Environment

  1. Science & Society

    In the battle of human vs. water, ‘Water Always Wins’

    In her new book, environmental journalist Erica Gies follows people who are looking for better solutions to extreme droughts and floods.

    By
  2. Environment

    Flower shape and size impact bees’ chances of catching gut parasites

    Bumblebees have higher chances of contracting a gut parasite from short, wide flowers than from blooms with other shapes, experiments show.

    By
  3. Environment

    How to build better ice towers for drinking water and irrigation

    “Ice stupas” emerged in 2014 as a way to cope with climate change shrinking glaciers. Automation could help improve the cones’ construction.

    By
  4. Environment

    Earth’s oldest known wildfires raged 430 million years ago

    430-million-year-old fossilized charcoal suggests atmospheric oxygen levels of at least 16 percent, the amount needed for fire to take hold and spread.

    By
  5. Ecosystems

    Just 3 ingredients can quickly destroy widely used PFAS ‘forever chemicals’

    Ultraviolet light, sulfite and iodide break down enduring PFAS molecules faster and more thoroughly than other UV-based methods.

    By
  6. Ecosystems

    Biocrusts reduce global dust emissions by 60 percent

    Lichens and other microbes construct biological soil crusts that concentrate nutrients and slash global dust emissions.

    By
  7. Agriculture

    These six foods may become more popular as the planet warms

    Millet, kelp, Bambara groundnut and cassava are resilient, sustainable and nutrient dense — good options for future dinner plates.

    By
  8. Climate

    Replacing some meat with microbial protein could help fight climate change

    Just a 20 percent substitution could cut deforestation rates and land-use CO2 emissions by more than half by 2050, a new study suggests.

    By
  9. Climate

    Coastal cities around the globe are sinking

    Of 99 coastal cities, nearly one-third are sinking in some places at more than a centimeter per year, making them more vulnerable to rising seas.

    By
  10. Agriculture

    More than 57 billion tons of soil have eroded in the U.S. Midwest

    Researchers discovered startling soil erosion rates in the Midwest. Farming has worsened erosion, but no-till practices and cover crops can help.

    By
  11. Climate

    A UN report says stopping climate change is possible but action is needed now

    We already have a broad array of tools to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, a new report finds. Now we just have to use them.

    By and
  12. Climate

    Wally Broecker divined how the climate could suddenly shift

    Wally Broecker’s insight into the shutdown of the great ocean conveyor belt spurred the study of abrupt climate change.

    By