Today: September 20, 2024
Today: September 20, 2024

Environment

Environment

2023 hurricane forecast: Get ready for a busy Pacific storm season, quieter Atlantic than recent years thanks to El Niño

Twenty years of storm tracks in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific basins. NASA The official 2023 hurricane season forecasts were just released, and while the Atlantic may see an average storm season this year, a busier-than-normal season is forecast in the eastern Pacific, meaning heightened risks for Mexico and Hawaii. A big reason is El Niño. El Niño typically means trouble for the Pacific and a break for the Atlantic coast and Caribbean. But while this climate phenomenon is highly likely to form this year, it isn’t a certainty before hurricane season ramps up this summer, and that makes it

May 26, 2023
2023 hurricane forecast: Get ready for a busy Pacific storm season, quieter Atlantic than recent years thanks to El Niño
Environment

The Supreme Court just shriveled federal protection for wetlands, leaving many of these valuable ecosystems at risk

Many ecologically important wetlands, like these in Kulm, N.D., lack surface connections to navigable waterways. USFWS Mountain-Prairie/Flickr, CC BY The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in Sackett v. EPA that federal protection of wetlands encompasses only those wetlands that directly adjoin rivers, lakes and other bodies of water. This is an extremely narrow interpretation of the Clean Water Act that could expose many wetlands across the U.S. to filling and development. Under this keystone environmental law, federal agencies take the lead in regulating water pollution, while state and local governments regulate land use. Wetlands are areas where land is wet

May 26, 2023
The Supreme Court just shriveled federal protection for wetlands, leaving many of these valuable ecosystems at risk
Environment

Colorado River states bought time with a 3-year water conservation deal – now they need to think bigger

An irrigation canal moves Colorado River water through farm fields in California’s Imperial Valley. Photo by Sandy Huffaker / AFP via Getty Images Arizona, California and Nevada have narrowly averted a regional water crisis by agreeing to reduce their use of Colorado River water over the next three years. This deal represents a temporary solution to a long-term crisis. Nonetheless, as a close observer of western water policy, I see it as an important win for the region. Seven western states – Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California – and Mexico rely on water from the Colorado

May 26, 2023
Colorado River states bought time with a 3-year water conservation deal – now they need to think bigger
Environment

Atlantic hurricane season 2023: El Niño and extreme Atlantic Ocean heat are about to clash

Hurricane Florence, seen from the International Space Station in 2018. Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. NASA The Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1, and forecasters are keeping a close eye on rising ocean temperatures, and not just in the Atlantic. Globally, warm sea surface temperatures that can fuel hurricanes have been off the charts in the spring of 2023, but what really matters for Atlantic hurricanes are the ocean temperatures in two locations: the North Atlantic basin, where hurricanes are born and intensify, and the eastern-central tropical Pacific Ocean, where El Niño forms. This

May 30, 2023
Atlantic hurricane season 2023: El Niño and extreme Atlantic Ocean heat are about to clash
Environment

Invasive lionfish have spread south from the Caribbean to Brazil, threatening ecosystems and livelihoods

An invasive lionfish at Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico. G. P. Schmahl/NOAA, CC BY Brazil’s coastal waters teem with a rich array of species that paint a living tapestry beneath the waves. This underwater world is particularly special because many of its species are endemic – they are found nowhere else on Earth. The southwestern Atlantic is home to 111 endemic reef fish species, each of which plays a crucial role in the intricate web of marine life. An uninvited guest has arrived in these tropical waters: the Pacific red lionfish (Pterois volitans). Renowned

June 01, 2023
Invasive lionfish have spread south from the Caribbean to Brazil, threatening ecosystems and livelihoods
Environment

Governments and environmental groups are turning to international courts to address the impacts of climate change — podcast

Can international courts help address the costs and causes of climate change? (Shutterstock), Author provided This year, the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) — the world’s highest court — is hearing its first argument about climate commitments. In an effort to make sure countries and corporations follow existing laws and agreements relating to climate change and environmental protection, groups have started pushing for legal action at the international scale. Research shows that the current climate agreements won’t stave off the worst harms of climate change — and many countries are failing to meet their own commitments. A number

June 01, 2023
Governments and environmental groups are turning to international courts to address the impacts of climate change — podcast
Environment

Arsenic contamination of food and water is a global public health concern – researchers are studying how it causes cancer

One symptom of arsenic poisoning is the growth of plaques on the skin called arsenical keratosis. Anita Ghosh/REACH via Flickr, CC BY Arsenic is a naturally occurring element found in the Earth’s crust. Exposure to arsenic, often through contaminated food and water, is associated with various negative health effects, including cancer. Arsenic exposure is a global public health issue. A 2020 study estimated that up to 200 million people wordwide are exposed to arsenic-contaminated drinking water at levels above the legal limit of 10 parts per billion set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization. More than

June 05, 2023
Arsenic contamination of food and water is a global public health concern – researchers are studying how it causes cancer
Environment

Is there life in the sea that hasn't been discovered?

