Bid for environmental rights pact to kick off in Paris
Politicians, legal experts and activists will launch a campaign in Paris on Saturday for a global pact to protect the human right to a clean, healthy environment.
Last update Experts uncover first molecular events of organ rejection, 1 hour ago
Environment news
Scientists apply fingerprint test for CO2 storage
A test developed by University scientists to check for leaks from carbon capture and storage (CCS) sites has been used for the first time.
Iconic river red gums threatened by rising CO2 levels
Australia's iconic and most widespread tree species the river red gum is under serious threat by rising CO2 levels and their survival may depend on curbing carbon emissions, a study led by The Australian National University ...
On California, the drought and the 'yuck factor'
Although hydrologists say California has emerged from its most recent drought, how cities get their water is weighing on the state's experts—now more than ever.
Satellite technology could help agricultural producers more accurately measure subsurface moisture
Agricultural producers could, in the future, make use of better forecasts to more efficiently irrigate their fields using a Purdue-developed technology that could more accurately sense soil moisture below the surface through ...
'City that never sleeps' wants to dial down the volume
Car horns, sirens, drilling, jet overflights and restaurants where diners have to yell to be heard—New York is one of the loudest cities in the world.
France marks hottest post-war June day as Europe sizzles
France marked its hottest June day since World War II on Wednesdayas overheated residents across swathes of Europe coped with another day of sizzling temperatures.
Anger in Nigeria's south over oil spill clean-up delay
Under a leaden sky in oil-rich southern Nigeria, young men hang around with nothing to do, covering their noses from the noxious fumes of the polluted swamp.
California named state with the worst air quality (again)
High ozone levels and a quickly growing population are making it tough to implement regulations to reduce pollution, says a Cal State LA professor.
Frequent hot summers in Europe/west Asia and northeast Asia after the mid-1990s
After the mid-1990s, the global surface temperature presented a significant warming trend. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the global mean surface temperature of the period from 2011 to 2015 has increased ...
Vegetation phenology variability based on Tibetan Plateau tree-ring data
In recent years, researchers have focused on how vegetation phenology on the Tibetan Plateau (TP), the Earth's largest surface area above 4000 m ASL, responds to rising temperatures. An increase in growth activity of high-elevation ...
Main forest fires in Portugal under control (Update)
The main forest fires that have raged in Portugal since the weekend, killing more than 60 people, were brought under control on Thursday, the civil protection agency said, but grief and anger smouldered across the country.
Starvation looms as food runs out in drought-hit Ethiopia
The Somali people of Ethiopia's southeast have a name for the drought that has killed livestock, dried up wells and forced hundreds of thousands into camps: sima, which means "equalised".
Pakistani citizens gasp for clean air
Furhan Hussain moved to Islamabad seeking fresher air, only to find Pakistan's leafy capital in a semi-permanent haze. Frustrated, he joined a vanguard of citizens monitoring pollution themselves amid a void in government ...
Poland says primeval forest should not be UNESCO natural heritage site
Polish Environment Minister Jan Szyszko, whom green activists have criticised for allowing large-scale logging in the ancient Bialowieza forest, on Wednesday called for the vast woodland to be stripped of UNESCO's natural ...
Oil, gas giants could waste trillions in a 2C world: report
Thirty percent of investments planned by oil and gas majors over the next decade could be wasted if the world economy retools to cap global warming at two degrees Celsius, researchers warned Wednesday.
Algae: The final frontier
Algae dominate the oceans that cover nearly three-quarters of our planet, and produce half of the oxygen that we breathe. And yet fewer than 10 percent of the algae have been formally described in the scientific literature, ...
Trash-picking seagulls poop tons of nutrients
At least 1.4 million seagulls feed at landfills across North America, which aside from the nuisance it might pose, is also a threat to the health of nearby waters, a new Duke University study finds.
Burn without concern: Research investigates fish mercury levels after burns
The USDA Forest Service in the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area (BWCWA) will continue to use controlled burns without worrying about fish health in associated watersheds, researchers say.
