A look at our changing environment.
2023 and 2024 have been the hottest years since records have been kept. But above and beyond the upward march of average temperatures around the globe, there has been the phenomenon of distinct regions across the globe experiencing repeated heatwaves that are so extreme that they cannot be accounted for in any models of global […]
Livestock is responsible for almost 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Most of that is in the form of methane that cattle release when they burp. Grazing cattle produce more methane than feedlot cattle or dairy cows because they eat more fiber from grass. There are 9 million dairy cows in the U.S. but more […]
One concern that people have in replacing gas-powered vehicles with electric vehicles is the time it takes to charge them. Charging an EV at home from an ordinary 110V electrical outlet is a slow process; installing a 220V outlet speeds things up considerably but it still can take all night to fully charge a car. […]
Climate change is a major threat to coral reefs around the world. Ocean warming triggers coral bleaching – a stress response where corals expel the symbiotic algae essential for their survival. If coral bleaching is severe, it can lead to coral death. A new study led by scientists from Newcastle University in England suggests that […]
The wind and the sun are inexhaustible sources of energy, and we are tapping into them to produce electricity at a growing rate around the world. But neither of them is always available when we need them. When the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing, they don’t work. An opposite problem also exists. […]
Florida is very proud of its manatees. It has a county named after them and has pictures of them on license plates. These gentle creatures are part of Florida culture. But recent research indicates that manatees – also known as sea cows – might only be relatively recent residents of the Sunshine State. Manatees have […]
The world currently produces nearly half a billion tons of plastic each year. This is more than twice the amount it produced 20 years ago. Half of all plastics ever manufactured have been made in the past 20 years. Plastic waste is everywhere. About eight million tons of plastic waste escapes into the ocean each […]
There are lots of extreme weather events of all kinds these days. But there have always been extreme weather events. Climate change results in more extreme weather but not all extreme weather should be attributed to climate change. So, how do we know if an extreme weather event is a result of the changing climate? […]
Deforestation is one of the major causes of climate change and restoring and enhancing forests is a major activity around the world as a way to mitigate its effects. There are high-profile initiatives to plant millions of trees, but these projects are often ill-conceived and poorly managed. One of the most dramatic failures was the […]
The transportation sector is responsible for about a quarter of human-generated greenhouse gas emissions. Most of the energy used by transport systems comes from fossil fuels. The transition to electric vehicles – cars, trucks, and buses – is making a real difference. However, the emissions from the aviation industry have continued to grow faster than […]
Decarbonizing industries like steel and cement is a difficult challenge. Both involve emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide both from burning fossil fuels and from intrinsic chemical reactions taking place. A potential solution is to capture the carbon dioxide emissions and either use them or store them away. But this sort of carbon capture is […]
The average American spends about 90% of their time indoors breathing the air in our workplaces, homes, or schools. The quality of this air affects our overall health and well- being. Indoor air quality is an issue because many sources can generate toxic materials, including building materials, carpets, and more. But high levels of carbon […]
When farmers add nutrients to their fields in excess of their crops’ ability to utilize them, these excess nutrients can enter the surrounding environments and create environmental problems. The primary culprits are nitrogen and phosphorous. These fertilizer components emerge from fields and enter local waterways in surface runoff. Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign […]
Lithium is the critical component in the batteries that power phones and computers, electric cars, and the systems that store energy generated by solar and wind farms. Lithium is not particularly rare, but it is difficult and often environmentally harmful to extract from where it is found. Traditional ore sources are increasingly difficult and expensive […]
The sun is powered by fusion energy. Hydrogen atoms fuse together into helium atoms, liberating vast amounts of energy in the process. Our understanding of this process emerged early in the 20th century and by the 1950s, research efforts were underway trying to replicate the process on Earth. If it could be done, fusion would […]
Mangrove forests play a vital role in the health of our planet. They protect coastal regions by acting as natural barriers against storms, erosion, and flooding. The intricate root systems of mangrove forests, which allow the trees to handle the daily rise and fall of tides, also serve as biodiversity hotspots, attracting fish and other […]
Climate change brings with it many kinds of extreme weather. It isn’t just higher temperatures. It is changing patterns of weather and weather events that are rare or even unprecedented. Late October saw drought conditions throughout almost the entire United States. Only Alaska and Kentucky did not have at least moderate drought conditions. The previous […]
A pressing question from the recently concluded 29th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference in Azerbaijan is how to transition away from fossil fuels and speed up climate mitigation in line with the 1.5 °C global warming target. Keeping global average temperatures below 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels is crucial to avoid the most severe […]
In a year filled with unusually warm months, October 2024 ranked as the second-warmest October in the 175 years of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s records. It was just 0.09 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than the previous global record set just last year. In our part of the world, North America had its warmest October […]
Rare earth elements are a group of 17 elements that are used to improve the performance, efficiency, and durability of a wide range of products. More than 200 products across a diverse set of applications make use of rare earth elements. Although the amount of rare earth used in a particular product may not be […]