Feature Channels: Environmental Health

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The consequences of a warming climate frequently dominated the news this summer, from devastating wildfires and floods to deadly heat waves across the globe.

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The bright lights of big cities could be causing an evolutionary adaptation for smaller eyes in some birds, a new study indicates.

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The world’s first study of the increase in pollution from landscape fires across the globe over the past two decades reveals that over 2 billion people are exposed to at least one day of potentially health-impacting environmental hazard annually – a figure that has increased by 6.8 per cent in the last ten years.

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If the Chicago region replaced 30% of all on-road combustion-engine vehicles — including motorcycles, passenger cars and trucks, buses, refuse trucks and short- and long-haul trucks — with electric versions, it would annually save more than 1,000 lives and over $10 billion, according to a new Northwestern University study.

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There is already robust evidence that people living with cardiovascular disease are disproportionately affected by poor air quality and extreme temperatures, in large part due to climate change, the greatest threat to human health of the 21st century.

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The Department of Energy's Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory has awarded research funding to 32 projects in environmental and biological science.

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Though human-made ponds both sequester and release greenhouse gases, when added up, they may be net emitters, according to two related studies by Cornell University researchers.

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Researchers have proposed a novel strategy for the development of sustainable and degradable bioplastics. This starch plastics, which possess integrated advantages including superior flexibility, excellent thermal processability, waterproof capability, solvent resistance, and self-healing ability, demonstrate immense potential as a viable substitute to petroleum-based plastics.

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A new Europe-wide study investigated the prevalence of protozoans, bacteria and viruses potentially pathogenic to humans and domestic animals in birds and bats in varying climatic conditions. The prevalence of many of these pathogens was associated with temperature or rainfall.

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RUDN University agronomists conducted field research and proved that the "green" alternative to classic fertilizers does the job just as well while being totally harmless to the environment and more accessible to farmers.

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Weather data from several ships bombed by Japanese pilots at Pearl Harbor has been recovered in a rescue mission that will help scientists understand how the global climate is changing.

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Climate change is causing extinctions at an increasing rate, a new study by the University of Arizona researchers shows. They surveyed populations of the Yarrow's spiny lizard in 18 mountain ranges in southeastern Arizona and analyzed the rate of climate-related extinction over time.

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Performance studies of recycled plastics with polypropylene yield strong findings, suggesting sustainable efficiencies for beverage bottles and food packaging.

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Experts representing NOAA and the University of Maryland will discuss recent severe climate events and implications for communities, governments and businesses.

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The acclaimed documentary “King Coal” mediates on the legacy of coal mining, exploring its influence on tradition and culture, and examining its impact on health and the environment.

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The Ohio State University will lead a new multimillion dollar international center devoted to using artificial intelligence to help understand climate impacts on biodiversity.

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Researchers propose a new way of understanding how diseases spread between animals and humans, by focusing on the effect that agriculture, ecological and sociopolitical factors have on disease emergence and transmission.

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Blood tests reveal that millions of Americans are exposed to tobacco smoke without knowing it.

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As smoke from Canada's historic wildfires triggers poor air quality alerts across the country, many parents worry about the impact on their child’s health, a new national poll suggests.

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On the way towards climate neutrality, Europe will need large amounts of lithium for battery storage systems. So far, however, its share in the worldwide lithium extraction volume has been one percent only.

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Climate change increases the need for artificial irrigation of agricultural areas. When water evaporates, however, salts remain in the upper soil layers and increase the plant’s stress.

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A team from Lawrence Livermore and seven other Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories is a finalist for the new Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Gordon Bell Prize for Climate Modeling for running an unprecedented high-resolution global atmosphere model on the world’s first exascale supercomputer.

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New research provides the first measurements of how sea-ice algae and other single-celled life adjust to the dramatic seasonal rhythms in the ocean surrounding Antarctica, offering clues to what might happen as this environment shifts under climate change.

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Researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Northeastern University modeled how extreme conditions in a changing climate affect the land’s ability to absorb atmospheric carbon — a key process for mitigating human-caused emissions.

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Lonnie Thompson has perhaps spent more time at the top of the world than anyone else on the planet.  

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Irvine, Calif., Sept. 14, 2023 — The State of California, through the University of California Office of Research and Innovation, has granted $1 million to the University of California, Irvine for the establishment of a broad, collaborative initiative to accelerate the growth of companies focused on climate goals.

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With autumn set to start Sept. 23, leaf peepers won’t have long to wait for forest leaves to turn and produce spectacular color displays. The vistas to be found in Southwest Virginia are just about guaranteed to be jaw-dropping regardless of the upcoming weather.

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Wildfires in Hawaii have devastated the island of Maui and leveled the historic town of Lahaina. As federal and local authorities investigate the causes of the disaster, questions have arisen about the effectiveness of government responses to the crisis.

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A new study has found a significant statistical correlation between thunderstorms occurring around the world and the formation of wispy cirrus clouds - which might increase global warming. The researchers: "We know that cirrus clouds can contribute to global warming.

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A new study led by Cambridge University confirms that planting hedges between roadsides and school playgrounds can dramatically reduce children’s exposure to traffic-related particle pollution.

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Whole orchard recycling is an alternative process for disposing of trees at the end of their productive lives. Researchers are studying how this process may also help improve nitrogen in soils. Hear a microbiologist explain whole orchard recycling on the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory's Bonding Over Science podcast.

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A pioneering study has shed new light on North African humid periods that have occurred over the past 800,000 years and explains why the Sahara Desert was periodically green.

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A new type of analysis suggests that droughts in Ohio were more severe from 2000 to 2019 than standard measurements have suggested.

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Research led by the University of Washington found that, in some western states, the amount of snow already on the ground by the end of December is a good predictor of how much total snow that area will get.

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A new study led by Texas A&M AgriLife Research has identified what may be a novel biological approach for removing extremely small and potentially dangerous plastic particles from water.

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Replacing 50% of meat and milk products with plant-based alternatives by 2050 can reduce agriculture and land use related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 31% and halt the degradation of forest and natural land, according to new research.

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Artificial light at night has a profound effect land-based life--from birds to fireflies to humans. But a new study suggests we need to widen our view to include light pollution's effect on coastal marine ecosystems, impacting everything from whales to fish, coral to plankton.

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An international group of scientists has brought together a large body of research on water quality in rivers worldwide.

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With severe weather systems becoming more constant across the country, a team of multistate agricultural researchers found in a new study that grain bins need to be carefully scrutinized for structural safety, soundness and engineering integrity.

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Adrienne Russell, professor of communication at the University of Washington, examines in her new book how journalism, activism, corporations and Big Tech battle to influence the public about climate change.