Articles from Science for Environment Policy

Bee pollination improves crop quality as well as quantity
Bee pollination improves the shape, weight and shelf-life of strawberries, contributing a staggering EUR1.05 billion to the European strawberry market per year, new research suggests. By blocking bees from a set of plants, the researchers demonstrated the substantial effects of bee pollination on the quality of the fruit.
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What makes consumers buy alternatively-powered vehicles?
Better fuel economy, lower emissions and longer driving ranges are important factors for people considering the purchase of alternatively-powered vehicles (APVs), new research suggests. The German study also found that people would consider paying more for an APV if they could enjoy vehicle tax exemptions, free parking or bus lane access.
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High gold prices drive expansion of mining activity in the Amazon forest of Peru
Gold mining areas in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest expanded from under 10 000 hectares in 1999 to over 50 000 hectares by 2012, and now destroys more forest than agriculture and logging combined, new research has shown. Using high-resolution satellite imaging, researchers estimated gold mining areas to be twice as large as estimated by previous studies, which did not include the combined effects of thousands of small, mainly illicit, mining operations.
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Concrete and asphalt's green credentials could be improved through changes to production
Concrete and asphalt's environmental impact could be reduced by over a third through changes to manufacturing processes and the use of alternative raw materials, according to research. A scenario study based on life cycle analysis has indicated that using alternative types of cement in concrete and producing asphalt at lower temperatures could substantially improve the green credentials of these two common building materials.
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Black smoke pollution may have 'medium-term' delayed effects on mortality rates
Increased black smoke pollution was associated with increased mortality rates almost a month after exposure in a recent study. The researchers studied death rates in relation to pollution concentrations over a 22-year period in the city of Glasgow, UK, and found significantly higher mortality rates among residents at 13-18 and 19-24 days after increased exposure to black smoke.
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Fire patterns in Spain under a changing climate
A recent study has found that fire regimes have changed in Spain over the past 42 years. The pattern of changes has affected the number of fires and burned area, reflecting a changing climate and environmental conditions, such as land use changes caused by a population shift from rural to urban areas and modern fire suppression activities.
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