Environmental,Technology,Concept.,Sustainable,Development,Goals.,Sdgs.

Every year, humanity reaches&nbsp;Earth Overshoot Day, the point when the year’s planetary budget is spent. This marks how quickly we use resources compared to Earth’s ability to renew them. 



In 2025, Denmark’s <a href="https://www.overshootday.org/">Earth Overshoot Day</a> arrived on March 19, one of the earliest in the world. If everyone lived like the average Dane, more than four <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-day-2025-what-were-really-fighting-for/">Earths</a> would be required to sustain humanity.



This reality raises an urgent question: Which daily choices matter most? 



Researchers at the Technical University of Denmark (<a href="https://www.dtu.dk/english" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DTU</a>) tackled this question by linking everyday activities with the Planetary Boundaries framework. 



Their findings help separate symbolic actions from those that truly bring us closer to a sustainable future.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-measuring-true-environmental-impact">Measuring true environmental impact</h2>



“One problem is that it’s hard for people to distinguish between what is better for the environment and what is good enough,” said Teddy Serrano, Ph.D. at DTU. 



“If you get a three out of 10, it's better than a two out of 10, but it's still a bad grade. So the question is: When can we say that the grade is good enough?”



To address this, the researchers created annual <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-urgent-plea-sustainable-climate-solutions-save-earth-humanity/">environmental budgets</a> for individuals by downscaling global limits on an equal per capita basis. 



Six categories were used: climate change, functional biodiversity, land occupation, marine eutrophication, resource use, and water consumption.



Each lifestyle choice was compared to these budgets, showing how much of the yearly allowance it consumed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-food-choices-shape-planet">Food choices shape planet</h2>



Food emerged as the single largest driver of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mutual-relationships-with-nature-offer-hope-for-a-sustainable-future/">environmental pressure</a>. An omnivorous diet overshoots climate, biodiversity, and land budgets all by itself. By contrast, vegetarian and vegan diets dramatically cut these impacts.



A vegan diet uses only 22 percent of the climate allowance, while a vegetarian one consumes around 33 percent. 



Replacing cow’s milk with oat milk also shrinks biodiversity and land pressures from substantial portions of the allowance to near negligible values.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-commuting-and-climate-costs">Commuting and climate costs</h2>



Mobility choices carry similar weight. Driving a gasoline or diesel car for daily distances can use up the entire climate budget in a single year. 



Small electric cars reduce this to about half, but increase demand for mineral resources due to batteries.



Commuting by e-bike, however, lowers climate impacts to just 5 percent of the allowance. 



Air travel remains especially damaging, with a single round trip across the Atlantic consuming as much as three-quarters of a person’s yearly climate budget.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-homes-and-climate-strain">Homes and climate strain</h2>



Housing adds further strain. Building and living in a detached home overshoots the resource budget entirely. 



Heating with oil takes up more than 80 percent of the climate allowance, while switching to heat pumps reduces that figure dramatically.



Adding <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/solar-panels-are-1000-times-more-powerful-with-new-tech-breakthrough/">solar panels</a> improves results across categories, cutting climate impacts from double-digit percentages to much lower shares of the budget.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/environmental-budget-choices_infographic_TUDenmark_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/environmental-budget-choices_infographic_TUDenmark_1s.webp" alt="Share of the individual environmental budgets consumed by activities assessed in the publication. The colors indicate how much of the yearly budget each activity consumes, from 0 % (green) to above 100% (purple). The impact categories are listed with icons (from left to right): Functional biodiversity, climate change, marine eutrophication, land occupation, resource use, water consumption. Credit: Technical University of Denmark" class="wp-image-1983764"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Share of the individual environmental budgets consumed by activities assessed in the publication. The colors indicate how much of the yearly budget each activity consumes, from 0 % (green) to above 100% (purple). The impact categories are listed with icons (from left to right): Functional biodiversity, climate change, marine eutrophication, land occupation, resource use, water consumption. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Technical University of Denmark</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-misconceptions-about-small-actions">Misconceptions about small actions</h2>



Not all popular changes have meaningful effects. Using reusable grocery bags or washing clothes at lower temperatures only shifts results by a small fraction. 



While such actions may save money or offer convenience, they cannot bridge the vast gap between current lifestyles and sustainable living. 



The study highlights that attention must be placed on high-impact areas such as food, transport, housing, and aviation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-action-beyond-overshoot-day">Action beyond Overshoot Day</h2>



The researchers also stress that personal effort alone cannot fully align lifestyles with planetary limits. 



Systemic change is equally important, including cleaner energy systems, improved <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/51-percent-of-the-world-relies-on-car-commutes-every-day/">public transportation</a>, and policies that support smaller, less resource-intensive homes.



“Our study draws attention to the fact that we need to make major shifts in our current lifestyles if we want to bring our impact on the environment down to sustainable levels,” Serrano notes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-framework-for-change">A framework for change</h2>



To make these priorities clear, the study points to four key lifestyle areas. Planes highlight the outsized impact of air travel, where even a single long-haul trip can consume most of a climate budget. 



Places highlight the importance of housing size, with smaller homes requiring fewer materials and less energy. 



Plates capture the significance of diet, with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plant-based-foods-promote-weight-loss-regardless-of-processing/">plant-based foods</a> offering huge reductions. Pedals remind us that choosing cycling first keeps transportation within a manageable footprint.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sustainable-path-on-overshoot-day">Sustainable path on Overshoot Day</h2>



The evidence shows that not all actions are equal. Minor lifestyle gestures cannot outweigh the large impacts of cars, planes, meat-heavy diets, and oversized housing. 



To live within planetary boundaries, individuals and societies alike must prioritize high-impact changes. 



By combining informed personal decisions with systemic support, humanity can move closer to a balance that one Earth can sustain.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352550925000715" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sustainable Production and Consumption</a>.



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Earth Overshoot Day shows urgent need for sustainable living

Every year, humanity reaches&nbsp;Earth Overshoot Day, the point when the year’s planetary budget is spent. This marks how quickly we use resources compared to Earth’s ability to renew them. In 2025, Denmark’s Earth Overshoot Day arrived on March 19, one of the earliest in the world. If everyone lived like the average Dane, more than four Earths would be required to sustain humanity. This reality raises an urgent question: Which daily choices matter most? Researchers at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) tackled this question by linking everyday activities...

People who live near active volcanoes need alerts they can trust. False alarms wear down that trust, while missed warnings put lives at risk. Steam-driven blasts, which can erupt with few surface signs, are especially hard to predict.



Scientists are testing a signal within <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/650-foot-mega-tsunami-sends-seismic-waves-around-world-dickson-fjord-swot-mission/">earthquake waves</a> called shear-wave splitting that may help. When seismic shear waves cross cracked, stressed rock, they separate into two directions: one faster and one slower. 



Tracking the magnitude of that split and the direction of the fast wave reveals how cracks are aligned and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/supervolcano-campi-flegrei-naples-italy-solfatara-crater-phlegraean-fields-signs-of-waking-up/">how stress changes over time</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-measuring-shear-wave-signals">Measuring shear-wave signals</h2>



Shear-wave splitting rises when cracks open in a preferred direction. It stays low when cracks are scattered or stress doesn’t change much. 