New flood study reveals America's most vulnerable communities
Floods are the natural disaster that kill the most people. They are also the most common natural disaster. As the threat of flooding increases worldwide, a group of scientists at LSU have gathered valuable information on ...
Accelerating rate of temperature rise in the Pyrenees
The Iberian Peninsula is undergoing climate change, with temperatures on the rise, and mountain ranges are not exempt from this trend. A team of scientists has analysed regional climate series from the Central Pyrenees for ...
Reducing water use in agriculture
A new LMU project explores ways of monitoring global water consumption. Its primary goals are to determine the total volume of water required for food production, and develop incentives to encourage the sustainable use of ...
Portugal forest fire smoulders as first victims buried
Hundreds of firefighters battled blazes in central Portugal on Wednesday as the funerals of some of the 64 people killed in the inferno renewed anger over the emergency response to the disaster.
Heatwave scorches Europe, from London to Siberia
Europe sizzled in a continent-wide heatwave on Wednesday, with London seeing Britain's hottest June day since 1976 as Portugal battled to stamp out deadly forest fires.
Urban agriculture only provides small environmental benefits in northeastern US
"Buy local" sounds like a great environmental slogan, epitomized for city dwellers by urban agriculture. But when it comes to growing fruits and vegetables in vacant lots and on rooftops in cities, is the practice really ...
Look inside your own pantry or fridge to find the top culprit of food waste
There is a good chance there are fresh vegetables in your refrigerator that will end up in the garbage instead of on your dinner plate.
In the Red Sea, coral reefs can take the heat of climate change
In the azure waters of the Red Sea, Maoz Fine and his team dive to study what may be the planet's most unique coral: one that can survive global warming, at least for now.
Research shows prevalence of microplastics within the Gulf seawater
Researchers in Qatar have documented the first evidence for the prevalence of microplastics within the Gulf seawater, specifically in the marine waters of Qatar.
Saying 'climate change' instead of 'global warming' decreases partisan gap by 30 percent in U.S.
On the heels of President Donald Trump's decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, a new Cornell study finds that climate-science labels do matter.
Questions swirl over Portugal fire's 'road of death'
Portugal's N236, now dubbed the "road of death", lies charred black from the devastating fire that swept from one side of forest to the other, trapping families and couples in their cars, and firefighters who had come to ...
Risky gold rush: Indonesia tackles illegal mining boom
Hulking excavators claw at riverbanks on Indonesia's Sumatra island in the hunt for gold, transforming what was once a rural idyll into a scarred, pitted moonscape.
Vietnam environment official sacked over mass fish kill
A senior Vietnamese environment official has been fired for negligence over a toxic waste dump that killed tonnes of fish in a major environmental crisis last year, according to officials and state media.
Corn better used as food than biofuel, study finds
Corn is grown not only for food, it is also an important renewable energy source. Renewable biofuels can come with hidden economic and environmental issues, and the question of whether corn is better utilized as food or as ...
Simple tactic results in dramatic water conservation, study shows
Rain or shine has new meaning thanks to an innovative, inexpensive and simple tactic developed by researchers at Florida Atlantic University that will really change how people think about watering their lawns. The tactic? ...
Science Says: Why some airplanes don't fly in high heat
When it comes to getting airplanes off the ground in broiling weather, it's not the heat or the humidity. It's the air density.
Researchers find new vehicle emissions to be deceptively clean
For years, automakers have been working to reduce pollutant levels coming out of motor vehicles' tailpipes. Airborne particulate matter, for example, is present in automobile exhaust and has been shown to contribute to tens ...
Could 'saline agriculture' be the future of coastal farming?
One of Europe's leading climate change experts detailed the extreme challenges facing farmers around the world at the latest in a series of industry briefings at the University of Lincoln, UK.