The Rose-veiled fairy wrasse, a small reef fish discovered in 2022. Luiz A. Rocha/Wikimedia Commons Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to [email protected]. Is there life in the sea that hasn’t been discovered? – Haven W., age 12, McKinney, Texas Imagine going to a place on Earth where no one has ever been. There are many locations like that in the ocean, which covers more than 70% of our planet. In the ocean, creatures live at many different depths, just as animals and

June 05, 2023
Is there life in the sea that hasn't been discovered?
Environment

Peaches are a minor part of Georgia's economy, but they're central to its mythology

The Peach Drop celebration marks the new year in Atlanta on Jan. 1, 2023. Paras Griffin/Getty Images The 2023 Georgia peach harvest is looking bad, although the details are sketchy. By some accounts, it’s the worst since 1955. Or maybe since 2017. There are estimates that a mild winter and late spring frost have cost Georgia growers 50% of their crop. Or perhaps 60%, or 85% to 95%. Consumers, say the growers, should expect less fruit, though what’s produced may be “fantastic and huge and sweet.” And they should expect to pay quite a bit more. As ominous as this

June 07, 2023
Peaches are a minor part of Georgia's economy, but they're central to its mythology
Environment

Will faster federal reviews speed up the clean energy shift? Two legal scholars explain what the National Environmental Policy Act does and doesn't do

NEPA requires federal agencies to analyze environmental impacts of projects like interstate highway construction. John Bohn/The Boston Globe via Getty Images The National Environmental Policy Act, enacted in 1970, is widely viewed as a keystone U.S. environmental law. For any major federal action that affects the environment, such as building an interstate highway or licensing a nuclear power plant, NEPA requires relevant agencies to analyze environmental impacts, consider reasonable alternatives and accept public input. It also allows citizens to sue if they believe government has not complied. Critics argue that NEPA reviews delay projects and drive up costs. In May

June 08, 2023
Will faster federal reviews speed up the clean energy shift? Two legal scholars explain what the National Environmental Policy Act does and doesn't do
Environment

Colonialism has shaped scientific plant collections around the world – here's why that matters

Digitizing plants preserved in the herbarium at La Sapienza University in Rome. Mimmo Frassineti/AGF/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Some of the world’s most popular museums are natural history collections: Think of dinosaur fossils, gemstones and preserved animals. Herbaria – collections of pressed, dried plant specimens – are a less-known but important type of natural history collection. There are some 400 million botanical specimens stored across over 3,500 herbaria around the world, but most are not widely publicized and rarely host public exhibits. I study biodiversity and global change, and these collections have fueled my work. My collaborators and I

June 12, 2023
Colonialism has shaped scientific plant collections around the world – here's why that matters
Environment

When homes flood, who retreats and to where? We mapped thousands of buyouts and found the average move is only 7 miles, and race plays a role

After Hurricane Ida hit New Orleans in 2021, Kirt Talamo, a fourth-generation Louisianan, decided it was time to go. He sold his flooded home, purchased his grandmother’s former house on New Orleans’ west bank, which hadn’t flooded, and moved in. It felt good to be back within its familiar walls, but his mind was on the future. “My other house wasn’t supposed to flood, and now insurance costs are going through the roof; it’s bad,” he told us. “I wanted to keep my grandma’s place in the family, but I don’t know how much longer I can stay. I’d love

June 15, 2023
When homes flood, who retreats and to where? We mapped thousands of buyouts and found the average move is only 7 miles, and race plays a role
Environment

When homes flood, who retreats and to where? We mapped thousands of FEMA buyouts and found distance and race play a role

After Hurricane Ida hit New Orleans in 2021, Kirt Talamo, a fourth-generation Louisianan, decided it was time to go. He sold his flooded home, purchased his grandmother’s former house on New Orleans’ west bank, which hadn’t flooded, and moved in. It felt good to be back within its familiar walls, but his mind was on the future. “My other house wasn’t supposed to flood, and now insurance costs are going through the roof; it’s bad,” he told us. “I wanted to keep my grandma’s place in the family, but I don’t know how much longer I can stay. I’d love

June 15, 2023
When homes flood, who retreats and to where? We mapped thousands of FEMA buyouts and found distance and race play a role
Environment

How do spices get their flavor?

