Higher concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere generally increase plant growth and productivity. Plants take up more nutrients from the soil. But according to a new study, they also take up more toxic materials from the soil. Benjamin Duval from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and colleagues showed in a paper published this month in the journal Environmental Science & Technology that contaminants in the soil become increasingly mobile in vegetation and that these toxins could be... [Read more]

There’s been growing concern about the levels of mercury and chemicals finding their way to the Arctic, which is ending up in the fat of large mammals. Part of the problem is due to the way toxins travel around the globe, but also because animals like polar bears and Arctic foxes are getting leaner. As the extra fat burns away, toxins are released into the blood streams of these animals. Climate change could be exacerbating the problem for very different reasons. Nature News reports that environmental... [Read more]