Cheering 1st day of summer? Not in Phoenix as temps hit 119
The first day of summer brought some of the worst heat the Southwest U.S. has seen in years, forcing flights to be canceled, straining the power grid and making life miserable for workers toiling in temperatures that reached ...
Scientists to explore meltwater at Greenland Cold War camp
Scientists in Denmark plan an expedition to Greenland's remote northwest to measure how fast ice is melting around a Cold War-era US military base, which risks leaking toxic waste into the environment.
Why the world needs to get smarter about water consumption
In 1900, just 15% of the world's population lived in cities. Now that proportion is over 50%, which is a lot of people. In fact, it means around 4 billion human beings rely on urban infrastructure to keep them warm, mobile ...
Zapping the ground with electricity to create detailed soil maps for farms
A University at Buffalo professor has devised an ingenious way to more quickly test soil in farm fields to make detailed maps of differing soil types. Those maps can then be used to design more efficient farming practices.
Lightning kills 22 in Bangladesh
Lightning strikes have killed at least 22 people in Bangladesh in the last 48 hours, authorities said Tuesday, a week after monsoon rains triggered a series of deadly landslides in the country.
Mixed conifer and beech forests complement each other in the use of resources, unless rainfall is low
Complementarity between Scots pine and broad-leafed species in the use of available resources such as water may increase the growth of mixed forests comprising both species compared with pure forests with only one. However, ...
Magnetic nanoknots evoke Lord Kelvin's vortex theory of atoms
(Phys.org)—In the late 1800s when scientists were still trying to figure out what exactly atoms are, one of the leading theories, proposed by Lord Kelvin, was that atoms are knots of swirling vortices in the aether. Although ...
Physicists settle debate over how exotic quantum particles form
New research by physicists at the University of Chicago settles a longstanding disagreement over the formation of exotic quantum particles known as Efimov molecules.
Self-folding origami: Chemical programming allows Nafion sheets to fold and refold
Plastic with a thousand faces: A single piece of Nafion foil makes it possible to produce a broad palette of complex 3D structures. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, researchers describe how they use simple chemical "programming" ...
New research reveals impact of seismic surveys on zooplankton
Marine seismic surveys used in petroleum exploration could cause a two to three-fold increase in mortality of adult and larval zooplankton, new research published in leading science journal Nature Ecology and Evolution has ...
Sun eruptions hit Earth like a 'sneeze', say scientists
Long-term power cuts, destruction of electronic devices and increased cancer risk for aeroplane passengers are all potential effects of the Earth being hit by a powerful solar eruption.
Researchers design sounds that can be recorded by microphones but inaudible to humans
Microphones, from those in smartphones to hearing aids, are built specifically to hear the human voice—humans can't hear at levels higher than 20 kHz, and microphones max out at around 24 kHz, meaning that microphones only ...
Predicting the future with the wisdom of crowds
Forecasters often overestimate how good they are at predicting geopolitical events—everything from who will become the next pope to who will win the next national election in Taiwan.
Dramatic differences spotted in chimp communities
Dramatic differences in chimp societies, discovered by researchers at the University of St Andrews, reveal variations in social status and sharing food, as seen in human cultures.
A single electron's tiny leap sets off 'molecular sunscreen' response
In experiments at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, scientists were able to see the first step of a process that protects a DNA building block called thymine from sun damage: When it's hit with ...
Firing up your car with lipids
Sometimes, when a science experiment doesn't work out, unexpected opportunities open up.
Energetic cost of the entatic state of cytochrome c quantified
(Phys.org)—A team of researchers at Stanford University has used ultrafast x-ray absorption and emission spectroscopy to quantify the entatic state of cytochrome c. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group ...
Bioengineers create more durable, versatile wearable for diabetes monitoring
Researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas are getting more out of the sweat they've put into their work on a wearable diagnostic tool that measures three diabetes-related compounds in microscopic amounts of perspiration.