This makes the signal useful for spotting shifts in a volcano’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-and-trees-predict-volcano-eruptions-when-viewed-from-space-satellites/">hydrothermal system</a>, where hot water and steam move through fractured rock. 



At <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Ontake" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mount Ontake</a> in Japan, researchers installed 12 stations to monitor these changes.



A team of scientists, led by Professor Mike Kendall from the Department of Earth Sciences at <a href="https://www.earth.ox.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Oxford University</a>, set out to test whether larger stress changes during an explosive eruption would cause a larger increase in splitting than during a small event.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-study-learned">What the study learned</h2>



"Seismic anisotropy - or the effect of rock composition and internal fractures on the speed of shear-waves oscillating at right angles to each other - is a well-documented phenomenon," Kendall explained. 



"When we reflected on how anisotropy increases as the pressure inside a volcano builds, we were excited to explore if we could detect these changes, and if this could be a distinctive signal which could be applied to early warning systems."



Kendall and his team compared earthquake signals from Mount Ontake’s 2007 and 2014 eruptions and found that shear-wave splitting parameters varied with eruption size.



In 2007, during a small steam-driven eruption, the splitting pattern held steady.



In 2014, during a <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2016JB013739" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">larger eruption</a>, the delay between fast and slow waves doubled, anisotropy rose from about 3% to 20%, and the fast-wave direction rotated to align with the maximum stress in the region.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shear-wave-splitting-signal-strength">Shear-wave splitting signal strength</h2>



Their work argues that heating at the base of the hydrothermal system increased cracking and stress before the 2014 blast, pushing the volcano past a threshold that the smaller 2007 event never reached.



They hoped to identify a practical parameter that could flag whether an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-and-trees-predict-volcano-eruptions-when-viewed-from-space-satellites/">eruption was imminent</a> and whether it might be more damaging. 



Because the splitting changes appeared before the eruption began, the parameter can function as both an early alert and a rough indicator of severity.



"The focal mechanisms of volcano-tectonic earthquakes changed drastically before and after the 2014 eruption," noted Professor Toshiko Terakawa, co-author of the study from <a href="https://en.nagoya-u.ac.jp/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nagoya University</a>. 



"Integrating data from shear-wave splitting and earthquake focal mechanisms could provide deeper insights into conditions required for an eruption to occur."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-tale-of-two-eruptions">A tale of two eruptions</h2>



The 2007 Ontake eruption was small and had far less impact on nearby communities, while the 2014 eruption was much larger and explosive. 



Taken together, the observations suggest a link between eruption size and the strength of the splitting signal.



"The records around two eruptions on Ontake volcano in Japan have been able to show that the method can not only show changes before eruptions, but that they can potentially help to predict the size of an eruption," added co-author Professor Martha Savage of <a href="https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Victoria University of Wellington</a>.



"This work was an example of how cooperation among people from around the globe can address important societal problems."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shear-wave-signals-and-future-safety">Shear-wave signals and future safety</h2>



This study shows how a threshold in stress and cracking can mark the difference between a minor event and a dangerous one, offering a practical way to sharpen alerts.



"We expect to see these effects at other volcanoes across the globe, not just at Ontake Volcano," said Dr. Tom Kettlety, also from the Department of Earth Sciences at Oxford. 



"As changes in volcanic stress occur <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/can-a-volcano-be-stopped-before-it-erupts-to-give-ample-warning-to-citizens/">prior to an eruption</a>, we anticipate that we would see changes in shear-wave splitting. This could be a valuable tool for early warning of volcanic eruptions, especially for local communities," Kettlety concluded.



For people living near volcanoes, early warning systems are a lifeline, and trust matters. 



Reducing false alarms requires tools that respond clearly to real changes within a volcano, and shear-wave splitting signal detection instruments may be the solution.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://seismica.library.mcgill.ca/article/view/1101" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Seismica</a>.



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Volcano alert: Scientists discover a signal that could transform early warning systems

People who live near active volcanoes need alerts they can...

inscripciones-programa-impulso-digital-pozuelo-de-alarcon - 1

An unassuming green alga that has lived quietly in laboratory flasks for decades just revealed it carries a giant virus so large, and so stealthy, that nobody had noticed it before. 



The find rewrites what scientists thought they knew about how big a virus can grow while still hiding inside a single-celled host.



The work, led by <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=iEhGXaMAAAAJ&amp;hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Maria Paula Erazo-Garcia</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=JLV6g2AAAAAJ&amp;hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frank Aylward</a> of <a href="https://www.vt.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Virginia Tech</a>, shows that the virus, dubbed punuivirus, slips into the alga’s DNA, goes to sleep, then wakes up later to build full virus particles without killing most of its hosts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-giant-punuivirus-matters">Why giant punuivirus matters</h2>



Viruses that integrate and then lie low are common in bacteria, animals, and even humans, but only a handful have been spotted in algae. 



The new study confirms that latent infection strategies also exist in the <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads6303" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">oversized world</a> of giant viruses, whose genomes dwarf those of many bacteria.



These huge pathogens fascinate virologists because they blur the line between virus and cell. Finding one that can go dormant suggests algae, which form the base of many food webs, may quietly shuttle viral genes around ecosystems.



Latent giants also interest evolutionary biologists. Because they cut themselves into host chromosomes, they sprinkle new genes across lineages and may spark sudden leaps in innovation.



Finally, a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/herpes-virus-reshapes-human-dna-to-multiply/">virus</a> that waits instead of killing offers hints about how viruses manage long-term coexistence, an issue that matters when scientists engineer viral vectors for vaccines and gene therapies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-finding-and-studying-punuivirus">Finding and studying punuivirus</h2>



“We could definitely see that there was a virus inserted there,” said Erazo-Garcia. She first saw unusual DNA fragments while screening cultures of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a staple of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animal-cells-capable-of-photosynthesis-created-for-the-first-time/">photosynthesis</a> research. 



Long-read sequencing confirmed that a 617,000-base-pair viral genome sat inside chromosome 15. 



Electron-microscopy snapshots later caught complete virions roughly 200 nanometers wide budding from a small fraction of cells, even though the cultures looked perfectly healthy.



Because only a few cells ignite the viral program at a time, the infection flies under the radar. The team measured two spikes of viral particles, one early and one late in the week-long growth cycle, showing that timing matters for reactivation.



Parallel tests in Swedish lakes and Dutch coastal waters turned up similar viral DNA in wild relatives, hinting that punuivirus-style infections are not a laboratory quirk but part of nature’s routine.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sizing-up-the-genetic-payload">Sizing up the genetic payload</h2>



At 617 kilobases, the giant punuivirus ranks among the largest double-stranded-DNA viruses known. 



Its genome encodes an integrase, an enzyme that pastes viral DNA into host chromosomes, and several <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06356-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fanzor nucleases</a>, mobile genes that can cut DNA using RNA guides, a trick reminiscent of CRISPR systems.



Those nucleases, plus hundreds of other genes, are sandwiched between long terminal repeats and flanked by a six-base target-site duplication, molecular fingerprints that helped researchers pinpoint the insertion site.



