Terraforming a Planet: Can Humans Stop Earth's 'Desertification'?

Today, planet Earth and civilization as we know it face a terrible crisis in the form of climate change. Thanks to the impact of urban sprawl, industrialization, commercial agriculture, and fossil-fuel emissions, we are experiencing a worldwide phenomenon of rising temperatures, rising sea levels, increased droughts and storms, wildfires, and "desertification."

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Tequila fish get second shot at life after being declared extinct

It is the first time an extinct species of fish has been successfully reintroduced in Mexico

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'The Fuse Has Been Blown,' and the Doomsday Glacier Is Coming for Us All

One thing that’s hard to grasp about the climate crisis is that big changes can happen fast. In 2019, I was aboard the Nathaniel B. Palmer, a 308-foot-long scientific research vessel, cruising in front of the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica. One day, we were sailing in clear seas in front of the glacier. The next day, we were surrounded by icebergs the size of aircraft carriers.

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How people and cities can prepare for the effects of climate change

Philip Van Wassenaer crouches down to pound nails into the base of a 25-metre-tall tree in Scarborough, Ont. He isn't tapping for sap — the nails around the base of this tree will help him diagnose its health.

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Are these the thinnest solar panels in the world?

Solar energy users save as much as 75 million barrels of oil and 35 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.

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The Great American Chestnut Tree Revival

More than a century ago, billions of American chestnuts were wiped out by an invasive fungus. Now, scientists are working to restore the tree to its former glory.

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Staying below 2° C warming costs less than overshooting and correcting

What will it cost if the climate exceeds the Paris Agreement temperature goals this century—even if we later remove carbon dioxide from the air and manage to bring temperatures back down to meet those targets by 2100? And how does that compare with the costs of staying below those targets?

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The Quest to Trap Carbon in Stone—and Beat Climate Change

On a barren lava plateau in Iceland, a new facility is sucking in air and stashing the carbon dioxide in rock. The next step: Build 10,000 more.

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The Quest to Trap Carbon in Stone—and Beat Climate Change

On a barren lava plateau in Iceland, a new facility is sucking in air and stashing the carbon dioxide in rock. The next step: Build 10,000 more.

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Five good-news environmental stories from 2021

From new protected areas to ozone layer gains, this year saw some positive trends, even as myriad problems persist.

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Tiny tardigrades walk like insects 500,000 times their size

Also: the controversial claim of a frozen water bear achieving quantum entangled state

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The rare spots of good news on climate change

It looks increasingly clear that we'll at least sidestep the worst-case scenarios.

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World's oldest family tree created using DNA

Scientists have created the world's oldest family tree from bones interred at a 5,700-year-old tomb.

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This legendary 92-year-old biologist has some advice for saving Earth

In the spring of 1955, E.O. Wilson, then a young entomologist at Harvard, traveled to northeastern Papua New Guinea to study ants. Hiking with local guides through dense rainforests, he climbed 13,000 feet to the summit ridge in the Saruwaged mountains — becoming, by his account, the first Western scientist to reach the peak.

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‘Near impossible’ plant-growing technique could revolutionise farming

For the first time, grafting has been made to work in monocots, a type of plant including oats, wheats and bananas – and it might improve disease tolerance among these important crops

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A seed for all seasons: can ancient methods future-proof food security in the Andes?

In Peru’s remote villages, farmers have used diverse crops to survive unpredictable weather for millennia. Now they are using this knowledge to adapt to the climate crisis

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Rainy years can’t make up for California’s groundwater use

Over a third of American vegetables are grown in California, largely in the state’s Central Valley. The region also produces two-thirds of the nation’s fruits and nuts. These crops—and the many Americans who produce and consume them—are heavily reliant on California’s water supply. But, given recurrent and severe droughts, the state’s groundwater supply has been strained.

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Supermarkets drop Brazilian beef products linked to deforestation

Sainsbury’s is one of six European supermarkets to stop selling some or all beef products from South American country

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Are dogs self-aware? Study shows a striking similarity to human cognition

Dogs have the capacity for body awareness, which helps orient themselves in the world and could indicate a greater depth of cognition than first thought.

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Climate change is wreaking havoc in the Arctic and beyond

Historically long stretches of record-breaking ocean heat and loss of sea ice have fundamentally changed this ecosystem from bottom to top and top to bottom, say researchers who study its inhabitants.

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After years of doubts, hopes grow that nuclear fusion is finally for real and could help address climate change - The Boston Globe

After breakthroughs this year at MIT and elsewhere, scientists — and a growing number of deep-pocketed investors — insist that fusion is for real and could start sending power to electricity grids in about a decade.

