceans in 2020 [arve url="https://vimeo.com/487781778"] Dominic Gawel | January 6, 2021 Likes Tweets 0 Comments
Tahoe Fund Donors Meet Tahoe Blue Vodka’s $100,000 Match to Clean Up the Lake The Tahoe Fund announced today that Tahoe Blue Vodka’s generous $100,000 match has been met, allowing the nonprofit Clean Up The Lake to begin its massive effort to remove trash around all 72-miles of Lake Tahoe this spring. Support to meet the match was overwhelming, with more than 135 businesses and people donating to the cause, including $25,000 from Vail […] SnowBrains | January 6, 2021 0 Comments
8,200-Pounds of Trash Pulled from Lake Tahoe Two of Lake Tahoe’s most famous and popular lakes, namesake Lake Tahoe, and Donner Lake, just got a little cleaner. Clean Up The Lake, a non-profit organization organized the summer-long cleanup. Their mission is to fight back against all forms of pollution, whether it’s on the surface or beneath. “We want to understand more of what’s going on under the […] Industry News Taylor Stephan | October 9, 2020 0 Comments
Microfibers From Denim Blue Jeans Have Been Discovered in the Arctic Denim blue jean fibers have been found in the Arctic, according to a new study. Denim is the most popular clothing in the world. At any one time, half the world is wearing blue jeans or some other form of denim. Given the number of blue jeans around the world, a group from the University of Toronto wanted to see […] Brains Alex Camerino | September 12, 2020 0 Comments
The Atlantic Hides 10 Times More Plastic Than Previously Thought The Atlantic hides 10 times more plastic than previously thought! The huge amount of plastic that populates the Atlantic Ocean puts all the species that live on earth at risk. Related: Mercury Pollution In The Deepest Part of The Ocean Worse Than Expected According to a worrying new estimate, the Atlantic Ocean could contain about 200 million tons of plastic garbage, […] Brains Sebastian Opazo | August 21, 2020 0 Comments
4th of July Fireworks Helped Produce Worst SoCal Air Quality in Over a Decade Even though it was illegal to set off fireworks in many parts of California during the 4th of July, it did not stop many in Southern California this year. The use of both legal and illegal fireworks produced some of the worst air quality in over a decade for the region. Related: Lake Tahoe Trashed by July 4th Revellers The […] Ryan Flynn | July 15, 2020 2 Comments
Mercury Pollution In The Deepest Part of The Ocean Worse Than Expected [arve url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkPGUIGLf2A"] Sebastian Opazo | July 3, 2020 Likes Tweets 0 Comments
The Danger of Cigarette Butts to the Ocean Ecosystem The ocean’s ecosystem is being harmed by one of the most frequent plastic forms of litter around the marine coast: cigarette butts. Billions of cigarette filters, also known as “butts or ends,” are everywhere, many of them around street curbs where they flow through the storm drain and finally end in the ocean. A recurrent spot where you can find […] Brains Sebastian Opazo | June 22, 2020 0 Comments
Alzheimer’s Found in Children of Mexico City; Airborne Particulates Worse Than We Thought We’ve always known dirty air is not ideal for human health. Air pollution is known to cause significant damage to your lungs and heart; the lungs inhale toxins and then the blood circulates them around to all your organs. But researchers are now confident that those particulates can destroy neurons in the brain, too. Related: A Massive 96% of National […] Brains Elliot Levey | June 17, 2020 0 Comments
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Predicted To Fall Almost 8% — Largest Decrease Ever The COVID-19 pandemic is delivering the biggest shock to the global energy system in 70 years, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency. NPR News covered the topic in a recent article and said: “Global energy demand is expected to fall by 6% this year, seven times the decline brought by the financial crisis 10 years ago. […] SnowBrains | May 2, 2020 0 Comments
Air Quality in Los Angeles, CA Best It’s Been in Decades | Traffic Down 80% Due to Lockdown Lockdowns enforced to help prevent the spread of coronavirus seem to be having unforeseen positive consequences. Yesterday we wrote about how the Himalayas can be seen from India for the first time in thirty-years due to reduced pollution, and this week analysts announced that the air quality in Los Angeles, CA is the best it’s been in decades. Related: India […] SnowBrains | April 9, 2020 0 Comments
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