The virus also carries hallmarks of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/herpes-virus-reshapes-human-dna-to-multiply/">self-sufficiency</a>: DNA polymerase, major capsid proteins, and its own transcription machinery. 



Such complexity suggests punuivirus can fend for itself once it wakes up, relying on the host mainly for raw materials.



The genome lacks obvious “<a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4758904/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">suicide genes</a>” that would lyse the cell, explaining why infected cultures keep growing. Instead, the virus appears content to release modest numbers of particles while most algae remain alive.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gene-editing-promise-of-punuivirus">Gene editing promise of punuivirus</h2>



Because punuivirus slips its DNA neatly into a host chromosome and later excises full-length genomes, biotechnologists see a potential delivery tool. 



The built-in integrase and Fanzor nucleases might help shuttle large cargos into plant or algal genomes more cleanly than current viral vectors.



“It was not known that this could happen in viruses that are quite so big as this one,” said Aylward, noting that the alga stays healthy even while the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shrimp-crisis-alarming-virus-threatens-global-seafood-supplies/">virus</a> inserts and removes giant stretches of DNA.



Fanzor nucleases are guided by short RNA molecules, much like <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6299457/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CRISPR-Cas enzymes</a>, but they cut DNA in a different way. 



Harnessing them could broaden the menu of gene-editing tools, especially for organisms where <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/crispr-used-to-remove-extra-chromosomes-in-down-syndrome-and-restore-cell-function/">CRISPR</a> struggles.



Researchers also want to dissect the molecular alarm clock that flips punuivirus from silent to active. Understanding that trigger could let engineers program on-demand expression of therapeutic genes without permanent activation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gene-editing-giant-viruses-and-the-future">Gene editing, giant viruses, and the future</h2>



The team plans to map every transcript and protein made during the virus’s two production bursts to learn which genes turn the switch. 



They also hope to test whether environmental cues, light, nutrients, or stress, nudge the virus awake.



Ecologists, meanwhile, will survey lakes and oceans for other dormant giants. If latent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-viruses-found-in-yellowstones-hot-springs-may-be-near-the-root-of-all-life-on-earth/">viruses</a> prove common, their slow-motion gene traffic could reshape how scientists think about microbial evolution and carbon cycling.



The discovery shows that even in 2025, familiar lab organisms can hide astonishing secrets, waiting for a curious grad student and a new sequencing machine to bring them to light.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads6303" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science</a>.



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Giant dormant virus discovered in algae could revolutionize gene editing

An unassuming green alga that has lived quietly in laboratory...

Autumn usually keeps a steady pace. Trees grow through spring and summer, soak up light, store energy, and then shed their leaves when colder days arrive. 



For decades, scientists saw one main climate signal in this process: warmer autumns delayed leaf-fall. But a second pattern has emerged, and it flips the old rule. In many places, leaves are falling earlier - and the trigger isn’t just temperature. It’s water, or the lack of it.



A new study from&nbsp;<a href="http://english.ynu.edu.cn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yunnan University</a> has mapped the exact drought conditions that make plants call it quits before autumn should start. The work covers more than 70 years of data, from both satellites and field sites, across the Northern Hemisphere above 30° latitude. 



The researchers didn’t just look at whether drought happens - they calculated the&nbsp;thresholds&nbsp;at which plants stop resisting and begin to shut down.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-drought-triggers-early-autumn">Drought triggers early autumn</h2>



The team built a statistical model called a copula-based Bayesian framework. It was designed to link two important factors: the dryness before autumn and the date plants turn their leaves. 



The “pre-season drought threshold” is the point where plants stop holding on and start senescing. That threshold isn’t the same everywhere. In dry regions such as deserts and shrublands, even a mild drought can cross it. 



In wetter forests, drought has to be much more severe before the change happens. But when it happens, it happens fast. Plants shift from resilience to vulnerability almost overnight.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-heatwaves-tip-the-balance">Heatwaves tip the balance</h2>



Drought is only part of the story. Heatwaves, especially daytime ones, make things worse. Hot days force plants to lose water faster through their leaves. Soil dries out quickly, and the drought threshold drops - meaning less dryness is needed to trigger leaf-fall.



Nighttime heatwaves have a weaker effect. Stomata stay mostly closed in the dark, slowing water loss. Still, warmer nights add stress by increasing respiration, sometimes without giving plants the energy boost they’d get from sunlight. 



In many regions, the researchers saw a chain reaction: heatwaves lead to meteorological drought, which becomes soil drought, and then leaves start dropping early.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plant-defenses-have-their-limits">Plant defenses have their limits</h2>



Plants have ways to fight back. A dense leaf canopy shades the soil and stores water. Deep roots pull moisture from far below the surface. These traits - measured as leaf area index (LAI) and ecosystem resilience - delay the moment drought forces plants to stop growing.



But these defenses have limits. In already dry landscapes, even a small drop in water availability can break them. 



The study also found that resilience and LAI depend on rainfall and overall humidity. Wetter conditions strengthen both, while arid conditions weaken them.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-droughts-earlier-autumn-seasons">Future droughts, earlier autumn seasons</h2>



The researchers used climate models to see how these drought thresholds might change by the year 2100. The results were clear: more than half of the vegetated land north of 30° latitude will become more sensitive to pre-season droughts. 



In many places, a drought that is considered mild today could have the same effect as a severe drought now.



Northern Eurasia, in particular, may face stronger impacts. There, both droughts and compound drought-heatwave events are expected to push autumn forward more often. 



This means shorter growing seasons, less carbon absorbed by vegetation, and greater pressure on ecosystems that already face other climate stresses.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-timing-matters">Why timing matters</h2>



Leaf senescence isn’t just about colour in the forest. It controls how long plants pull carbon dioxide out of the air. An earlier end to the growing season reduces that uptake and can shift some areas from being carbon sinks to carbon sources.



It also affects wildlife. Animals that depend on autumn leaves for food or shelter may find those resources disappearing earlier. Seasonal mismatches can disrupt migration, breeding, and feeding patterns. 



Even farming could feel the impact, as crops and orchards respond to similar drought and heat signals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-drought-changes-the-timing-of-autumn">Drought changes the timing of autumn</h2>



This study shows that climate change doesn’t just warm the planet - it changes the rules plants live by. 



Knowing the drought thresholds for early leaf-fall can help scientists predict where and when the growing season will shorten. This insight also gives forest managers and policymakers a clearer view of which regions may need help adapting.



In the decades ahead, autumn may still arrive in a blaze of color. But in more and more places, that blaze will come sooner - shaped not by the cool air of fall but by the dry heat of late summer.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-62847-y" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Drought triggers early autumn by forcing leaves to fall

Autumn usually keeps a steady pace. Trees grow through spring...

The constant hum of city life often fades into the background, unnoticed by those who live in it. Yet, behind the sound of passing cars, rumbling trains, and the distant whir of traffic lights, an invisible health risk may be growing. 



