How Radiation Interacts with the Human Body
Oct 4, 2024 · The way radiation enters the environment or human body can affect what health outcomes researchers expect to see. Nuclear toxicologists investigate the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) of radioactive materials in the environment to understand the exposure risks more fully and better predict resultant health outcomes.
Environmental Impacts of Renewable Energy Technologies
Jul 14, 2008 · Solar power. Like wind power, the sun provides a tremendous resource for generating clean and sustainable electricity. The environmental impacts associated with solar power can include land use and habitat loss, water use, and the use of hazardous materials in manufacturing, though the types of impacts vary greatly depending on the scale of the system …
How is Electricity Measured? | Union of Concerned Scientists
Jul 14, 2008 · Watts are a measurement of power, describing the rate at which electricity is being used at a specific moment. For example, a 15-watt LED light bulb draws 15 watts of electricity at any moment when turned on. Watt-hours are a measurement of energy, describing the total amount of electricity used over time. Watt-hours are a combination of how fast the electricity is …
Health Impacts of Radiation Exposure - Union of Concerned …
Oct 4, 2024 · Acute exposure to radiation (as in direct contact with radioactive material or being near a nuclear detonation) can result in cutaneous radiation injury (CRI), a skin burn that can occur at radiation doses as low as 2 grays (Gy) or 200 rads 2, increasing in severity as the dose increases.At the site of a nuclear detonation, humans are incinerated; people farther away can …
How Does the Sun Affect Our Climate? - Union of Concerned …
Jul 16, 2009 · The Sun-climate connection. The Sun is the source of most of the energy that drives the biological and physical processes in the world around us—in oceans and on land it fuels plant growth that forms the base of the food chain, and in the atmosphere it warms air which drives our weather.
What is Solar Geoengineering? | Union of Concerned Scientists
Oct 29, 2020 · Scientists agree that we need to swiftly and dramatically cut emissions of heat-trapping gases. Also necessary: safely and sustainably removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and accelerating investments to prepare for the impacts of climate change.
Union of Concerned Scientists
The Union of Concerned Scientists puts rigorous, independent science to work to solve our planet's most pressing problems. Joining with people across the country, we combine technical analysis and effective advocacy to create innovative, practical solutions for a healthy, safe, and sustainable future.
How Nuclear Weapons Work | Union of Concerned Scientists
Sep 29, 2016 · Each piece by itself was not enough to constitute a critical mass (the minimum amount of nuclear material needed to maintain fission)—but by colliding the pieces, critical mass was reached and a fission chain reaction occurred.. Modern nuclear weapons work slightly differently. Critical mass depends on the density of the material: as the density increases, the …
Understanding Radiation - Union of Concerned Scientists
Oct 4, 2024 · When a radioisotope decays, it may emit energy (radiation) in the form of alpha or beta particles or gamma rays. If the energy of these particles or rays is high enough, that radiation can damage living tissue by ionizing, or stripping electrons from, atoms or molecules.Radiation can also be non-ionizing (in the form of visible light or heat), but for this explainer we are …
What is Sustainable Agriculture? - Union of Concerned Scientists
Apr 10, 2017 · Sustainable agriculture 101. OK, so sustainable agriculture is the wave of the future. But what is it, exactly? Sustainability has many facets. Environmental sustainability, for example, means good stewardship of the natural systems …