Plastic pollution has quickly become one of the biggest environmental issues of the 21st century. Plastics that end up in waterways are the cause of millions of animal deaths each year when birds, turtles, fish and other marine organisms ingest or become entangled in plastic waste. Plastics contain toxic chemicals like PCBs and DDT that […]
Although you don’t need to pay for gasoline to fuel up an electric vehicle, driving one still comes with a carbon emissions price tag. However, according to a science advocacy nonprofit, the emissions associated with an electric vehicle throughout its lifetime — meaning production to driving to disassembly and disposal — are still dramatically lower […]
A new report from government researchers says high tide flooding along the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts is likely to worsen, reaching a nationwide average of three to seven days by April 2023 and 45 to 70 days per year by 2050. High tides driven by rising seas flooded coastal areas more than 500 times over the […]
The climate crisis is altering the U.S. temperature map, as cities all over the country break heat records. The temperature increases have become so severe that a new analysis by research organization Climate Central — which is made up of climate scientists and science communicators — has found that 16 cities in the U.S. are […]
New research from Stockholm University shows that PFAS in rainwater around the world are exceeding safe levels. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are chemical pollutants, often called “forever chemicals” present in many everyday items, like food packaging and clothing. The chemicals leach into the environment, affecting everything from the air we breathe to even rainfall. […]
A perspective published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences argues that the consequences of warming the planet beyond 3 degrees Celsius have been “dangerously underexplored” with few quantitative estimates of worldwide societal collapse or even eventual human extinction. “We know least about the scenarios that matter most,” lead author Dr. Luke Kemp told The Guardian. […]
Researchers from Texas A&M AgriLife of Texas A&M University have developed a new bioremediation technology using plant-based material and fungi that could take care of cleaning up per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. These pollutants, also called “forever chemicals” or PFAS, are found in soil, water, and even human and animal blood and may be harmful to […]
By Thomas Marlow, James R. Elliott, and Scott Frickel Climate science is clear: Floodwaters are a growing risk for many American cities, threatening to displace not only people and housing but also the land-based pollution left behind by earlier industrial activities. In 2019, researchers at the U.S. Government Accountability Office investigated climate-related risks at the […]
Scientists have long known that corals glow fluorescent in the deep, but, until recently, they didn’t know why. Now, a new study published in Communications Biology last month has an answer: to attract prey.