Scientists are now uncovering how this steady noise <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stuck-in-traffic-youre-more-likely-to-grab-fast-food/">pollution</a> can do more than disturb sleep - it can shape mental well-being over time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-traffic-noise-and-mental-health">Traffic noise and mental health</h2>



A new LongITools study, published in the journal Environmental Research, shows a clear link between traffic noise and diagnosed depression or anxiety. It is the first study to investigate long-term exposure in children, adolescents, and young adults.



Researchers from the <a href="https://www.oulu.fi/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Oulu</a> found a sharp rise in mental health risks when traffic noise exceeds 53 decibels (dB) at home. This crosses the safe limit set by the <a href="https://www.who.int" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">World Health Organization</a>. 



The findings support urban planning measures, like designing bedrooms on quieter building sides and lowering speed limits.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-noise-pollution-as-a-health-threat">Noise pollution as a health threat</h2>



Environmental noise from roads, railways, airports, and construction is Europe’s second-largest environmental health concern. It can damage hearing, disrupt sleep, and trigger emotional <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-traffic-cameras-are-preventing-thousands-of-crashes-each-year/">stress</a>. 



Over time, these effects can contribute to cardiovascular issues and neurological diseases.



Noise also activates the body's stress response through the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. This can impair emotional regulation, cognition, and behavior - especially in children whose systems are still developing.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-noise-exposure-and-mental-health">Noise exposure and mental health</h2>



The study was focused on 114,353 people born in Finland between 1987 and 1998 who lived in the Helsinki metropolitan area in 2007. Participants were tracked for up to ten years, from ages 8 to 21.



Noise exposure was calculated for the most and least exposed sides of each home. Annual averages included road and railway <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stroke-risk-is-elevated-by-air-pollution-and-traffic-noise/">traffic</a> noise, with extra weighting for evening and nighttime hours. 



The researchers examined participants’ medical records to determine whether they had diagnoses of depression or anxiety.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clear-patterns-emerged">Clear patterns emerged</h2>



The World Health Organization advises keeping traffic noise below 53 dB over 24 hours. This study found that risks increase at or above this level. Each 10 dB rise in noise at the most exposed side was linked to a 5% higher risk of depression and 4% higher risk of anxiety.



“Our analysis showed that anxiety risk is lowest when traffic noise is around 45 to 50 dB at the quieter side of dwellings but increases significantly after 53 to 55 dB," noted Dr. Anna Pulakka, senior author of the study.



"Above 53 dB, noise becomes a significant psychological stressor for young people regardless of whether an individual sleeps on the quieter or noisier side of a dwelling."



Anxiety links were stronger for males and for those whose parents had no mental health disorders.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-noise-environment-and-health-effects">Noise, environment, and health effects</h2>



The researchers investigated whether air pollution or access to green space could account for the connection between noise and mental health. They found that noise independently impacted mental health, even after accounting for these other factors.



Nighttime noise was strongly associated with depression, supporting the idea that sleep disturbances from noise may be one way it affects mental health.



For anxiety, the biggest impact was seen in places with 60–65 dB noise levels. These places also tended to have more social and environmental challenges, such as poorer living conditions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-broader-implications-of-the-study">Broader implications of the study</h2>



"Our findings support further actions towards reducing traffic noise exposure," explained Yiyan He, lead author of the study.



"For policymakers and urban planners, this should include measures such as ensuring bedrooms are on the quieter side of the dwelling and ensuring there is green space nearby. For transport, quieter tyres or reduced speed limits should also be considered."



Roughly 10% of young people in the study were diagnosed with depression or anxiety by the time they turned 30.



Since traffic noise is something cities can change, it becomes a possible focus for prevention efforts. Lowering noise levels in living areas could help protect mental health, especially during the years when the brain and emotions are still developing.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935125016950?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Environmental Research</a>.



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Traffic noise exposure increases mental health risks

The constant hum of city life often fades into the...

Mountains have always affected how people live. At high altitudes, the body changes to adapt, such as developing stronger lungs or showing slower growth in babies. Now, scientists think living higher up might also help prevent obesity in children.



As obesity <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-childhood-obesity-rate-is-expected-to-soar-by-2050/">rates</a> keep increasing around the world, especially in young kids, researchers are studying more closely how the environment and the human body work together.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-high-altitude-and-childhood-obesity">High altitude and childhood obesity</h2>



Living high up in the mountains may help protect children from becoming obese. A study looking at more than 4 million Colombian children found that those living at higher altitudes were less likely to have obesity compared to children living closer to sea level. 



Scientists think this could be because the air at high altitudes has less oxygen. With less oxygen, the body works harder and uses more energy, which may help keep weight lower.



Most earlier studies on altitude and obesity focused only on adults, like mountaineers or people living in highland areas. This new research is important because it shows the same link in children. 



Since childhood is a key time for health and growth, the findings suggest that where a child lives - whether in the mountains or lowlands - can influence their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/childhood-obesity-rates-are-surging-worldwide/">risk of obesity</a> in the future.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-focus-of-the-study">Focus of the study</h2>



Fernando Lizcano Losada from the <a href="https://www.unisabana.edu.co" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of La Sabana</a> and colleagues analyzed data from 4.16 million children under five years old. 



The data, collected by the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare, covered 1,123 municipalities. 



The researchers categorized children into four groups based on altitude: up to 1,000 meters, 1,001-2,000 meters, 2,001-3,000 meters, and above 3,000 meters.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-obesity-drops-at-altitude">Obesity drops at altitude</h2>



At the lowest altitudes, about 80 in every 10,000 children had obesity. Between 2, 001 and 3,000 meters, prevalence dropped sharply to 40 in 10,000. 



Interestingly, rates rose again above 3,000 meters, reaching 86 in 10,000. The researchers caution that this may reflect limited data from only seven municipalities, with just over 11,000 participants.



“That’s a fair comment,” said David Stensel at <a href="https://www.lboro.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Loughborough University</a> in the UK. He noted the absence of a clear dose-response pattern, which would have strengthened the findings. 



Stensel emphasized that the study is observational, meaning it cannot prove altitude directly prevents obesity.



“They have tried to make sure that they have adjusted for the potential confounding <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mothers-genes-may-hold-the-key-to-childhood-obesity/">factors</a>,” such as poverty and deprivation. Still, “you can’t account for everything."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-broader-evidence-from-latin-america">Broader evidence from Latin America</h2>



According to the researchers, similar results have appeared in other high-altitude regions. In Peru, living above 2500 meters was linked with far lower obesity prevalence compared to lowlands.



Studies in Bolivia and Argentina showed children at higher elevations tended to be thinner, though growth restriction was sometimes observed. 



In Ecuador, children in highland regions displayed lower weight but also higher stunting rates compared to coastal children.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-altitude-obesity-and-metabolism">Altitude, obesity, and metabolism</h2>



Lizcano Losada suggests faster metabolism at high altitudes could explain the lower rates. Stensel agrees this is possible. 



“There’s a few studies that have shown resting metabolic rate, or basal metabolic rate, increases when you’re at high altitude,” he noted. 



An earlier 1984 study found mountaineers lost weight at high elevations, partly because fat was burned or excreted rather than stored.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hormones-and-hypoxia">Hormones and hypoxia</h2>



The researchers explained that high-altitude hypoxia can influence hormones like leptin and ghrelin, which regulate appetite. 



