/oss/taxonomy/term/745/all en /oss/article/student-contributors-health-and-nutrition-environment/where-there-smoke-there-are-air-quality-indices <p>I woke up from a nap to see a doomsday-esque picture outside the car window. My friends and I were driving back to Montreal during the <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/wildfire-smoke-montreal-has-worlds-worst-air-quality-today">poorest air quality day of the summer</a>, and the city looked near apocalyptic. The sky was orangey grey, the sun was invisible, and the air smelt strongly of smoke. As someone who lived in Ontario and Quebec most of my life, I’m unaccustomed to bad air quality caused by forest fire smoke.</p> Fri, 21 Jul 2023 14:37:26 +0000 Maya McKeown, B.Sc. 9571 at /oss /oss/article/environment-you-asked-general-science/why-my-dogs-pee-ruining-my-lawn <p>Most homeowners let their dogs use the backyard as their own personal toilet. Often after a winter of such potty practice, when the snow melts, you’ll often find your lawn speckled with unsightly yellow patches. First of all, what causes these patches? Dog urine contains a variety of nitrogen compounds. Too much nitrogen will burn the grass and create yellow patches. But appropriate concentrations of nitrogen can actually be beneficial to the lawn, which is why you’ll often see rings of thick dark green grass around the yellow patches.</p> Fri, 25 Sep 2020 15:53:36 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8425 at /oss /oss/article/environment-science-science-everywhere/everytime-you-turn-your-home-oil-furnace-or-drive-around-your-car-you-contribute-towards-making <p>Acid rain! Many gravestones are made of marble, which dissolves in acid. This means that if rain water is acidic, every time there is some precipitation, a bit of the marble is worn away. Acid rain can mostly, but not exclusively, be traced to human activity. The fossil fuels that we rely on extensively for heating and transport are the end product of the long term decomposition of plants and animals in the soil. The carbohydrates, fats and proteins that once made up these living creatures are converted into the hydrocarbons that make up the bulk of petroleum.</p> Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:26:07 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1881 at /oss /oss/article/you-asked/why-does-dog-urine-stain-grass <p style="text-align:justify"><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/?attachment_id=3220" rel="attachment wp-att-3220"><img alt="urine burn" height="150" src="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/files/2012/11/dog-150x150.jpg" width="150" /></a>Most homeowners let their dogs use the backyard as their own personal toilet. Often after a winter of such potty practice, when the snow melts, you’ll often find your lawn speckled with unsightly yellow patches.</p> <p style="text-align:justify">First of all, what causes these patches? Dog urine contains a variety of nitrogen compounds. Too much nitrogen will burn the grass and create yellow patches. But appropriate concentrations of nitrogen can actually be beneficial to the lawn, which is why you’ll often see rings of thick dark green grass around the yellow patches. This makes sense, since the main ingredient in lawn fertilizer is nitrogen.</p> <p><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/2012/11/17/why-does-dog-urine-stain-the-grass/">Read more</a></p> Sun, 18 Nov 2012 04:19:26 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1795 at /oss