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In an historic vote, Italy to ban fur farming and shut down all mink farms within six months

The Budget Committee of the Italian Senate today voted to approve a modified version of an amendment to the budget law which will see the country’s 10 remaining mink fur farms closed within six months and a permanent ban on fur farming throughout Italy. 

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'World's biggest offshore wind farm' produces first power, passing key milestone

The U.K. is home to a mature offshore wind sector that looks set to expand in the coming years.

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World's most radioactive places where people have birth defects from nukes

BIRTH defects and cancers blight the tortured people who have the misfortune of living in the world’s most radioactive places. More than seven decades on from the first atomic bomb tests, the fallout continues to wreak havoc with these communities.

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Fisherman handed lifetime ban following midnight poaching of hundreds of crabs in Vancouver harbour

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has banned Nanaimo, B.C., fisherman Scott Stanley Matthew Steer from fishing for life. The sentence was delivered on Nov. 12, 2021, and it is the first lifetime ban for a Pacific region fisherman in more than a decade.

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The US could reliably run on clean energy by 2050

The Biden administration has pledged to create a carbon-free energy sector by 2035, but because renewable resources generate only around 19 percent of US electricity as of 2020, climate experts warn that our transition to a green grid future needs to speed up. A group of researchers at Stanford led by Mark Jacobson, professor of civil and environmental engineering, has set out to prove that a 100 percent renewable energy grid by 2050 is not only feasible but can be done without any blackouts and at a lower cost than the existing grid.

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The fight to save horseshoe crabs from the biomedical industry

Conservationists fear that horseshoe crabs, a 450-million-year-old living fossil, will be pushed to the brink of extinction because of the value of their blood to the pharmaceutical industry. Horseshoe crab blood provides a natural source of limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) which is used to test vaccines, drugs, and medical devices to ensure that they aren’t contaminated with dangerous bacterial toxins called endotoxins.

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One farmer's seaweed discovery could help slow methane emissions — and change the world

Researchers found that feeding seaweed to cattle would dramatically reduce greenhouse gases, says farmer Joe Dorgan.

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Contact with nature in cities reduces loneliness, study shows

Contact with nature in cities significantly reduces feelings of loneliness, according to a team of scientists. Loneliness is a major public health concern, their research shows, and can raise a person’s risk of death by 45% – more than air pollution, obesity or alcohol abuse.

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The White House wants a robust electric vehicle charging network. Here's the plan

For electric vehicle owners who long for the freedom of the open road, range anxiety has been a constant source of concern. The Biden administration hopes to change that, announcing this week a multi-billion-dollar plan to beef up the nation's electric vehicle charging system — a step experts say is vital to reducing America's carbon footprint and improving the accessibility and practicality of nontraditional vehicles.

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The US Mountain West Could Soon Face Snowless Winters

Across the Central Rockies, it’s been an unseasonably warm, dry year. Denver smashed the record for its latest first measurable winter snow. Colorado ski resorts delayed opening because temperatures were too high to even produce fake snow. And Salt Lake City was entirely snowless through November, for only the second time since 1976.

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Scientists watch giant ‘doomsday’ glacier in Antarctica with concern

Twenty years ago, an area of ice thought to weigh almost 500bn tonnes dramatically broke off the Antarctic continent and shattered into thousands of icebergs into the Weddell Sea. The 1,255-sq-mile (3,250-sq-km) Larsen B ice shelf was known to be melting fast but no one had predicted that it would take just one month for the 200-metre-thick behemoth to completely disintegrate.

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Mistletoe – famous for stolen holiday kisses – is a parasite that steals water and nutrients from other plants

This evergreen plant has some tricky ways to get ahead, but it’s a valuable part of the ecosystem.

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Elon Musk slams California's $8 per kW monthly utility charge plan for solar owners

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has slammed California’s plan for homeowners who use solar panels in their homes. The proposal calls for a discounted rate for excess power sold into the grid, as well as a monthly utility charge of $8 per kW to cover the cost of maintaining the state’s power infrastructure. Musk noted that the idea, which essentially penalizes sustainable energy, is “insane.”

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Wood burners cause nearly half of urban air pollution cancer risk – study

Exclusive: Wood smoke is a bigger cancer risk than pollution from vehicles, finds Athens analysis

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Tropical Fish Shoals Disrupted by Ocean Acidification and Warming

Researchers from the University of Adelaide have found that the way fish interact in groups is being upset by ocean acidification and global warming.

