Earth Wise

Globally, coastal areas are being squeezed between rising seas on one side and human development on the other.  The average distance from the high waterline to the first built-up area with human structures or paved roads is less than 400 yards around the world.  The narrower a coast, the sooner rising sea levels cause problems. […]

Concrete is the most widely used building material on Earth.  It has a dangerous and costly flaw:  it cracks easily.  Cracks in concrete can lead to inconvenient damage or to catastrophic structural failures such as collapses of buildings, bridges, or highways. Concrete is made by mixing crushed stone and sand with powdered clay and limestone […]

A new study by the Columbia University Climate School has found that all of the 28 most populous cities in the United States are sinking to some extent.  This phenomenon of subsidence is not just taking place in cities on the coast, where relative sea level is an issue, but also in cities in the […]

Floating photovoltaic systems – known as floatovoltaics – are becoming increasingly popular.  These are arrays of solar panels installed over artificial water bodies such as irrigation ponds, wastewater treatment plants, and reservoirs.  These projects maximize the space for producing clean energy while not taking up natural lands. Wherever there are bodies of water, there are […]

Carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides are two of the most problematic human-generated air pollutants that negatively impact air quality, the climate, and human health.  Satellites are an important tool for monitoring emissions of these pollutants, but they have limitations.  For the most part, satellites have limited spatial resolution, meaning that they can't reliably narrow down […]

Vertical farming has been increasingly used for leafy greens like lettuce and kale, as well as for herbs and a few fruits like strawberries and tomatoes.  A recent study by the Technical University of Munich has investigated the use of vertical farming for a much broader range of foods.  The study looked at the positive […]

After hiding underground for the last 17 years, billions of cicadas are taking to the skies this summer.  This batch of insects, known as Brood XIV, will cover more of the U.S. than any other 17-year brood.  New York and at least 13 other states – Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, […]

In April, the Trump Administration issued a stop order for the Empire Wind offshore wind project in New York, pushing the $5 billion project to the brink of collapse.  The project is being built by the giant Norwegian energy company Equinor.  When completed, the wind farm is expected to deliver enough electricity to power 500,000 […]

Researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada have developed a method for restoring peatlands at tens of thousands of oil and gas exploration sites in Western Canada.  A well pad is a prepared area used for drilling oil or gas wells, encompassing the site where drilling equipment, wellheads, and related facilities are located.  Preparing […]

As global temperatures rise due to increased greenhouse gas emissions, communities around the world face more frequent and intense heatwaves, droughts, and extreme weather events. These growing climate pressures not only strain infrastructure and natural resources, but also play a critical role in shaping where people live.  Recent projections from the First Street Foundation, which […]

Atoll islands are made from sediment produced by corals, clams, snails, and varieties of algae that secrete carbonate.  Under the right conditions, over time, fragments of coral skeletons, shells, and other sediments made by marine life are piled up by waves.  Eventually, islands are formed – some large and some small.  Atoll islands are home […]

Worldwide investment in renewable energy topped $2 trillion in 2024.  For Climate Solutions Week, we wanted to highlight some amazing projects around the world that showcase innovative technology, ambitious scale, and the commitment to a cleaner and sustainable future. In Morocco, the Noor Solar Power Station is a huge concentrated solar power facility that generates […]

Nature is often seen as a victim of climate change, but it's also one of the most powerful tools we have to fight it. Natural ecosystems, such as forests, wetlands, grasslands, oceans, and soils, absorb and store massive amounts of carbon dioxide. These ecosystems not only help reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the […]

Climate change is already affecting the yields of major staple crops around the world, and researchers warn that the impacts will become more severe over time. Rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, and more frequent extreme weather events are disrupting growing seasons and reducing agricultural productivity. Addressing these growing threats requires rethinking how we grow, distribute, […]

The Human Genome Project is one of the greatest scientific feats in history.  It was launched in 1990 and completed in 2003.  The international group of researchers wanted to comprehensively study all of the DNA – the genome – from a select set of organisms, foremost of which being that of human beings.  The results […]

Over the first several months of this year, hundreds of sea lions, dolphins, and seabirds have fallen ill or died after eating sardines or anchovies that had been feeding on an algal bloom along the California coast since winter.  The biotoxin in the algae accumulates in the feeder fish. Two cases of whales dying from […]

New studies have found that devoting a small percentage of U.S. farmland to producing solar power would benefit both the country's energy system and its farmers. Currently, about 46,000 square miles of farmland – about the area of Pennsylvania – is being used to grow corn to make ethanol.  One study looked at the impact […]

