Air conditioning doesn't just cool the air – it can also reduce the risk of harm from wildfire smoke, new research led by the University of Technology Sydney suggests.
Even if global warming were to stop completely, the volume of ice in the European Alps would fall by 34% by 2050. If the trend observed over the last 20 years continues at the same rate, however, almost half the volume of ice will be lost as has been demonstrated by scientists from the University of Lausanne (UNIL, Switzerland) in a new international study.
Epidermal microorganisms, vital in nutrient exchange between hosts and environments, have now been shown to play a key role in host toxicity through community changes.
Organophosphate esters, commonly used as substitutes for brominated flame retardants, are increasingly present in various environmental media due to their use in consumer products.
A new computational framework created by Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers is accelerating their understanding of who’s in, who’s out, who’s hot and who’s not in the soil microbiome, where fungi often act as bodyguards for plants, keeping friends close and foes at bay.
Though natural fertilizers from treated sewage sludge provide crops with nutrients, they bring along microplastics too. Recent research shows these plastics are easily spread by even slight winds.
Humans store water in huge metal towers and deep concrete reservoirs. But nature’s water storage is much more scenic – the snowpack that tops majestic mountains.
In the last century, global economic growth, spurred by globalization and technological advances, led to increased environmental degradation, primarily due to greenhouse gases from economic activities.
Over the last decades, air pollution emissions have decreased substantially; however, the magnitude of the change varies by demographics, according to a new study by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Water samples from 20 sites were tested using a panel of immortalized human cell lines corresponding to the liver, kidney and brain to measure cytotoxicity. Results show that each control toxin induced a consistent pattern of cytotoxicity in the panel of human cell lines assayed.
With tens of thousands of synthetic chemicals on the market, and new ones in development all the time, knowing which ones might be harmful is a challenge both for the federal agencies that regulate them and the companies that use them in products.
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play a crucial role in environmental protection by mitigating risks to public health and aquatic ecosystems through the prevention of pollutant release.
An international team of scientists led by Oregon State University researchers has used a novel 500-year dataset to frame a “restorative” pathway through which humanity can avoid the worst ecological and social outcomes of climate change.
Climate campaigners will increasingly adopt “insider activist” roles, working to change or challenge their organisations from the inside rather than the outside, a new study says.
The University of Miami and Alta Systems have partnered to complete an altitude-based measurement that will provide insight on atmospheric aerosol dynamics and its impact on human health and climate change.
Researchers have developed a sustainability metric for the ecological design of plastic products that have low persistence in the environment. Adhering to this metric could provide substantial environmental and societal benefits
Certain populations of mosquitoes are more heat tolerant and better equipped to survive heat waves than others, according to new research from Washington University in St. Louis. .
While the cold snap brought relief by significantly reducing the prevalence of particulate matter obscuring our surroundings, a recent study indicates that, besides diminishing particulate matter, it is significantly contributing to the heightened uptake of carbon dioxide by the East Sea.
Air pollution significantly impacts human health, with Hainan Province in China aiming to achieve world-leading ambient air quality by 2035, despite already having relatively good air quality in China.
Air pollution significantly impacts human health, with Hainan Province in China aiming to achieve world-leading ambient air quality by 2035, despite already having relatively good air quality in China.
Even small differences in the availability of urban green and blue spaces may be associated with better mental and physical health in older adults, according to a Washington State University study.
Researchers have uncovered evidence hinting that the most common bug spray ingredient, DEET, might cause reproductive problems by affecting the formation of egg cells during pregnancy.
Radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas produced when metals like uranium or radium break down in rocks and soil, is a known cause of lung cancer. Now new research has found exposure to high levels of this indoor air pollutant is associated with an increased risk of another condition in middle age to older female participants with ischemic stroke.
In a study published online in Eco-Environment & Health on 13 October 2023, researchers from Zhejiang Shuren University and China Agricultural University have delved into these interactions, aiming to provide insights into the mechanisms and implications of plastic pollution on soil health and antibiotic resistance.
Alternate wetting and drying, a rice irrigation practice dating back to the 1980s, is part of a broader Texas A&M AgriLife study investigating its potential to reduce water and fertilizer use.
PM2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter) is a critical pollutant affecting air quality and public health. In China, rapid industrialization and urbanization have led to severe PM2.5 pollution, posing significant health risks and environmental concerns.
Managing municipal solid waste (MSW) poses significant challenges for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like the Maldives, due to unique socio-economic and environmental factors.
India—with a dairy sector mainly composed of small dairy farms—is one of the largest milk producers in the world and home to more dairy cows than any other country. Its small farms feed millions and are critical sources of employment, income, and nutrition.
The world’s top fossil fuel firms subtly reset online conversations about climate change by ignoring discussions of extreme weather in favour of sharing praise for their own sustainability work, according to a new research paper in Nature’s npj | Climate Action series.
The number of people affected by tropical cyclones has nearly doubled from 2002 to 2019, reaching nearly 800 million people in 2019, according to a new study.
Addressing climate change has become a central issue in Chile’s public policy. As part of that debate, Dr. Maisa Rojas, researcher in Atmospheric Physics, who currently serves as Chilean Minister for Environment and Marco Billi of the Centre for Climate and Resilience Research, Universidad de Chile, propose a new model of governance at the country level to facilitate the changes needed.
Virginia Tech has pedaled its way to national recognition as a gold level Bicycle Friendly University, a prestigious designation awarded by the League of American Bicyclists.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has determined that reducing methane gas emissions will immediately reduce the rise in global temperatures. The gas is up to 85 times more potent of a greenhouse gas than CO2, and more than half of it is emitted by human sources, with cattle and fossil fuel production accounting for the largest share.
New research published in the January issue of Nature Cities examines, for the first time, the potential benefits of combining heat adaptation strategies with mitigation strategies to lessen heat exposure across major U.S. cities. It also identifies the regions in which these strategies could best benefit future populations.
Exposure to phthalates, a group of plasticizing and solvent chemicals found in many household products, was linked to a lower probability of getting pregnant, but not to pregnancy loss, according to research by a University of Massachusetts Amherst environmental and reproductive epidemiologist.
Puerto Rico has faced several human-made and natural crises in recent years, including the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria in 2017. Building disaster resilience and recovery is crucial for community well-being and requires a comprehensive approach with cooperation from multiple organizations. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign examines the partnership between a Puerto Rican non-governmental organization (NGO) and a group of academics.
Most modern ocean models focus on two categories of waves: a barotropic system, which has a fast wave propagation speed, and a baroclinic system, which has a slow wave propagation speed. To help address the challenge of simulating these two modes simultaneously, a team from DOE’s Oak Ridge, Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories has developed a new solver algorithm that reduces the total run time of the Model for Prediction Across Scales-Ocean, or MPAS-Ocean, E3SM’s ocean circulation model, by 45%.
Pollution spewing from a booming global economy poses a number of different threats to human health. Researchers from Zhongyuan University of Technology proposed a new possible avenue to efficiently convert nitrate, a widespread water pollutant, back to valuable ammonia.