Climate
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ClimateGas flares are leaking five times as much methane than previously thought
The flares burn off methane at 91 percent efficiency. Achieving 98 percent efficiency would be like taking nearly 3 million cars off the road.
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EarthJacky Austermann looks to the solid earth for clues to sea level rise
Jacky Austermann’s work could help inform practical climate change solutions for at-risk coastal cities.
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Planetary ScienceRobin Wordsworth re-creates the atmosphere of ancient Mars
Robin Wordsworth studies the climates of Mars and other alien worlds to find out whether they could support life.
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ClimateHow Kenyans help themselves and the planet by saving mangrove trees
Communities in Kenya took action to restore their coastal mangrove forests, reaping economic and environmental benefits. Others are following suit.
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ClimateHow to make recyclable plastics out of CO2 to slow climate change
Companies are turning atmospheric CO2 from smokestacks and landfills into plastics to shrink their carbon footprint.
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ClimateA carbon footprint life cycle assessment can cut down on greenwashing
As companies try to reduce their carbon footprint, many are doing life cycle assessments to quantify the full carbon cost of their products.
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ClimateA coral pollution study unexpectedly helped explain Hurricane Maria’s fury
Tracking coral reef pollution in Puerto Rico, conservation researchers discovered by chance how the coastal ocean fueled Hurricane Maria.
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AnimalsExtreme climate shifts long ago may have helped drive reptile evolution
The end-Permian extinction left reptiles plenty of open ecological niches. But rapid climate change may be what kick-started the animals’ dominance.
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EarthThe Arctic is warming even faster than scientists realized
The Arctic isn’t just heating up two to three times as quickly as the rest of the planet. New analyses show that warming is almost four times as fast.
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AnimalsRelocated beavers helped mitigate some effects of climate change
Along a river in Washington state, the repositioned beavers built dams that lowered stream temperatures and boosted water storage.
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ClimateHumans may not be able to handle as much heat as scientists thought
Humans’ capacity to endure heat stress may be lower than previously thought — bad news as climate change leads to more heat waves around the globe.
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EnvironmentHow to make jet fuel from sunlight, air and water vapor
Solar kerosene could one day replace petroleum-derived jet fuel in airplanes and help stabilize greenhouse gas emissions.