Environment

  1. An outdoor view of an apparatus that removes chemicals from the public water supply. Two men in hardhats look on.
    Ecosystems

    Just 3 ingredients can quickly destroy widely used PFAS ‘forever chemicals’

    Ultraviolet light, sulfite and iodide break down enduring PFAS molecules faster and more thoroughly than other UV-based methods.

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  2. image of the ground around succulent plants in South Africa showing lichens and cyanobacteria
    Ecosystems

    Biocrusts reduce global dust emissions by 60 percent

    Lichens and other microbes construct biological soil crusts that concentrate nutrients and slash global dust emissions.

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  3. Mussels on dinner plate
    Agriculture

    These six foods may become more popular as the planet warms

    Millet, kelp, Bambara groundnut and cassava are resilient, sustainable and nutrient dense — good options for future dinner plates.

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  4. cows grazing on a patch of cleared rainforest
    Climate

    Replacing some meat with microbial protein could help fight climate change

    Just a 20 percent substitution could cut deforestation rates and land-use CO2 emissions by more than half by 2050, a new study suggests.

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  5. Manila, Philippines
    Climate

    Coastal cities around the globe are sinking

    Of 99 coastal cities, nearly one-third are sinking in some places at more than a centimeter per year, making them more vulnerable to rising seas.

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  6. photo of a tractor tilling a field
    Agriculture

    More than 57 billion tons of soil have eroded in the U.S. Midwest

    Researchers discovered startling soil erosion rates in the Midwest. Farming has worsened erosion, but no-till practices and cover crops can help.

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  7. aerial photo of floating solar panels on a lake in Haltern, Germany
    Climate

    A UN report says stopping climate change is possible but action is needed now

    We already have a broad array of tools to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, a new report finds. Now we just have to use them.

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  8. photo of Wally Broecker sitting in a lab
    Climate

    Wally Broecker divined how the climate could suddenly shift

    Wally Broecker’s insight into the shutdown of the great ocean conveyor belt spurred the study of abrupt climate change.

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  9. photo of a green rainforest canopy with the Amazon river in the background
    Climate

    Forests help reduce global warming in more ways than one

    Trees are often touted as bulwarks against climate change for their capacity to sequester carbon, but that’s just one part of the story.

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  10. illustration in the shape of the Earth showing a train, a car, airplanes, felled trees, an oil spill, and other examples of humans' impact on their environment
    Climate

    How did we get here? The roots and impacts of the climate crisis

    Over the last century and a half, scientists have built a strong case for the roots and impacts of human-caused climate change.

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  11. photo of a child riding a bike near the shoreline in the Maldives
    Climate

    A UN report shows climate change’s escalating toll on people and nature

    The latest United Nations' IPCC climate change report underscores the urgent need for action to avoid the worst consequences of global warming.

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  12. image of a city street scene
    Tech

    Materials of the last century shaped modern life, but at a price

    From our homes and cities to our electronics and clothing, the stuff of daily life is dramatically different from decades ago.

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