Low oxygen activates hypoxia-inducible factors that enhance leptin sensitivity, supporting appetite suppression.



Cold temperatures common in mountainous regions may also increase energy expenditure through thermogenesis. Together, these mechanisms may reduce obesity <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/obesity-can-be-passed-down-from-parents-to-kids/">risk</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-poverty-shapes-outcomes">Poverty shapes outcomes</h2>



Not all outcomes are purely biological. The research emphasizes how poverty interacts with altitude. 



Municipalities with moderate poverty often saw higher obesity rates, possibly due to reliance on cheap, ultra-processed food.



In contrast, extreme poverty sometimes correlated with undernutrition rather than obesity. This pattern reflects the “double burden of malnutrition” seen in many low- and middle-income countries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-applications">Future research applications</h2>



Even if altitude helps reduce obesity risk, practical uses remain unclear. “They show us a relationship, and you then need to really design a bespoke study to investigate that hypothesis on its own,” said Stensel.



Lizcano Losada argues that environmental influences vary by region, suggesting that tailored public health advice may prove more effective in addressing childhood obesity. 



The research also supports geographically specific strategies that integrate both biological and social factors for better outcomes.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.14.25329127v1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">medRxiv</a>.



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Obesity is less common in children living at high altitudes

Mountains have always affected how people live. At high altitudes,...

A cave stalagmite has captured a season-by-season record of rain shortfalls during the final centuries of the Classic Maya. The stone’s chemical layers show eight wet-season droughts between 871 and 1021 CE, including one that dragged on for 13 consecutive years.



The pattern aligns with the era’s political turmoil and the halt of monument building at key cities.



Led by the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Cambridge</a>, a new study examined a cave in Mexico’s Yucatán, and managed to isolate rainfall in individual wet and dry seasons across the Terminal Classic period. 



This research adds a precise climate timeline to the historical and archaeological evidence for the Maya collapse.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rainfall-recorded-in-rock">Rainfall recorded in rock</h2>



Stalagmites grow as mineral-rich water drips from cave ceilings and hardens on the floor. Each layer traps a chemical snapshot of the conditions outside. In this case, oxygen isotope ratios record how much rain fell when a given layer formed.



Earlier work measured lake sediments to gauge <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/droughts-and-extreme-weather-events-are-escalating/">drought</a> severity. Those cores are powerful, but they blur events across longer spans. 



This stalagmite is different. Its annual layers are relatively thick, about one millimeter, allowing the team to pull apart the rainy and dry seasons year by year.



“It hasn’t been possible to directly compare the history of individual Maya sites with what we previously knew about the<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/melting-glaciers-are-destroying-a-valuable-record-of-earths-climate/"> climate record</a>,” said lead author Daniel James, who conducted the research while a Ph.D. student in Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences.



“Lake sediment is great when you want to look at the big picture, but stalagmites allow us to access the fine-grained detail that we’ve been missing.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crops-and-cities-under-strain">Crops and cities under strain</h2>



For farmers, annual averages can be misleading. What matters is the rainy season. If those months fail, harvests fail. 



The new record therefore tracks wet-season drought directly, identifying differences between subsistence and scarcity.



“Knowing the annual average <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-changing-rainfall-patterns-impact-plants-worldwide/">rainfall</a> doesn’t tell you as much as knowing what each individual wet season was like,” James said. 



“Being able to isolate the wet season allows us to accurately track the duration of wet season drought, which is what determines if crops succeed or fail.”



Between 871 and 1021 CE, the stalagmite registered eight wet-season droughts that lasted at least three years. The longest persisted for 13 years. 



Even with reservoirs, canals, and cisterns, a deficit that long would strain food stores, trade, and social order.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-s-mark-on-maya-politics">Climate’s mark on Maya politics</h2>



The Terminal Classic saw southern lowland cities emptied and dynasties ended. Power shifted north, and monument programs faltered. The new drought timeline overlaps those disruptions.



“This period in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mayan-civilization-may-have-been-shaped-by-ingenious-fisheries/">Maya history</a> has been a cause of fascination for centuries," James explained. "There have been multiple theories as to what caused the collapse, such as changing trade routes, war, or severe drought, based on the archaeological evidence the Maya left behind.”



“But in the past few decades, we’ve started to learn quite a lot about what happened to the Maya and why by combining the archaeological data with quantifiable climate evidence.”



At major northern sites, including <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chichen_Itza" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chichén Itzá</a>, the carving of dated inscriptions stopped during severe, prolonged droughts. While that does not prove abandonment, it certainly marks a pivot in priorities.



“This doesn’t necessarily mean that the Maya abandoned Chichén Itzá during these periods of severe drought, but it’s likely that they had more immediate things to worry about than constructing monuments, such as whether the crops they relied on would succeed or not,” James said. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-seasonal-view-of-the-maya-collapse">Seasonal view of the Maya collapse</h2>



Starting in the 1990s, researchers linked a series of droughts to the Maya collapse by comparing regional climate proxies with the dates on monuments.



The new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-americas-13000-years/">stalagmite record</a> builds on that foundation. It delivers the fine-grained detail that bridges climate processes and human decisions at specific places and times.



Researchers noted that earlier studies based on lake sediments offered a broad regional view, but lacked the resolution to pinpoint changes within specific years or seasons. 



Stalagmites, by contrast, allow researchers to match climate shifts to historical events more precisely.



By aligning wet-season failures with changes in building, ritual, and rule, scholars can test how drought pressure unfolded, how cities adapted, and when systems failed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-beyond-drought-in-the-record">Beyond drought in the record</h2>



The team, which includes collaborators in the UK, U.S., and Mexico, argues that stalagmites from this and other Yucatán caves can do more. 



They could capture the fingerprints of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-tropical-thunderstorms-are-radioactive/">tropical storms</a> as well as drought, widening the environmental context for Maya history.



“In addition to what stalagmites can tell us about this period in Maya history, they might also be able to tell us about the frequency and severity of tropical storms, for instance,” James said.



“As a case study for fine-grained comparisons between climate and historical data, it’s exciting being able to apply methods usually associated with the deeper past to relatively recent history.”



James, now a postdoctoral researcher at <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University College London</a>, said the next step is to expand the cave network and tighten links to site-by-site archaeology. 



The goal is a shared chronology that can help bring into focus the full sequence of droughts, decisions, and decline.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adw7661" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>.



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What caused the collapse of Maya civilization? The answer was hidden in a cave

A cave stalagmite has captured a season-by-season record of rain...

New evidence shows that the North Pacific is no longer drifting on its own. Human-driven greenhouse gases and industrial aerosols are steering ocean temperatures in ways that dry out the American West. The same forces may keep the region parched for decades.



Researchers at the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Colorado Boulder</a> and collaborators used hundreds of climate simulations to revisit a famous ocean pattern and link its recent behavior to the West’s record-breaking drought.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-human-hand-in-pacific-cycle">Human hand in Pacific cycle</h2>



For more than a century, scientists have watched the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), which seesaws over decades between a warm, “positive” phase and a cool, “negative” phase. 



In the negative phase, cooler waters line the U.S. West Coast, storm tracks shift north, and rain and snow across the Southwest decline.



