A look at our changing environment.
Lightning is one of the most unpredictable phenomena in nature. Approximately 100 lightning bolts strike earth’s surface every second, and each lightning bolt can contain up to one billion volts of electricity. Lightning regularly kills both people and animals and sets homes and forests on fire. It’s also been known to ground airplanes. Researchers at […]
The global demand for copper and gold continues to grow. Copper is widely used in building materials, plumbing, and electronics. Gold is still highly valued for jewelry and coinage, but nearly a third of the world’s gold is now used in electronics. Both of these metals are getting increasingly difficult to find as many of […]
Hydrogen is frequently touted as an excellent source of clean energy that could be used as a fuel in vehicles, or as a storage medium for energy generated by wind and solar power. The challenge is that hydrogen is rather difficult and expensive to attain, and the most economical methods are not clean and green. […]
Solar geoengineering is a theoretical strategy for curbing the effects of climate change by introducing aerosol particles in the upper atmosphere to reflect some of the Sun’s radiation back into space and thereby cool the planet. It would basically be intentionally tinkering with the climate system on a global scale. The concept is fraught with […]
Globally, poor air is a serious problem. According to the World Health Organization, exposure to air pollution is linked to the premature deaths of an estimated 7 million people every year. In fact, 91% of the people on the planet live in places where air pollution exceeds WHO guideline limits. In the United States, air […]
In 2016, the City Council of Phoenix, Arizona adopted eight Environmental Sustainability goals for 2050 that lay out the desired long term requirements in order to become a Sustainable Desert City. Recently, a group of researchers from Arizona State University assessed how urban agriculture can help Phoenix, a desert city of 1.6 million people, meet […]
The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre is the world’s authoritative source of data and analysis on internal displacement. Internal displacement refers to people being forced to flee their homes or places of habitual residence but who remain within their country’s borders. Such displacements can be the result of conflict, violence, development projects, natural disasters, or climate […]
A new report issued by a coalition of 50 leading international institutions shows that low carbon initiatives in cities could reduce urban emissions by nearly 90% and support 87 million jobs worldwide by 2030. The report finds that implementing low carbon measures in cities would be worth almost $24 trillion by 2050. Cities are home […]
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is one of the greatest natural wonders in the world and it has been under siege by warming waters and ocean acidification. Widespread coral bleaching has damaged or destroyed large portions of the 1,400-mile long coral reef system. But the effects of climate change are not the only threat to the […]
Researchers have known about and studied the urban heat island effect for quite some time. Since large cities began to emerge in the 19th century, it has been understood that various aspects of the urban environment lead to warmer temperatures than the surrounding countryside. Researchers led by a group at Portland State University in Oregon […]
The Aletsch Glacier in Switzerland is the largest glacier in the Alps. Every year, it attracts thousands of visitors from around the world. The huge ice flow in the Upper Valais region of Switzerland is an Alpine tourist attraction second only to the Matterhorn. In the summer, meltwater from the glacier is an important water […]
A challenging global trend is that of deforestation in developing countries. But there are places where the opposite trend is happening. Nepal is one such place. According to satellite imaging, in 1992 forest covered 26% of Nepal. As of 2016, that number was 45%. To some extent, the forest regrowth was a result of policy […]
In many parts of the country, dams that sometimes date back as much as 100 years are being removed and are giving way to the revival of migratory fish and their river ecosystems. Since 1912, more than 1,600 dams have been removed in the U.S., but the pace of dam removal has greatly picked up […]
Latin America has become increasingly urbanized. In fact, about 80% of the region’s population lives in cities today and by 2050, that figure could climb to 90%. Transportation is the largest and fastest-growing source of energy-related emissions in Latin America and accounts for about a third of all of the region’s carbon dioxide emissions. Private […]
Online shopping giant Amazon has unveiled a Climate Pledge, committing to meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement ten years ahead of schedule, and to be carbon neutral by 2040. This is the company’s most ambitious push yet to reduce its carbon footprint, which currently rivals that of a small country. In fact, Amazon […]
The production of cement – which is the world’s leading construction material – is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for about 8% of global man-made emissions. Cement production produces carbon dioxide in two ways: from a key chemical process and from burning fuel to produce the cement. The process of making “clinker” […]
After several years of brutal flooding and hurricanes in the U.S., a distressing debate is emerging: if there is not enough money available to protect every coastal community from the effects of global warming, how do we decide which ones to save first. Recent research looked at the costs involved in providing basic storm-surge protection […]
One of the toughest classes of pollutants are per- and polyfluoralkyl substances, or PFAS, as they are known. PFAS are often called “forever chemicals” because they are extremely long-lasting and difficult to clean up. They are found in household products including non-stick pans, dental floss, water-repellent fabrics, and many others. They can be found extensively […]
Efforts to mitigate climate change typically face two major challenges. One is to find effective ways to reduce the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The other is how to raise enough money to implement climate mitigation strategies. Many proposed solutions to climate change, like carbon capture and storage, are complex, expensive, and in some cases, […]
The increasing use of solar and wind power has created a growing need for technology to store up the energy they generate for use when it is most needed. Historically, pumped hydropower has provided the largest amount of storage capacity, but it is limited to only certain geographic locations. Battery energy storage has been growing […]