Without spices, our meals would have less color and flavor. Helaine Weide/Moment via Getty Images Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to [email protected]. How do spices get their flavor? – Liam, age 6, San Francisco I love savory and spicy foods. Lasagna laden with basil and oregano. Beautifully golden curries infused with turmeric, or rice flavored with saffron. I can’t pass up a cinnamon-dusted snickerdoodle cookie. And some of my favorite childhood memories center on my mom’s nutmeg-infused sweet potato pie. These ingredients

June 19, 2023
How do spices get their flavor?
Environment

Saving lives from extreme heat: Lessons from the deadly 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave

Volunteers pick up water to deliver to homeless people during a 2021 heat wave. AP Photo/Nathan Howard The heat dome that descended upon the Pacific Northwest in late June 2021 met a population radically unprepared for it. Almost two-thirds of households earning US$50,000 or less and 70% of rented houses in Washington’s King, Pierce and Snohomish counties had no air conditioning. In Spokane, nearly one-quarter of survey respondents didn’t have in-home air conditioning, and among those who did, 1 in 5 faced significant, often financial, barriers to using it. Imagine having no way to cool your home as temperatures spiked

June 20, 2023
Saving lives from extreme heat: Lessons from the deadly 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave
Environment

US national parks are crowded – and so are many national forests, wildlife refuges, battlefields and seashores

Visitors at Sliding Rock, a popular cascade in North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest. Cecilio Ricardo, USFS/Flickr Outdoor recreation is on track for another record-setting year. In 2022, U.S. national parks logged more than 300 million visits – and that means a lot more people on roads and trails. While research shows that spending time outside is good for physical and mental health, long lines and gridlocked roads can make the experience a lot less fun. Crowding also makes it harder for park staff to protect wildlife and fragile lands and respond to emergencies. To manage the crowds, some parks are

June 20, 2023
US national parks are crowded – and so are many national forests, wildlife refuges, battlefields and seashores
Environment

Hurricanes push heat deeper into the ocean than scientists realized, boosting long-term ocean warming, new research shows

Satellite data illustrates the heat signature of Hurricane Maria above warm surface water in 2017. NASA When a hurricane hits land, the destruction can be visible for years or even decades. Less obvious, but also powerful, is the effect hurricanes have on the oceans. In a new study, we show through real-time measurements that hurricanes don’t just churn water at the surface. They can also push heat deep into the ocean in ways that can lock it up for years and ultimately affect regions far from the storm. Heat is the key component of this story. It has long been

June 21, 2023
Hurricanes push heat deeper into the ocean than scientists realized, boosting long-term ocean warming, new research shows
Environment

Ocean heat is off the charts – here's what that means for humans and ecosystems around the world

The Indian Ocean’s heat is having effects on land, too. NOAA Coral Reef Watch Ocean temperatures have been off the charts since mid-March 2023, with the highest average levels in 40 years of satellite monitoring, and the impact is breaking through in disruptive ways around the world. The sea of Japan is more than 7 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) warmer than average. The Indian monsoon, closely tied to conditions in the warm Indian Ocean, has been well below its expected strength. Spain, France, England and the whole Scandinavian Peninsula are also seeing rainfall far below normal, likely connected to

June 21, 2023
Ocean heat is off the charts – here's what that means for humans and ecosystems around the world
Environment

To see how smoke affects endangered orangutans, we studied their voices during and after massive Indonesian wildfires

An adult male orangutan contemplates his next move in haze produced by Indonesia’s 2015 wildfires. Wendy Erb, CC BY-ND Bornean orangutans are one of three orangutan species, all critically endangered. They thrive in carbon-rich peat swamp forests on the Indonesian island of Borneo. These habitats are also the sites of massive wildfires. Indonesian wildfires in 2015 caused some of the worst fire-driven air pollution ever recorded. The fires were driven by an El Niño climatic cycle, which caused especially dry weather in the region. Compared to other wildfires, peatland fires smolder underground and produce exceptionally high levels of hazardous gases

June 22, 2023
To see how smoke affects endangered orangutans, we studied their voices during and after massive Indonesian wildfires
Environment

3M offers $10.3B settlement over PFAS contamination in water systems – now, how do you destroy a 'forever chemical'?

