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Environment
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Electric vehicle owners on average are richer, drive more than the general population, and have a higher than average carbon footprint due to higher disposable income—but owning an EV reduces their tr
Environment

Electric vehicle owners on average are richer, drive more than the general population, and have a higher than average carbon footprint due to higher disposable income—but owning an EV reduces their tr

Electric vehicle owners on average are richer, drive more than the general population, and have a higher than average carbon footprint due to higher disposable income—but owning an EV reduces their traffic related emissions, and their personal experience of EVs is linked with positive attitudes and purchase intentions #### Article URL: https://journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0000346 Article Title: But can it drive to Lapland? A comparison of electric vehicle owners with the general population for identification of attitudes, concerns and barriers related to electric vehicle adoption in Finland Author Countries: ...

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Environment

Q&A: UW researchers examine link between light pollution and interest in astronomy

Picture walking outside on a dark, cloudless evening. You look up to admire the stars — maybe even a planet, if you’re lucky — and a sense of wonder washes of you. New research from the University of Washington shows this might be more than a memorable experience: It could ultimately spark scientific curiosity and influence life choices. Rodolfo Cortes Barragan, research scientist the UW Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences (I-LABS), and Andrew Meltzoff, co-director of I-LABS and professor of psychology, recently co-authored a study in Nature Scientific Reports showing a link between the ability to see the stars ...

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Missing link found in gamma emission phenomena from thunderclouds
Environment

Missing link found in gamma emission phenomena from thunderclouds

Groundbreaking Discoveries in Gamma-Ray Emissions from Thunderstorms In the recent edition of Nature, groundbreaking results about the gamma-ray emissions produced during thunderstorms are presented. Overall, these findings reveal that gamma-ray emission from thunderclouds is much more complex, diverse, and dynamic than previously thought. Understanding these phenomena is crucial to uncovering the secrets of lightning. Flickering Gamma-Ray Flashes: A New Discovery Entitled “Flickering Gamma-Ray Flashes, the Missing Link between Gamma Glows and TGFs,” the paper by Østgaard et al. [2024] reports unique observations of a new phenomenon called Flickering Gamma-Ray ...

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Environment

Snakes in the city: Ten years of wildlife rescues reveal insights into human-reptile interactions

A new analysis of a decade-long collection of wildlife rescue records in NSW has delivered new insights into how humans and reptiles interact in urban environments. Researchers from Macquarie University worked with scientists from Charles Darwin University, and the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to analyse over 37,000 records of snake and lizard rescues in the Greater Sydney region between 2011 and 2021. Their study, Interactions between reptiles and people: a perspective from wildlife rehabilitation records is published in the journal Royal Society Open Science on Wednesday 2 October. Lead author Teagan Pyne, ...

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University of Houston partners with Harris County to create a sustainable energy future
Environment

University of Houston partners with Harris County to create a sustainable energy future

University of Houston researchers are partnering with the Harris County Office of County Administration’s Sustainability Office, the Harris County Energy Management Team and other county staff to develop a comprehensive baseline of energy use and energy-use intensity for county’s assets. Once established, the baseline will enable the team to track progress and evaluate the effectiveness of energy-saving measures over time, laying the groundwork for programs aimed at reducing energy consumption, maximizing savings, and increasing the use of renewable and resilient ...

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Airborne plastic chemical levels shock researchers
Environment

Airborne plastic chemical levels shock researchers

A new study documents how Southern Californians are chronically being exposed to toxic airborne chemicals called plasticizers, including one that’s been banned from children’s items and beauty products. Plasticizers are chemical compounds that make materials more flexible. They are used in a wide variety of products ranging from lunchboxes and shower curtains to garden hoses and upholstery. “It’s not just for drinking straws and grocery bags,” said David Volz, environmental sciences professor at UC Riverside, ...

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DOD awards $9M for snowpack and meltwater research and Arctic training program in Alaska and New England
Environment

DOD awards $9M for snowpack and meltwater research and Arctic training program in Alaska and New England

The Department of Defense (DOD) has awarded a $9 million contract to the University of Maine for research that will significantly expand efforts to quantify snowpack properties, explore the impact of snowmelt on the surrounding terrestrial environments of Alaska and Maine, and expand training opportunities in polar science. The project is led by School of Earth and Climate Sciences and Climate Change Institute faculty member Seth Campbell, who will collaborate with more than a dozen other scientists from UMaine and other institutions. The effort builds on a related and existing ...

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Climate scientists express their views on possible future climate scenarios in a new study
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Climate scientists express their views on possible future climate scenarios in a new study

A new survey of climate experts reveals that a majority believes the Earth to be headed for a rise in global temperatures far higher than the 2015 Paris Agreement targets of 1.5 to well-below 2°C. The study was published in the Nature journal Communications Earth & Environment. It also shows that two-thirds of respondents — all of them authors on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — believe we may succeed ...