Beginning in 2013, a mysterious disease associated with a marine heatwave decimated the population of sunflower sea stars.  Those huge, colorful 24-armed starfish thrived along the Pacific Coast between Alaska and Baja California.  But in fairly short order, nearly six billion of the creatures perished, amounting to 94% of the global population.  California lost 99% […]

According to the American Lung Association's annual State of the Air report, at least 156 million Americans – 46% of the population – live with unsafe levels of ozone, particulate pollution, or both. The report analyzed ozone and particulate pollution levels between 2021 and 2023, during which the worst wildfire season on record took place […]

Slowing human-caused climate change requires decisive action.  But according to psychologists, the gradual rise in global temperatures can lead to climate apathy, especially among those who don't face frequent climate disasters. Climate apathy is a general indifference or lack of emotional or behavioral response to climate change and environmental issues.  People experiencing climate apathy may […]

The world is a big place but even things that are far away can have serious local consequences.  The effects of distant Canadian wildfires on air quality in Florida is a good example. Europe is increasingly becoming reliant on solar energy to meet its targets for climate change mitigation and energy security.   According to new […]

Feeding a global population projected to reach nearly 10 billion by mid-century is a massive challenge.  Wheat provides a fifth of the calories in the global human diet and is a significant source of protein, minerals, vitamins, and fiber.  Finding ways to increase the yield of wheat crops has great value.  However, wheat has complex […]

Urban areas can have a variety of green spaces:  gardens, parks, and roadside and median plantings.  It turns out that these spaces can serve as pollinator refuges. A study by researchers at the University of British Columbia found that reducing lawn mowing and creating pollinator meadows – essentially parks for bugs – significantly boosts pollinator […]

The aviation industry is a powerful force in the global economy.  In fact, according to some estimates, the industry transports the equivalent of nearly half the world's population every year.  But the world's airports were largely designed for an older era – a cooler one. As air warms, it becomes less dense, which makes it […]

Post-industrial cities often have large numbers of vacant lots, left behind as people have moved out of the area.  Local residents are often tempted to plant wildflowers to make these deserted spaces more attractive.  Wildflowers are an important food source for bees.  Pollinators like bees play a vital role in food production and attracting them […]

Wind turbines have been getting bigger all the time.  Larger turbines have real advantages.  They can operate at lower speeds so they can be deployed in more places.  They capture more wind, so they make more power.  Large wind turbines can have blades more than 200 feet long and even larger ones are on the […]

A new study has shown that the rate of ocean warming has more than quadrupled over the past 40 years.  The study, by researchers at the University of Reading in the UK, helps to explain why there have been unprecedented ocean temperatures in 2023 and 2024. Global ocean temperatures hit record highs for 450 days […]

Temperatures have been steadily rising around the world as a result of the increased greenhouse gas emissions from human activities.  This warming trend has led to more frequent and intense heat waves, droughts, and other extreme weather events.  Rising temperatures are also impacting human health, leading to increased risks of heat-related illnesses and a higher […]

As the impacts of climate change continue to mount up, there is increasing interest in radical intervention measures designed to keep a lid on rising global temperatures.  Such measures are fraught with potential dangers and unintended consequences but there is no guarantee that one or another of them might still be attempted in the future.  […]

Researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the U.S. Geological Survey have developed a radar-based volcano monitoring system.  The purpose is to provide situational awareness of volcano behavior and identify volcanoes that are becoming restless before other more obvious indications like earthquake activity occur. The system is called VolcSARvatory and makes use of interferometric […]

Peatlands are a special kind of wetland that have enormous potential for helping to mitigate climate change.  They are great at capturing carbon because their constantly soggy soils deprive decomposer organisms of the oxygen they need to break down dead plants.  Living plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and incorporate the carbon into their […]

There are about 16,000 operational desalination plants, located across 177 countries, which generate an estimated 25 billion gallons of fresh water daily. For every gallon of drinking water produced at a typical desalination plant, one and a half gallons of brine are produced.  Much of it is stored in ponds until the water evaporates, leaving behind […]

Atmospheric mercury is a toxic pollutant released into the air from natural sources—such as volcanoes and wildfires—and from human activities like coal burning and gold mining.  Once in the atmosphere, mercury can travel long distances before settling onto land or into water, transforming into toxic forms that threaten ecosystems and human health. But tracking atmospheric […]

Honey fraud is a significant issue for the food industry.  What is honey fraud?  Typically, it involves mislabeling where honey was produced or what types of flowers the bees collected nectar from.  Honey made from a single type of flower is often more expensive because of the unique flavor it provides or from potential health […]