How long do chemicals really need to last? Andrew Brookes via Getty Images PFAS chemicals seemed like a good idea at first. As Teflon, they made pots easier to clean starting in the 1940s. They made jackets waterproof and carpets stain-resistant. Food wrappers, firefighting foam, even makeup seemed better with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Then tests started detecting PFAS in people’s blood. Today, PFAS are pervasive in soil, dust and drinking water around the world. Studies suggest they’re in 98% of Americans’ bodies, where they’ve been associated with health problems including thyroid disease, liver damage and kidney and testicular cancer.

June 23, 2023
3M offers $10.3B settlement over PFAS contamination in water systems – now, how do you destroy a 'forever chemical'?
Environment

Supreme Court rules the US is not required to ensure access to water for the Navajo Nation

A water pump outside a home on the Navajo Nation in Thoreau, N.M. Spencer Platt/Getty Images The Navajo Nation, the largest Native American reservation in the U.S., covers 27,000 square miles (70,000 square kilometers) in the Southwest – an area larger than 10 states. Today it is home to more than 250,000 people – roughly comparable to the population of St. Petersburg, Florida, or Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Unlike those cities, however, 30% of households on the Navajo Reservation lack running water. Hauling water can cost 20 times what it does in neighboring off-reservation communities. While the average American uses between

June 23, 2023
Supreme Court rules the US is not required to ensure access to water for the Navajo Nation
Environment

Right-to-charge laws bring the promise of EVs to apartments, condos and rentals

Charging at home is more convenient for apartment dwellers, too. Westend61 via Getty Images More than 3.6 million electric cars are driving around the U.S., but if you live in an apartment, finding an available charger isn’t always easy. Grocery stores and shopping centers might have a few, but charging takes time and the spaces may be taken or inconvenient. Several states and cities, aiming to expand EV use, are now trying to lift that barrier to ownership with “right to charge” laws. Illinois’ governor signed the latest right-to-charge law in June 2023, requiring that all parking spots at new

June 27, 2023
Right-to-charge laws bring the promise of EVs to apartments, condos and rentals
Environment

Lab-grown meat techniques aren't new – cell cultures are common tools in science, but bringing them up to scale to meet society's demand for meat will require further development

Cell cultures are often grown in petri dishes. Wladimir Bulgar/Science Photo Library via Getty Images You might be old enough to remember the famous “Where’s the Beef?” Wendy’s commercials. This question may be asked in a different context since U.S. regulators approved the sale of lab-grown chicken meat made from cultivated cells in June 2023. Growing animal cells in the lab isn’t new. Scientists have been culturing animal cells in artificial environments since the 1950s, initially focusing on studying developmental biology and cancer. This technique remains one of the major tools in life science research, especially for drug development. The

June 27, 2023
Lab-grown meat techniques aren't new – cell cultures are common tools in science, but bringing them up to scale to meet society's demand for meat will require further development
Environment

Bridge collapses, road repairs, evacuations: How transportation agencies plan for large-scale traffic disruptions

A structural crack on the I-40 Hernando de Soto Bridge in Memphis, Tenn., required an emergency repair in 2021. Tennessee DOT via Getty Images Twelve days after a portion of Interstate 95 collapsed in north Philadelphia during a truck fire, officials opened a temporary six-lane roadway to serve motorists while a permanent overpass is rebuilt. This was a major success after the June 11, 2023, disaster was predicted to snarl traffic for months. U.S. cities often face similar challenges when routine wear and tear or natural disasters damage roads and bridges. Transportation engineer Lee D. Han explains how planners, transit

June 29, 2023
Bridge collapses, road repairs, evacuations: How transportation agencies plan for large-scale traffic disruptions
Environment

By 'helping' wild animals, you could end their freedom or even their lives – here's why you should keep your distance

An eastern box turtle crossing a rural Pennsylvania road. Julian Avery, CC BY-ND For anyone who enjoys nature, summer is a fascinating time to be outside. Animals are on the move: Turtles are nesting, baby birds are testing their wings, snakes are foraging and young mammals are emerging. In central Pennsylvania, where I live, last year’s hatchling painted turtles have overwintered in their nests and emerged looking like tiny helpless snacks for raccoons and ravens. I’ve already rescued a baby killdeer – a shorebird that nests in parking lots – that ran off the road and got stuck in a

June 30, 2023
By 'helping' wild animals, you could end their freedom or even their lives – here's why you should keep your distance

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