The standard view held that this cycle was almost entirely internal to the climate system. The latest IPCC report even judged, with high confidence, that human influence was negligible. However, the new study overturns that view.



Using over 500 model runs, the team found that since the 1950s, human <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-carbon-dioxide-emissions-hit-a-record-high-in-2023/">emissions</a> explain more than half of PDO variability, while before 1950, natural swings dominated.



“Our results show that the drought and ocean patterns we’re seeing today are not just natural fluctuations - they’re largely driven by human activity,” said lead author Jeremy Klavans, a postdoctoral researcher in CU Boulder’s Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pacific-stuck-in-dry-mode">Pacific stuck in dry mode</h2>



The PDO has lingered in its negative state since the 1990s. That persistence is unusual. It matters because it pushes moisture north and leaves the Southwest with less precipitation and drier air.



“If the PDO were purely natural, we would have expected it to shift back to positive after the strong <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/el-nino-climate-shifts-date-back-250-million-years/">El Niño</a> in 2015,” Klavans said. “Instead, it flipped briefly and then reverted - suggesting something deeper and undiscovered is holding it in place.”



That “something deeper” is the external shove from greenhouse gases and industrial aerosols, the authors conclude. The ocean pattern is still a cycle, but it is being nudged into one gear.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-human-forcing-clear-in-models">Human forcing clear in models</h2>



The team’s rethink relied on advances in climate modeling. For years, many models suffered from a “signal-to-noise paradox.” 



They inflated the role of random swings while muting the effect of external forcing from human activity. The researchers corrected that imbalance across a large ensemble.



“Once we corrected for that imbalance, it became clear that human emissions are the dominant factor behind the current PDO pattern and the West’s extreme dryness,” Klavans said.



“Our work shows that, on decadal timescales, climate models have been underestimating how sensitive regional climates are to external forcing,” said co-author Pedro DiNezio, a professor at the University of Colorado.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-worst-drought-on-record">Worst drought on record</h2>



Tree ring records show the Southwest’s past two decades are the driest since at least 800 CE. Across the West, most areas are in drought, and a large share is in severe drought. Reservoirs, soils, forests, and rivers reflect the strain.



The study warns that if emissions continue on their current path, the PDO is likely to stay negative for many years, which would lock in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/megadroughts-are-becoming-more-frequent-and-severe/">megadrought</a>. This would constrain water supplies, heighten <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfire-risk-is-rapidly-rising-across-the-southern-u-s/">wildfire risk</a>, and pressure farms and cities.



“This isn't a temporary dry spell,” Klavans said. “It’s a climate-driven transformation of the region’s water system. Planners and policymakers need to treat it as such.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-adapting-to-a-changing-climate">Adapting to a changing climate</h2>



The methods in this paper may sharpen forecasts far from the Pacific. Other ocean patterns, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation, shape rainfall in Europe and beyond. 



Better separating human forcing from internal swings could improve projections of wet and dry trends on the time horizons that matter for planning.



“Our methods have the potential to drastically improve predictions of climate impacts - including precipitation trends across the globe,” said co-author Amy Clement, a professor at the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Miami</a>. “That kind of foresight is critical for planning and adapting to a changing climate.”



For the American West, the message is blunt. Managing a water system built for a wetter past will require new rules, new investments, and, above all, time. The PDO may eventually flip. But the study argues that external forcing has tilted the odds against a quick reversal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cut-emissions-calm-the-pacific">Cut emissions, calm the Pacific</h2>



The science also underscores the leverage of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/states-taking-action-on-their-own-can-cut-half-of-u-s-emissions/">emission cuts</a>. Less forcing means less push on the ocean cycle and better odds that the Pacific can slip out of its drought-favoring mode sooner.



This is not a story of the ocean alone. It is the story of how greenhouse gases and aerosols have rewired a familiar Pacific rhythm, with cascading effects on storms, snowpack, and rivers. The pattern is still oscillating - it is just doing so on a drought-shifted baseline that is reshaping the West.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09368-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Emissions are driving the West’s worst drought in 1,200 years

New evidence shows that the North Pacific is no longer...

A submarine fiber-optic cable has revealed how glacier calving stirs fjords long after the splash. The measurements capture surface tsunamis and towering internal waves triggered by glaciers that mix warm and cold layers.



The result is faster underwater melting and a powerful feedback loop that helps glaciers shed ice.



Researchers from the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Washington</a> and partner institutions recorded calving across South Greenland’s Eqalorutsit Kangilliit Sermiat by laying a sensing cable along the fjord floor. The work shows how to quantify a process that is accelerating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/emergency-meeting-reveals-the-alarming-extent-of-antarcticas-ice-loss/">ice loss</a> and affecting ocean circulation and ecosystems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-remote-view-of-glacier-edge">Remote view of glacier edge</h2>



The front of a glacier is no place to linger. Ice blocks the size of buildings break free and hurl into the sea. Traditional instruments cannot safely sit in the impact zone.



“We took the fiber to a glacier and we measured this calving multiplier effect that we never could have seen with simpler technology,” said co-author Brad Lipovsky, a geophysicist at the University of Washington. “It’s the kind of thing we’ve just never been able to quantify before.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-light-tracks-waves-from-glaciers">Light tracks waves from glaciers</h2>



The team used Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS). A 10-kilometer cable was unspooled from a boat near the glacier’s mouth. A compact receiver pulsed light and read tiny changes as the cable strained. 



Those optical backscatter patterns recorded ground motion and temperature at thousands of points along the line, for three weeks.



The setup turned the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-fjords-show-signs-of-struggle-in-a-warming-world/">fjord</a> into an instrument. It registered the instant of impact when ice hit the water and followed the wake as icebergs sped past - some as big as stadiums and moving 15 to 20 miles per hour. It also captured what the eye cannot see.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-glaciers-waves-and-warm-water">Glaciers, waves, and warm water</h2>



Calving first launches a surface surge. These calving-induced <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/20-years-later-remembering-the-worlds-deadliest-tsunami/">tsunamis</a> rake the fjord’s top layers. Then the surface calms. The cable, however, kept shaking. Beneath the still water, internal gravity waves rolled between density layers.



“When icebergs break off, they excite all sorts of waves,” said lead author Dominik Gräff, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington.



The internal waves were as tall as skyscrapers and lasted longer than the surface swell. They mixed the water column, lifting warmth upward and pushing cold water downward. That sustained stirring renewed contact between the glacier face and warmer water at depth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-feedback-loop-accelerates-melt">Feedback loop accelerates melt</h2>



Glaciers are top-heavy where they meet the ocean, while most of their mass hides below the surface. Warm water erodes the submerged ice and hollows the base. 



Afterward, calving sheds the overhanging top. The splash does more than make noise. It stirs the fjord like a spoon in a drink.



Gräff used a simple image. Around an ice cube, still water turns cool and forms a thin insulating layer. Stirring strips that layer away, making the cube melt faster. 



In the fjord, calving does the stirring, and the boundary layer at the ice front is disrupted again and again. The researchers observed a large event every few hours.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-it-matters-well-beyond-one-fjord"><a></a>Why it matters well beyond one fjord</h2>



The Greenland ice sheet is shrinking. It is a frozen cap roughly three times the size of Texas. If it melted, sea levels would rise by about 25 feet, inundating coasts and displacing millions. 