CHESS mission will check out the space between stars
Deep in space between distant stars, space is not empty. Instead, there drifts vast clouds of neutral atoms and molecules, as well as charged plasma particles called the interstellar medium—that may, over millions of years, ...
Team launches 'comb and copter' system to map atmospheric gases
Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado Boulder have demonstrated a new mobile, ground-based system that could scan and map atmospheric gas plumes over kilometer ...
From strands to droplets—new insights into DNA control
A host of proteins and other molecules sit on the strands of our DNA, controlling which genes are read out and used by cells and which remain silent. This aggregation of genetic material and controlling molecules, called ...
Plants sacrifice 'daughters' to survive chilly weather
Plants adopt different strategies to survive the changing temperatures of their natural environments. This is most evident in temperate regions where forest trees shed their leaves to conserve energy during the cold season. ...
Jellyfish fluorescence shines new light on DNA copying
Scientists at the University of York have used florescent proteins from jellyfish to help shed new light on how DNA replicates.
Peering at the crystal structure of lithium
Elemental metals usually form simple, close-packed crystalline structures. Though lithium (Li) is considered a typical simple metal, its crystal structure at ambient pressure and low temperature remains unknown.
Fungal toxins easily become airborne, creating potential indoor health risk
Toxins produced by three different species of fungus growing indoors on wallpaper may become aerosolized, and easily inhaled. The findings, which likely have implications for "sick building syndrome," were published in Applied ...
In marine bacteria, evolution of new specialized molecules follows a previously unknown path
It's one of the tiniest organisms on Earth, but also one of the most abundant. And now, the microscopic marine bacteria called Prochlorococcus can add one more superlative to its list of attributes: It evolves new kinds of ...
Dutch astronomers discover recipe to make cosmic glycerol
A team of laboratory astrophysicists from Leiden University (the Netherlands) managed to make glycerol under conditions comparable to those in dark interstellar clouds. They allowed carbon monoxide ice to react with hydrogen ...
Critical gaps in knowledge of where infectious diseases occur
The scientific journal Nature Ecology & Evolution has published a joint statement from scientists at the University of Copenhagen and North Carolina State University calling attention to a serious lack of data on the worldwide ...
Scientists uncover origins of the Sun's swirling spicules
At any given moment, as many as 10 million wild jets of solar material burst from the sun's surface. They erupt as fast as 60 miles per second, and can reach lengths of 6,000 miles before collapsing. These are spicules, and ...
Subsidizing electric vehicles inefficient way to reduce CO2 emissions: study
Subsidizing the purchase of electric cars in Canada is an inefficient way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that is not cost effective, according to a Montreal Economic Institute study released Thursday.
A 100-year-old physics problem has been solved
At EPFL, researchers challenge a fundamental law and discover that more electromagnetic energy can be stored in wave-guiding systems than previously thought. The discovery has implications in telecommunications. Working around ...
How eggs got their shapes: Adaptations for flight may have driven egg-shape variety in birds
The evolution of the amniotic egg—complete with membrane and shell—was key to vertebrates leaving the oceans and colonizing the land and air. Now, 360 million years later, bird eggs come in all shapes and sizes, from ...
Quantum thermometer or optical refrigerator?
In an arranged marriage of optics and mechanics, physicists have created microscopic structural beams that have a variety of powerful uses when light strikes them. Able to operate in ordinary, room-temperature environments, ...
New efficient, low-temperature catalyst for hydrogen production
Scientists have developed a new low-temperature catalyst for producing high-purity hydrogen gas while simultaneously using up carbon monoxide (CO). The discovery-described in a paper set to publish online in the journal Science ...
Record UK rainfall in winter 2013-14 caused by tropics, stratosphere and climate warming
New research has revealed the causes of the UK's record rainfall and subsequent flooding during the 2013-14 winter.
Software on Mars rover allows it to pick research targets autonomously
(Phys.org)—A team of researchers form the U.S., Denmark and France has created a report regarding the creation and use of software meant to give exploratory robots in space more autonomy. In their paper published in the ...
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