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Amazon disputes study claiming it caused 29 per cent spike in ocean plastic

'A delivery van's worth of plastic dumped into major rivers, lakes and oceans every 67 minutes'

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Smart roof coating reflects heat in summer and traps it in winter

Berkeley Lab engineers have developed a roof coating that can keep a building warmer or cooler, depending on the weather. When it’s warm out, the material will reflect sunlight and heat, but this radiative cooling automatically switches off in winter, reducing energy use for both heating and cooling.

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Archaeologists Discover Oldest Domesticated Dog Remains in Americas

When Quentin Mackie first crawled into a limestone cave on the west coast of Haida Gwaii, an archipelago off British Columbia’s north coast, he wasn’t expecting to enjoy the experience. The cave was cold, cramped, and damp, yet Mackie, an archaeologist with the University of Victoria in British Columbia, found the long days excavating underground quite pleasant: “The heightened sensory experience” in the passages was amazing.

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Why nuclear power will never supply the world's energy needs

(PhysOrg.com) -- The 440 commercial nuclear reactors in use worldwide are currently helping to minimize our consumption of fossil fuels, but how much bigger can nuclear power get? In an analysis to be published in a future issue of the Proceedings of the IEEE, Derek Abbott, Professor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Adelaide in Australia, has concluded that nuclear power cannot be globally scaled to supply the worlds energy needs for numerous reasons. The results suggest that were likely better off investing in other energy solutions that are truly scalable.

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The most eco-friendly wrapping paper is none at all

Wrapping paper doesn't make sense, even if you reuse it or recycle it. So, how's a gift giver to keep the element of surprise? Here are a few eco-friendly ideas.

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Kentucky tornadoes: Death toll likely to pass 100, governor says

The death toll from powerful tornadoes that devastated towns in Kentucky is likely to pass 100, the governor says, as hope of finding survivors wanes. Andy Beshear said this was the most devastating tornado event in the state's history, with at least 80 confirmed deaths.

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Renewable Energy Is Great—but the Grid Can Slow It Down

Say you want to build a wind farm. You find a nice empty knoll in northern Vermont, where the breeze blows steadily and the neighbors don’t complain about sullied views. (A damn miracle, in other words.) You line up investors, get the right permits, and prepare to install your turbines. Then you hit a snag: power lines.

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The woman saving seahorses from 'annihilation fishing'

Every day, thousands of fishing boats around the world drag huge weighted nets across the seafloor, ensnaring everything in their wake and destroying marine habitats.

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‘Incredibly moving’: songs by threatened birds beat Abba to No 5 spot on Australian music charts

Recorded over four decades, the calls of 53 native birds were gathered on an album raising funds and awareness for species facing extinction

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Panorama, The Electric Car Revolution: Winners and Losers

Tesla is now worth more than all the other major car makers put together, but how ethical is its supply chain? Darragh MacIntyre meets the African nuns who say Elon Musk’s company must do better.

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Hydrogen Is Not A Fuel, It’s A Cult

The sales pitch for hydrogen is heating up, although not as much as the Hindenburg did in 1937. In the UK, there are even advertisements for the fuel on the London Underground, which is quite an odd thing to see next to posters about the latest iPhone and vitamin supplements. It’s not like the average employee on their way to work is going to rush out and buy some H2 before reaching the office.

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Meat-eating bees have something in common with vultures

Mention foraging bees, and most people will picture insects flitting from flower to flower in search of nectar. But in the jungles of Central and South America, so-called vulture bees have developed a taste for flesh. Scientists have puzzled over why the stingless buzzers seem to prefer rotting carcasses to nectar. Now one group of researchers thinks it has cracked the riddle. The key came from looking into the bees’ guts.

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Major U.S. utilities plan coast-to-coast, EV-charging network

More than 50 U.S. power companies have joined forces to build a coast-to-coast fast charging network for electric vehicles along major U.S. travel corridors by the end of 2023. The National Electric Highway Coalition was announced today by the Edison Electric Institute. Fifty EEI members; the Tennessee Valley Authority; and Midwest Energy Inc., a Kansas-based electric cooperative, make up the coalition.

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The Science of Climate Change Explained: Facts, Evidence and Proof

The science of climate change is more solid and widely agreed upon than you might think. But the scope of the topic, as well as rampant disinformation, can make it hard to separate fact from fiction. Here, we’ve done our best to present you with not only the most accurate scientific information, but also an explanation of how we know it.

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