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Beyond higher temperatures: Preparing for national security risks posed by climate change

Environment news

Beyond higher temperatures: Preparing for national security risks posed by climate change

When talk turns to climate change, certain images pop to mind—maybe polar bears on ever-shrinking ice floes, coral reefs drained of color, or more powerful hurricanes hitting the coast.

Environment

5 minutes ago

A global plastics treaty is being negotiated in Ottawa this week—here's the latest

Plastic pollution spans the globe, yet national policies are generally not effective enough, and have so far focused primarily on waste management rather than targeting the root cause. To make matters worse, the global trade ...

Environment

11 minutes ago

Vastly bigger than the Black Summer: 84 million hectares of northern Australia burned in 2023

It may come as a surprise to hear 2023 was Australia's biggest bushfire season in more than a decade. Fires burned across an area eight times as big as the 2019–20 Black Summer bushfires that tore through 10 million hectares ...

Environment

31 minutes ago

Ecosystems are deeply interconnected—environmental research, policy and management should be too

Why are we crossing ecological boundaries that affect Earth's fundamental life-supporting capacity? Is it because we don't have enough information about how ecosystems respond to change? Or are we unable, even unwilling, ...

Environment

41 minutes ago

Estimating emissions potential of decommissioned gas wells from shale samples

Extracting natural gas from shale formations can provide an abundant, lower-carbon footprint fossil fuel, but also creates concerns over increased methane emissions. A team led by Penn State researchers has developed a new ...

Earth Sciences

41 minutes ago

Study shows it's not too late to save the West Antarctic Ice Sheet

New research has found a "missing piece of the puzzle" of West Antarctic Ice Sheet melt, revealing that the collapse of the ice sheet in the Ross Sea region can be prevented—if we keep to a low-emissions pathway.

Earth Sciences

54 minutes ago

Laser-treated cork absorbs oil for carbon-neutral ocean cleanup

Oil spills are deadly disasters for ocean ecosystems. They can have lasting impacts on fish and marine mammals for decades and wreak havoc on coastal forests, coral reefs, and the surrounding land. Chemical dispersants are ...

Environment

2 hours ago

State's new law involving Puget Sound Energy aspires to set a course for the future

Over the past couple of years, Washington lawmakers have wrestled with a daunting task.

Environment

3 hours ago

Taiwan hit by dozens of strong aftershocks from deadly quake

Taiwan was shaken by dozens of earthquakes overnight and into Tuesday that left buildings swaying and some tilting, with the government saying they were aftershocks from a huge deadly quake that hit the island more than two ...

Environment

8 hours ago

China issues highest-level rainstorm warning after deadly floods

More than 100,000 people have been evacuated due to heavy rain and fatal floods in southern China, with the government issuing its highest-level rainstorm warning for the affected area on Tuesday.

Environment

8 hours ago

When red-hot isn't enough: New government heat risk tool sets magenta as most dangerous level

Forget about red hot. A new color-coded heat warning system relies on magenta to alert Americans to the most dangerous conditions they may see this summer.

Environment

8 hours ago

To accelerate biosphere science, researchers say reconnect three scientific cultures

Researchers who study Earth's biosphere tend to operate from one of three scientific cultures, each with distinct ways of conducting science, and which have been operating mostly independently from one another, find the authors ...

Environment

9 hours ago

Turning to nature to improve vital water treatment

Escalating industrialization, urbanization and climate change in Asia present a significant challenge to maintaining water quality.

Environment

21 hours ago

World's oases threatened by desertification, even as humans expand them

Oases are important habitats and water sources for dryland regions, sustaining 10% of the world's population despite taking up about 1.5% of land area. But in many places, climate change and anthropogenic activities threaten ...

Earth Sciences

21 hours ago

Taiwan hit by numerous quakes, strongest reaching 6.3 magnitude

Taiwan's capital was hit by a series of earthquakes overnight into the early hours of Tuesday, with the Central Weather Administration saying the strongest was a magnitude-6.3 tremor originating in eastern Hualien.

Environment

21 hours ago

Q&A: EPA finalizes phase-out plan for 'forever chemicals' known as PFAS

Long-term, low-dose exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS or forever chemicals, can hinder the immune system, interfere with hormones, and reduce the effectiveness of vaccines. It can also cause ...

Environment

21 hours ago

Record-breaking heat and humidity predicted for tropics this summer

A new statistical analysis of the interaction between El Niño and rising global temperatures due to climate change concludes that the approaching summer in the tropics has nearly a 7 in 10 chance of breaking records for ...

Earth Sciences

22 hours ago

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Research showcases Indigenous stewardship's role in forest ecosystem resilience

Oregon State University researchers have teamed with the Karuk Tribe to create a novel computer simulation model that showcases Indigenous fire stewardship's role in forest ecosystem health.

Earth Sciences

22 hours ago

Opinion: Environmental sustainability and consumption

One of the politically destructive strands of environmental advocacy criticizes material consumption and attempts to make people feel guilty for air travel and other forms of behavior that pollutes the environment.

Environment

22 hours ago