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SwRI-led team discovers carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on Pluto’s moon Charon
Environment

SwRI-led team discovers carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on Pluto’s moon Charon

SAN ANTONIO — October 1, 2024 — A Southwest Research Institute-led team has detected carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide for the first time on the frozen surface of Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, using observations from the James Webb Space Telescope. These discoveries add to Charon’s known chemical inventory, previously identified by ground- and space-based observations, that includes water ice, ammonia-bearing species and the organic materials responsible for Charon’s gray and red coloration. “Charon is the only midsized Kuiper Belt object, in the range of 300 to 1,000 miles in diameter, that has been geologically mapped, thanks ...

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Climate change, drought, dust, and plankton blooms
Environment

Climate change, drought, dust, and plankton blooms

A study links an unusual plankton bloom off the coast of Madagascar to drought in Southern Africa. Climate warming has intensified droughts around the world. When vegetation dies from lack of water, the wind can pick up and carry unprotected soil particles for thousands of kilometers. These dust particles can then act as fertilizer when deposited in seawater. Dionysios Raitsos and colleagues show that dust from drought-stricken Southern Africa caused a bloom of marine phytoplankton off the southeast Madagascar coast from November 2019 through February 2020. The team used standardized anomalies of dust aerosol optical depth from the Copernicus ...

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Understanding regional climate change is essential for guiding effective climate adaptation policy, study finds
Environment

Understanding regional climate change is essential for guiding effective climate adaptation policy, study finds

The effects of climate change are not distant future scenarios or confined to remote parts of the world—they are unfolding now, right in our own backyards. In 2023, extreme weather events impacted communities across every inhabited continent, causing major flooding, droughts, and wildfires. While worldwide changes, such as increases in global mean temperature, often dominate discussions of mitigation actions, a detailed understanding of the regional impacts of a warming world is crucial for protecting communities from escalating risks. A team of researchers writing in Frontiers in Science synthesized results ...

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Environment

American Academy of Pediatrics examines the impact of school expulsion and recommends ways to create supportive learning environments for all students

Media Contacts: Alex Hulvalchick, 630-626-6282 Lisa Robinson, 630-626-6084, lrobinson@aap.org American Academy of Pediatrics Examines the Impact of School Expulsion and Recommends Ways to Create Supportive Learning Environments for All Students Updated policy statement on school suspension to be released during the AAP 2024 National Conference & Exhibition in Orlando. ORLANDO, Fla.--Suspending or expelling a student is one of the most severe punishments a school can impose on a student – and it can have lifelong, devastating consequences. ...

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Coral reef destruction a threat to human rights
Environment

Coral reef destruction a threat to human rights

A human rights-based approach to coral reef protection could ensure governments are held to account for safeguarding marine ecosystems and empower local and Indigenous communities to demand sustainable solutions and climate justice, a new study suggests. An estimated one billion people rely on healthy coral reefs globally for food security, coastal protection and income from tourism and other services. If reefs and their ecosystems are lost, the impact on human health and economic wellbeing would be catastrophic. Lead ...

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Tracking microplastics: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering researcher helps discover how microplastics move for better storm water management
Environment

Tracking microplastics: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering researcher helps discover how microplastics move for better storm water management

Microplastic pollution is a significant environmental problem that harms animals and people and affects ecosystems worldwide. These tiny pieces of plastic, smaller than five millimeters, are pushed by wind and water to move around the globe. Nasrin Alamdari, an assistant professor in the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is on a mission to learn more about microplastics and how they move. In research published in Environmental Pollution, she helped examine how shape, size and density affect the speed at which ...

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Environment

Where flood policy helps most — and where it could do more

Flooding, including the devastation caused recently by Hurricane Helene, is responsible for $5 billion in annual damages in the U.S. That’s more than any other type of weather-related extreme event. To address the problem, the federal government instituted a program in 1990 that helps reduce flood insurance costs in communities enacting measures to better handle flooding. If, say, a town preserves open space as a buffer against coastal flooding, or develops better stormwater management, area policy owners get discounts on their ...

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Environment

Asteroid Ceres is a former ocean world that slowly formed into a giant, murky icy orb

Since the first sighting of the first-discovered and largest asteroid in our solar system was made in 1801 by Giuseppe Piazzi, astronomers and planetary scientists have pondered the make-up of this asteroid/dwarf planet. Its heavily battered and dimpled surface is covered in impact craters. Scientists have long argued that visible craters on the surface meant that Ceres could not be very icy. Researchers at Purdue University and the NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) now believe Ceres is a very icy ...

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Discovery of 3,775-year-old preserved log supports ‘wood vaulting’ as a climate solution
Environment

Discovery of 3,775-year-old preserved log supports ‘wood vaulting’ as a climate solution

A new study published in the journal Science suggests that an ordinary old log could help refine strategies to tackle climate change. A team of researchers led by University of Maryland Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Professor Ning Zeng analyzed a 3,775-year-old log and the soil it was excavated from. Their analysis, published on September 27, 2024, revealed that the log had lost less than 5% carbon dioxide from its original state thanks to the low-permeability clay soil that covered it. “The wood is nice and solid—you could probably make a piece of furniture out of it,” Zeng noted. Understanding the ...