Boise is the capital of Idaho, and the Idaho Statehouse is the only one in the United States to use geothermal heat.  Geothermal heating is possible in Boise because of fault lines that expose its groundwater to hot rocks.  The underground water supply in Boise is heated to around 170 degrees Fahrenheit.  It is the […]

Household products such as laundry detergents and dishwasher tablets are an indispensable part of everyday life, but such products contain all sorts of chemicals that have undesirable properties.  Many are difficult to break down when they enter the environment, and some add nutrients that trigger environmentally harmful algal blooms.   The ingredient lists for even what […]

The majority of commuter trains in the U.S. are powered by diesel fuel.  This is despite the fact that electric trains are quieter, more reliable, and produce fewer greenhouse gases than diesel locomotives.  A new study has found that electric trains are healthier for passengers as well. Caltrain carries millions of passengers a year along […]

Climate change is causing more frequent and intense heat waves in the United States. Studies show that not only are heat waves now occurring more often, but that the average heat wave season is nearly 50 days longer now than it was in the 1960s.  The overall rise in temperatures, linked to climate change, has […]

Mountain lions – also known as pumas, cougars, and even sometimes panthers – are the most widely distributed wild land mammal in the world.  They are found from Canada to South America.  There are an estimated 30,000 mountain lions in the United States, mostly in the West, but there are also mountain lions from the […]

Climate change is endangering many native plant species.  As the climate warms, many species will need to establish themselves in new places that are more hospitable than their historic ranges.  But many native plants in the U.S. cannot move themselves by natural forces quickly enough to avoid climate-change driven extinction.  For such plants to survive […]

Cargo ships are significant sources of global air pollution because of their fuel oil.  Most ships burn heavy fuel oil that is loaded with sulfur, so when it is burned it produces noxious gases and fine particles that can harm human health and the environment.  The International Maritime Organization enacted a mandatory cap of 0.5% […]

The iconic image of the “perfect” tropical beach is fine white sand, a few coconut palm trees, a gently sloping beach, and unobstructed views of the blue sea.  This image came about to a great extent from fascination with Polynesian scenery at the time of World War II.   And because of this imagery, beach resorts […]

Every year, millions of tires from cars and trucks end up in landfills.  Just in the U.S., more than 270 million tires were scrapped in 2021 and more than 50 million of them ended up in landfills.  Discarded tires take up huge amounts of space but, more importantly, create environmental hazards.  They leach chemicals into […]

Biodiversity is under threat.  More and more plant and animal species are disappearing and humans are to blame.  Humans cause biodiversity loss through habitat destruction, invasive species, pollution, direct exploitation, and climate change, all of which are significantly influenced by human activities. But until now, drawing broad conclusions about human impacts on biodiversity has been […]

Plastics are pretty much everywhere in the modern world including places we want them to be and places where we don't.  Conventional plastics are not biodegradable and instead cause increasing problems wherever they end up after their useful life.  As a result, there are global efforts to find environmentally friendly replacements for petroleum-based plastics. An […]

The current administration in the United States is adversarial towards renewable energy and highly supportive of the use of fossil fuels.  Unquestionably, this will create rough waters for the clean energy industry and, unfortunately, will throw a monkey wrench into the world's efforts to mitigate climate change.  But it cannot stop what has become a […]

Microplastics come from the breakdown of larger plastics in the environment as well as from direct use in various products such as certain cosmetics.  They are found everywhere, from oceans and mountain peaks to the air and water, and alarmingly, in our bodies.  They are ingested by all sorts of organisms, from tiny plankton to […]

Researchers around the world are working on what some call the ‘de-extinction' of iconic animals of the past such as the wooly mammoth, the dodo, and the Tasmanian tiger.  The idea is to decipher the genome from DNA of preserved specimens and, using the tools of modern genetic engineering and cloning technology, alter the DNA […]

The White House is considering an executive order that would fast-track permitting for deep-sea mining in international waters and allow mining companies to bypass a United Nations-backed review process. Deep sea mining is the extraction of minerals from the seabed in the deep ocean.  Most of the interest is in what are known as polymetallic […]

Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a new method for recycling plastic that is safer, cleaner, cheaper, and more sustainable than those currently in use.  The U.S. is the world's largest plastic polluter per capita, and we only recycle 5% of our plastics.  There is a pressing need for better technologies for processing different types […]

Bananas are one of the most widely produced fruits globally, with more than 100 million tons grown every year.  They are a key export crop worth approximately $11 billion annually. Bananas are also a staple food in many tropical countries, playing a vital role in both the economies of these nations and in global food […]