Scientists also worry about the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/polar-warming-could-reduce-ocean-currents-amoc-and-cause-massive-flooding-in-the-us/">AMOC</a>), which moves heat and nutrients around the globe since ice loss and freshwater inputs can weaken that system.



“Our whole Earth system depends, at least in part, on these ice sheets,” Gräff said. “It’s a fragile system, and if you disturb it even just a little bit, it could collapse."



"We need to understand the turning points, and this requires deep, process-based knowledge of glacial mass loss.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-improving-models-and-warning-systems">Improving models and warning systems </h2>



Before this expedition, no one had attempted to capture calving with a submarine fiber-optic array.



“We didn’t know if this was going to work,” Lipovsky said. “But now we have data to support something that was only an idea before.”



The cable recorded internal waves not only from the splash but also from glaciers as they cruised down the fjord. Earlier studies relied on isolated bottom sensors and strings of thermometers, which offered only snapshots.



The fiber delivered a movie, with both space and time resolved along the entire line. That level of detail can improve models and inform warning systems for calving-induced tsunamis in narrow fjords.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fiber-optics-in-glacial-science">Fiber optics in glacial science</h2>



“There is a fiber-sensing revolution going on right now,” Lipovsky said. “It’s become much more accessible in the past decade, and we can use this technology in these amazing settings.”



The approach is scalable. Cables can be redeployed, linked, and left in place. They can watch a fjord through seasons, storms, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-has-made-heatwaves-more-deadly/">heatwaves</a> and can record the subtle shifts that push a glacier toward a tipping point.



The lesson is clear: watch the waves you cannot see, and you will learn how glaciers vanish. With that knowledge, scientists can better forecast sea-level rise and its cascading effects - from coastlines to currents to communities.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09347-7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Glaciers are melting from hidden underwater waves

A submarine fiber-optic cable has revealed how glacier calving stirs...

Transforming the way we grow, eat, and waste food could halt and even reverse land degradation. A new analysis shows that cutting food waste and scaling sustainable ocean foods would free land on a continental scale.



 Pair that with ambitious restoration, and the world could bend the curve on climate and biodiversity while strengthening global health.



The case comes from 21 scientists who lay out a food system roadmap to land recovery. The research quantifies how much land could be spared by 2050 and sets a higher restoration target. 



To accomplish this, the authors argue that food must move to the center of climate, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-are-the-biggest-drivers-of-biodiversity-loss/">biodiversity</a>, and land agendas.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-make-food-the-priority">Make food the priority</h2>



“Food systems have not yet been fully incorporated into intergovernmental agreements, nor do they receive sufficient focus in current strategies to address <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/land-degradation-severely-threatens-planetary-boundaries/">land degradation</a>,” the authors wrote.



“Rapid, integrated reforms focused on global <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/vicious-cycle-food-systems-both-suffer-from-and-cause-emissions/">food systems</a>, however, can move land health from crisis to recovery and secure a healthier, more stable planet for all.”



The scientists call for a 50 percent restoration goal by 2050, up from the current 30 percent by 2030. That level of recovery would add back about 5 million square miles of land - roughly 1.16 million square miles of cropland and 3.86 million square miles of non-cropland.



People on the land, such Indigenous Peoples, smallholders, women, and other vulnerable communities, should lead the work. It also means fair access to technology, secure tenure, and markets, backed by farm supports that reward stewardship, not depletion.



Transparent labels can guide better choices, while better data can track impacts in real time. Moreover, taxes and tariffs can favor low-impact producers and hold polluters to account.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-slash-food-waste-spare-the-soil"><a></a>Slash food waste, spare the soil</h2>



Globally, about 21.8 million square miles of land feed humanity. We lose roughly a third of that effort as waste -14 percent after harvest and 19 percent in stores, restaurants, and homes.



Cut <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/food-waste-has-a-surprising-impact-on-climate-change/">food waste</a> by three quarters and you spare an estimated 5.17 million square miles - land that need not be plowed or grazed.



Policy can drive the change, preventing overproduction and spoilage. Governments and businesses should expand donation channels and near-expiry discounts, and enforce public education that cuts household waste. 



Additionally, small farmers could improve storage and cold chains. Spain, for example, now requires stores to donate or sell surplus food and asks restaurants to offer take-home containers. 



Cutting food waste also mandates formal waste-reduction plans along the supply chain. Such steps show what rapid progress can look like.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bring-seafood-into-the-menu"><a></a>Bring seafood into the menu</h2>



Red meat produced in unsustainable ways uses vast pasture and feed, and emits large amounts of greenhouse gases. 



Nutritious <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/imported-seafood-is-spreading-antibiotic-resistance-genes/">seafood</a> and seaweed can ease that pressure. Seaweed needs no freshwater and absorbs carbon as it grows. Replacing 70 percent of unsustainable red meat with sustainable seafood could spare 6.6 million square miles of land.



If seaweed-derived foods replaced just 10 percent of global vegetable intake, more than 154,000 square miles of cropland could be freed. This shift would open vast areas for other uses or restoration.



These shifts matter most in wealthy countries with high meat consumption. In some poorer regions, animal products remain vital for nutrition, so any change must be tailored and just.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-africa-sized-land-restored">Africa-sized land restored</h2>



Two big moves - waste cuts and ocean-based foods - could spare about 11.9 million square miles by mid-century, an area roughly equal to Africa.



Combine that with restoring half of degraded land, and the total spared or restored area reaches about 16.9 million square miles between 2020 and 2050.



The climate dividend would be large. The authors estimate about 13 gigatons of CO₂-equivalent mitigated each year through 2050.



Biodiversity would also benefit as habitats recover and pressure to convert remaining natural ecosystems declines. Food security and health would strengthen as soils, watersheds, and diets improve.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-working-together-for-restoration">Working together for restoration</h2>



“This paper presents a bold, integrated set of actions to tackle land degradation, biodiversity loss, and climate change together, as well as a clear pathway for implementing them by 2050,” said lead author Fernando Maestre from the <a href="https://www.kaust.edu.sa/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">King Abdullah University of Science and Technology</a> (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia.



Transforming food systems, restoring land, promoting sustainable seafood, and fostering global cooperation can reverse land degradation and advance <a href="https://www.unccd.int/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UN Convention to Combat Desertification</a> (UNCCD) goals.



“Once soils lose fertility, water tables deplete, and biodiversity is lost, restoring the land becomes exponentially more expensive," said Barron Orr, UNCCD Chief Scientist. "Ongoing rates of land degradation contribute to a cascade of mounting global challenges."



“Land degradation isn’t just a rural issue, it affects the food on all our plates, the air we breathe, and the stability of the world we live in.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-joining-forces-to-heal-land">Joining forces to heal land</h2>



The authors urge the three Rio Conventions - on biodiversity, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oases-grow-by-human-effort-but-face-threats-from-desertification/">desertification</a>, and climate - to align around land and food goals, share cutting-edge knowledge, track progress, and turn science into policy faster.