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Environment

Deep underground flooding beneath arima hot springs: A potential trigger for the 1995 Kobe (Hyogo-Ken Nanbu) earthquake

Tsukuba, Japan—Hot springs frequently contain water that originates from rocks within the Earth's crust. This can be confirmed through isotopic analysis. Arima Hot Springs, located in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, exhibit unique characteristics, including salinity that is more than twice that of seawater, indicating that their water likely originates from the Philippine Sea Plate. However, a direct evidence supporting this connection is lacking. In this study, researchers confirmed that the isotopic ratios of plate-derived water beneath Arima Hot Springs, as predicted by a numerical model, agreed with those of nonmeteoric water components found ...

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Sloth survival under threat due to climate change, new study finds
Environment

Sloth survival under threat due to climate change, new study finds

A new PeerJ Life & Environment study has revealed that sloths, the famously slow-moving creatures of Central and South America, may face existential threats due to climate change. The research, conducted by scientists studying the metabolic response of sloths to rising temperatures, suggests that the energy limitations of these animals could make survival untenable by the end of the century, particularly for high-altitude populations. The study, titled "Sloth Metabolism May Make Survival Untenable Under Climate Change Scenarios," investigates how two-fingered sloths (Choloepus hoffmanni), living in both highland and lowland regions, ...

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Environment

Untapped potential: Study shows how water systems can help accelerate renewable energy adoption

New Stanford-led research reveals how water systems, from desalination plants to wastewater treatment facilities, could help make renewable energy more affordable and dependable. The study, published Sept. 27 in Nature Water, presents a framework to measure how water systems can adjust their energy use to help balance power grid supply and demand. “If we’re going to reach net zero, we need demand-side energy solutions, and water systems represent a largely untapped resource,” said study lead author Akshay Rao, an environmental engineering PhD student in the Stanford School of Engineering. ...

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Environment

Ancient, buried wood inspires a possible low-cost method to store carbon

Inspired by an ancient buried log, researchers present a novel method to remove and store atmospheric carbon for hundreds of years or more. It involves locking woody biomass away in “wood vaults.” The approach could provide a cost-effective solution to mitigate climate change. Achieving net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is crucial for combating climate change, yet reducing fossil fuel emissions alone is insufficient to meet the Paris Agreement's targets. To achieve these goals, carbon dioxide removal (CDR) methods must be implemented, including engineering solutions, like direct air capture, ...

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Environment

Removal of marine plastic fishery debris greatly reduces entanglement threat for endangered Hawaiian monk seals

Large-scale removal of discarded fishing gear and other plastic debris from the waters of Northwestern Hawaii meaningfully reduced entanglement rates of endangered Hawaiian monk seals, according to a new study. The findings, which are drawn from more than four decades of data, offer promising evidence that marine debris cleanup programs are successful and that reducing plastic inputs and scaling up removal efforts could maximize conservation outcomes across marine ecosystems worldwide. Plastic pollution severely threatens marine ecosystems, ...

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Environment

Climate change: Heat, drought, and fire risk increasing in South America

The number of days per year that are simultaneously extremely hot, dry, and have a high fire risk have as much as tripled since 1970 in some parts of South America. The results are published in a study in Communications Earth & Environment. South America is warming at a similar rate to the global average. However, some regions of the subcontinent are more at risk of the co-occurrence of multiple climate extremes. These compound extremes can have amplified impacts on ecosystems, economy, and human health. Raúl Cordero and colleagues calculated the number of days per year that each approximately 30 by 30 km grid ...

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In an era of climate change, clean water and reliable water storage for floods and droughts is a possibility!
Environment

In an era of climate change, clean water and reliable water storage for floods and droughts is a possibility!

In recent years, the world has seen a recurrence of extreme floods and droughts due to climate change. In response to this, aquifer storage technology is being used for actual water supply in countries such as the United States, the Netherlands, and Australia. In South Korea, it rains intensively in the summer and extreme rainfall occurs, causing increasing difficulties in water supply in rural areas and island areas other than urban areas. In this situation, aquifer storage technology is attracting attention as a way to stably store and supply water. Dr. Seongpil Jeong and Kyungjin Cho of the Center for Water Cycle Research at the Korea ...

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US politicians support climate action when linked to certain other issues
Environment

US politicians support climate action when linked to certain other issues

The US House of Representatives is more likely to vote on climate action when it is linked with certain other environmental issues, according to a study published September 25, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS Climate by Kayla Morton of the University of Washington, Seattle and colleagues. Climate change is a very polarizing issue in US politics. While Congress has not passed many climate-related bills over the past two decades, the House of Representatives has voted on many bills and resolutions related to climate issues, thus providing an opportunity to examine the factors that motivate ...

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