https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. China's sweeping efforts to clean up its air have delivered one of the biggest public health success stories of recent decades. Since the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan was launched in 2013, coal-fired power plants have been fitted with scrubbers, heavy industry has been modernized and pollution standards tightened, leading to an over 50% reduction in atmospheric particulate matter. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-china-emissions-policies-climate-problem.html Earth Sciences Tue, 10 Feb 2026 07:50:01 EST news689850775 As carbon emissions continue to be pumped into the atmosphere at record levels, it will be critical to recapture and sequester as much of these warming gases as possible. While technological approaches face many barriers before they can be scaled up, efforts to capture carbon can rely on proven, natural interventions, like blue carbon ecosystems (BCEs). UConn researcher Mojtaba Fakhraee makes the argument in a Nature Sustainability paper that strategic placement of BCEs can not only sequester carbon, but have the added benefit of helping with the restoration of another vital ecosystem—coral reefs. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-pairing-mangroves-coral-reefs-boost.html Ecology Mon, 09 Feb 2026 17:40:01 EST news689867295 A research team at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed an innovative urban food waste management framework by analyzing food waste data from 29 large cities worldwide, including Hong Kong, Beijing, and New York. The study shows that in cities with higher food waste moisture loads, such as Hong Kong, grinding food waste and diverting it into the sewage system is more effective than relying solely on landfilling. This approach can reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions by about 47% and lower total waste-management costs by about 11%. The research provides a new, quantitative basis for shaping food waste management strategies in cities around the globe. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-reveals-effective-food-treatment-sewage.html Environment Sun, 08 Feb 2026 10:00:08 EST news689442359 The world is warming. This fact is most often discussed for Earth's surface, where we live. But the climate is also changing from the top of the atmosphere to the bottom of the ocean. And there is a clear fingerprint of humanity's role in causing these changes through greenhouse gas emissions, primarily from burning fossil fuels. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-climate-fingerprints-human-atmosphere-bottom.html Environment Sat, 07 Feb 2026 09:30:01 EST news689356091 At the recent World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney proclaimed "a rupture" in the global "rules-based order" and a turn to great power rivalry. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-climate-based.html Environment Sat, 07 Feb 2026 06:10:02 EST news689259849 Implementing novel management practices in dairy farming, one of the commonwealth's major agricultural industries, could help alleviate a large source of both nutrient pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, according to a multidisciplinary team led by researchers at Penn State. Those practices include continuous cover—keeping fields covered with vegetation year-round—and anaerobic digestion—a microbial process that converts manure and plant organic matter, called biomass, into biogas—a combustible fuel consisting mostly of methane. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-simulation-grass2gas-biogas-dairy-emissions.html Biotechnology Fri, 06 Feb 2026 12:00:04 EST news689599560 Climate change and worsening environmental conditions have brought into sharp relief how we must reconcile development with sustainability. This issue is nowhere more starkly relevant than among the fastest-growing economies. Research published in the International Journal of the Energy-Growth Nexus that examined the BRICS countries, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, suggests that investment in education and training might play a significant role in reducing environmental harm, a role that has often been overlooked. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-human-capital-brics-linked-emissions.html Economics & Business Thu, 05 Feb 2026 23:20:01 EST news689519997 A combination of weakened atmospheric removal and increased emissions from warming wetlands, rivers, lakes, and agricultural land increased atmospheric methane at an unprecedented rate in the early 2020s, an international team of researchers report today in the journal Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-scientists-methane-spiked-early-2020s.html Earth Sciences Thu, 05 Feb 2026 14:00:03 EST news689519755 Researchers with Lehigh University's Center for Catastrophe Modeling and Resilience, led by anthropologist David G. Casagrande, have identified two urgent challenges the United States faces in adapting to climate change: a potential disaster insurance crisis and the lack of comprehensive relocation policies for communities facing chronic flooding. Their paper, titled "Climate Change and Insurance: Embracing Resilience for Private Market Survival," is published in Sustainable Development. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-resilience-bonds-solution-climate.html Economics & Business Mon, 02 Feb 2026 15:56:35 EST news689270161 Prior to the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, Americans lived in communities awash with lead from industrial sources, paint, water supply pipes and, most significantly, tailpipe emissions. A dangerous neurotoxin that accumulates in human tissues and is linked to developmental deficits in children, environmental lead levels have come way down in the years since, and so have human exposures. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-gas-proof-hair.html Environment Mon, 02 Feb 2026 15:00:15 EST news689244481 Sandstone beneath the North Sea could be used to store carbon dioxide, a study has claimed. The British Geological Survey (BGS) report shows how sandstone beneath the North Sea could assist with the U.K.'s plans for carbon capture and storage (CCS). https://phys.org/news/2026-02-north-sea-sandstone-carbon-dioxide.html Earth Sciences Mon, 02 Feb 2026 07:20:32 EST news689239140 Ditches and canals are the underdog of the freshwater world. These human-made waterways are often forgotten, devalued, and perceived negatively—think "dull as ditchwater." But these unsung heroes have a hidden potential for climate change mitigation, if they're managed correctly. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-emissions-ditches-canals.html Earth Sciences Sun, 01 Feb 2026 10:50:07 EST news688989009 Using a new method to track groundwater levels and greenhouse gas emissions, researchers uncover the climate impact of Southeast Asia's peatlands. In Indonesia, Malaysia, and other parts of Southeast Asia, vast areas spanning up to 300,000 square kilometers have emerged over thousands of years as plants grow and thrive in dense tropical peat swamp forests, then die and slowly decompose in waterlogged, low-oxygen conditions. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-tropical-peatlands-major-source-greenhouse.html Earth Sciences Fri, 30 Jan 2026 11:11:43 EST news688993861 A new study evaluating climate policies in 40 countries over a 32-year period finds that carbon pricing and taxation—combined with investments in renewable energy and research—are among the most effective tools governments can use to reduce CO₂ emissions. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-emissions-policy-carbon-pricing-taxation.html Environment Thu, 29 Jan 2026 18:00:04 EST news688837022 Wetlands make up only about 6% of the land area but contain about 30% of the terrestrial organic carbon pool. Therefore, CO2 emissions from wetlands are central to the global climate balance. In Denmark, the plan is to flood 140,000 hectares of low-lying land such as bogs and meadows as part of the Green Tripartite Agreement. Flooding such areas will slow down the decomposition of organic material in the soil and keep the CO2 in the soil rather than allowing it to be released to the atmosphere and contribute to the greenhouse effect. At least, that has been the rationale until now. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-wetlands-greatest-climate-benefit.html Earth Sciences Thu, 29 Jan 2026 10:34:45 EST news688905241 In Finland, the average age of passenger cars is among the highest in Europe, and the majority of traffic-related particle emissions are produced by ICE vehicles that are more than 15 years old. The worst polluters are old diesel cars without a diesel particulate filter. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-older-petrol-diesel-vehicles-particle.html Environment Wed, 28 Jan 2026 16:52:27 EST news688841521 Being in "holiday mode" makes tourists less environmentally responsible, according to a recent University of Queensland study. Researchers found that while tourists' core environmental values don't change, traveling can activate a "vacation place identity" which makes people feel freer and less accountable for sustainable behavior than at home. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-holiday-mode-green-habits-vacation.html Social Sciences Wed, 28 Jan 2026 16:11:16 EST news688839061 A new study using Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) has revealed land-use change—particularly deforestation and unplanned agricultural expansion—is dramatically intensifying heat waves across Africa, with findings that carry direct implications for Australia's warm climate. Although the research focused on Africa, the physical mechanisms behind this amplification are universal. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-silent-amplifier-extreme-ai-driven.html Earth Sciences Wed, 28 Jan 2026 10:10:08 EST news688817123 When astronomers look out into the cosmos, they see supermassive black holes (SMBH) in two different states. In one state, they're dormant. They're actively accreting only a tiny amount of matter and emit only faint, weak radiation. In the other, they're more actively accreting matter and emitting extremely powerful radiation. These are normally called active galactic nuclei (AGN). https://phys.org/news/2026-01-intermittent-black-hole-jets-cosmic.html Astronomy Wed, 28 Jan 2026 09:06:34 EST news688813562 Mangrove forests play an important role in the global carbon cycle, particularly within the marine carbon system. Growing along tropical and subtropical coastlines, these salt-tolerant trees are among nature's most efficient "blue carbon" sinks, capturing and burying vast amounts of carbon dioxide that would otherwise warm Earth's atmosphere. Much of this carbon is stored in thick, waterlogged soils, where it can remain locked away for centuries, making mangroves a major contributor to long-term coastal carbon sequestration. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-mangrove-methane-emissions-forests-powerful.html Earth Sciences Wed, 28 Jan 2026 07:00:01 EST news688647653 Human-induced climate change made the intense early January heat wave in Australia five times more likely, according to a new analysis by World Weather Attribution. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-climate-australian.html Environment Tue, 27 Jan 2026 23:10:01 EST news688741474 In its natural state, peatland is one of the largest carbon stores in nature. This is because the soil is so waterlogged and low in oxygen that dead plant material breaks down very slowly. The plants do not fully decompose but instead accumulate over thousands of years, forming thick layers of peat. When a peatland is drained for agricultural use, the water level drops and oxygen enters the peat layer. Microorganisms can then break down the old plant material much faster, releasing carbon that has been stored for many years as the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO₂). https://phys.org/news/2026-01-higher-cultivated-peatland-north.html Earth Sciences Tue, 27 Jan 2026 16:59:39 EST news688755541 After years of trying, scientists have finally created a stable superatom of copper, a long-sought-after chemical breakthrough that could revolutionize how we deal with carbon emissions. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-highly-stable-cu-superatom-carbon.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 27 Jan 2026 14:20:04 EST news688745688 Record forest fires, under-utilized agricultural residues like straw and husks and struggling sawmills have left Canada with an abundance of undervalued biomass. If carefully and strategically managed, this resource could become a powerful ally in the fight against climate change. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-biomass-play-key-role-canada.html Environment Tue, 27 Jan 2026 13:22:26 EST news688742522 New research indicates that restoration of peatlands can result in climate mitigation within just a few decades. In Finland, some 60,000 hectares of previously forestry-drained peatlands have already been restored, comprising mainly nutrient-poor sites with weak tree growth. In such cases, peatland plants remain viable and react rapidly to restoration, resulting in the formation of a thick new layer of Sphagnum moss. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-peatland-climate-mitigation-benefits-decades.html Environment Tue, 27 Jan 2026 11:51:14 EST news688737011 The adverse health impacts associated with emissions across the full life cycle of plastics could double by 2040 unless immediate action is taken, new research suggests. The study identified health harms at every stage of the life cycle of the plastics we use: from the extraction of fossil fuels, the feedstocks for more than 90% of plastics, and material production to their eventual disposal or release to the environment. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-global-health-impacts-plastics.html Environment Tue, 27 Jan 2026 04:17:13 EST news688709447 Even as global warming causes sea levels to rise worldwide, sea levels around Greenland will likely drop, according to a new paper published in Nature Communications. "The Greenland coastline is going to experience quite a different outcome," says lead author Lauren Lewright, a Ph.D. student in geophysics working at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, which is part of the Columbia Climate School. "Sea level in Greenland is actually projected to fall." https://phys.org/news/2026-01-sea-greenland-fall.html Earth Sciences Mon, 26 Jan 2026 15:07:42 EST news688662421 A new study combines drone data, satellite observations, and ground-based flux measurements to examine methane emissions from ruminants in Kenya. The research represents a pioneering effort to quantify methane (CH₄) emissions from livestock using drones in sub-Saharan Africa. It is also among the first field studies to measure methane emissions from camels, a largely understudied source. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-drones-satellites-methane-emissions-ruminants.html Biotechnology Thu, 22 Jan 2026 21:20:01 EST news688319329 Imagine computer hardware that is blazing fast and stores more data in less space. That's the promise of antiferromagnets, magnetic materials that do not interfere with each other and can switch states at high speed, opening the door to advanced computing and quantum applications. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-optical-technique-reveals-hidden-magnetic.html Condensed Matter Wed, 21 Jan 2026 15:42:37 EST news688232521 Ammonia is an essential chemical used across many industries worldwide. Beyond its traditional role as a fertilizer, it is also a promising liquid hydrogen carrier and low-carbon fuel that could help reduce reliance on fossil fuels. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-dual-chemical-looping-method-efficient.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 21 Jan 2026 14:31:25 EST news688228261