They note that Parties to the UNCCD have already agreed to avoid, reduce, and reverse degradation on agricultural lands, most recently at COP16 in Riyadh. Coordination can speed action on the ground, link national targets, and unlock finance.



The message is clear. Fix food systems, and land can recover. Do it fast, do it fairly, and the world gets a safer climate, richer nature, and healthier lives.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09365-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Global food shift could free up land the size of Africa

Transforming the way we grow, eat, and waste food could...

Young aspen trees in Yellowstone are doing something they have not done in almost 100 years. Rather than sprouting and being eaten back to nubs by elk and bison, they're actually growing into tall, adult forest trees rising up towards the canopy.



This matters more than it might seem, because it shows what happens when a missing piece of an ecosystem returns.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-yellowstone-aspens-and-elk">Yellowstone, aspens, and elk</h2>



In the 1920s, people <a href="https://www.yellowstone.org/wolf-project/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">eliminated wolves in Yellowstone</a>. At the time, with limited scientific knowledge, managers believed it was the right thing to do.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/from-wolves-to-dogs-did-domestication-begin-without-human-help/">Without wolves</a>, elk herds grew very large. Elk love to eat aspen shoots - the tender young growth is highly palatable to them.



For roughly 70 years, elk browsed aspen sprouts down to stub height, and the trees couldn't grow. 



If you had walked through Yellowstone in the 1980s, you would have seen many tiny aspen shoots covering the ground, but almost no young trees gaining height. 



The forest's regeneration was stalled. Old trees died, and no new ones replaced them.



In 1995 and 1996, park managers reintroduced wolves into the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/yellowstone-supervolcano-eruption-study-sparks-new-debate-on-where-and-when-it-will-erupt/">Yellowstone Park ecosystem</a>. Scientists hoped and wondered whether this would change anything for the trees.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-aspen-matter-to-yellowstone">Why aspen matter to Yellowstone</h2>



Aspen groves provide habitat for many species. Birds nest in them. Beavers eat the bark and use the wood for dams. Butterflies and moths lay eggs on the leaves. 



Their canopy admits enough light for wildflowers and shrubs to grow beneath. When it rains, aspen groves hold water in the soil better than some other forest types.



In short, when aspen return, dozens of other species benefit. More trees support more insects, which in turn support more birds, enriching the ecosystem.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-checking-the-trees-three-decades-later">Checking the trees three decades later</h2>



<a href="https://fwcs.oregonstate.edu/users/luke-painter" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Luke Painter</a>, an ecologist at <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Oregon State University</a>, sought clear answers. His team returned to 87 aspen stands across Yellowstone that scientists had previously surveyed. 



They measured thousands of young trees, looked for bite marks, and counted how many stems were tall enough that elk could no longer reach the tips.



About a third of these stands now have many tall young aspens pushing toward the canopy. 



"About 26 of the 87 aspen stands we examined had large numbers of tall saplings throughout, a remarkable change from the 1990s when surveys found none at all," Painter said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-wolves-matter-to-yellowstone-aspens">Why wolves matter to Yellowstone aspens</h2>



Breaking it all down, the conclusions of this study are pretty simple. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wolves-move-pups-across-mountains-to-adapt-to-climate-pressure/">Wolves hunt elk</a>. When wolves came back, two things happened. First, elk numbers declined from unusually high levels. Second, elk changed their behavior. They spent less time in the same areas feeding.



With fewer elk and shorter feeding bouts, more aspen shoots survived long enough to exceed the browsing zone - about six to seven feet high. 



Once a sapling reaches that height, elk cannot easily reach the growing tip. The tree continues to grow.



"The reintroduction of large carnivores has initiated a recovery process that had been shut down for decades," Painter explained.



Scientists call this a <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/trophic-cascades-across-diverse-plant-ecosystems-80060347/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trophic cascade</a> - when adding or removing one species causes changes that ripple through the whole system.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-some-places-recover-others-don-t">Some places recover, others don't</h2>



Unfortunately, not every aspen stand has recovered yet. Some valleys still have many short, heavily browsed shoots, because it's not only elk eating them anymore. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/yellowstones-iconic-bison-have-merged-into-a-single-herd/">Bison herds have grown</a>, and bison browse on aspen as well. They are strong enough to break young trees. 



"Increasing numbers of bison may be emerging as a new constraint to aspen in some areas," Painter confirmed.



Additionally, winter snow depth varies; droughts stress trees; bears and mountain lions also hunt elk; and hunting outside the park influences elk distribution. 



All of these factors interact, which is why some sites show strong recovery, others show moderate recovery, and a few have changed very little.



The key pattern is that places with many tall saplings experience little browsing, and aspen groves that remain popular eating grounds today stay short. 



This fact is the strongest indication that tree recovery is linked directly to wolf presence, not solely to weather or soil conditions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-proof-in-the-measurements">Proof in the measurements</h2>



Painter's team did not rely on casual observation. They used the same methods as earlier researchers, measuring the same plots. 



They counted recruitment - when young trees surpass browsing height and begin progressing toward maturity. This measure is crucial. Sprouts are insufficient if they never grow; without recruitment, the forest cannot replace itself.



The results are robust. After being stalled for most of a century, Yellowstone's aspens are increasing in height. In recovering stands today, you will see saplings - six, eight, or ten feet tall - that were not present in the 1990s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-future-of-yellowstone-s-aspens">The future of Yellowstone's aspens</h2>



"This is a remarkable case of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-viruses-found-in-yellowstones-hot-springs-may-be-near-the-root-of-all-life-on-earth/">ecological restoration</a>," Painter concluded. "Wolf reintroduction is yielding long-term ecological changes contributing to increased biodiversity and habitat diversity."



Trees grow slowly, so even with wolves restored, it will take decades for these young aspens to form a full-grown forest. 



Some areas might never fully recover if bison numbers continue to rise or if the climate becomes too hot and dry.



Thanks to the work of Painter and his team, scientists are now certain that restoring the Yellowstone predator has restarted aspen forest regeneration. Not everywhere and not perfectly, but enough to be measured, creating hope for the future.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112725004499?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Forest Ecology and Management</a>.



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Yellowstone's aspen trees are growing again thanks to the reintroduction of wolves

Young aspen trees in Yellowstone are doing something they have...

Lakes are often labeled as steady emitters of carbon dioxide, yet new research suggests that view misses what happens along their edges, where plants work fast and sediments hold tight. 



A peer-reviewed analysis finds that when these fringes are included, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-oceans-are-rapidly-changing-colors-matching-climate-predictions/">lakes</a> may act as net carbon sinks at the global scale.



Lake edges are known as littoral zones - the shallow belts where land and water meet, and they wrap around an astonishing length of shoreline. 



In fact, the total shoreline of the world’s lakes and reservoirs is estimated to be roughly four times longer than the global ocean coastline. The research was led by Charlotte Grasset of Uppsala University.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vegetated-edges-and-lake-carbon">Vegetated edges and lake carbon</h2>



Add the vegetated littoral zone to the ledger and the balance shifts in surprising ways. A commentary describes how including these zones can substantially alter, and in some cases reverse, whole-lake carbon budgets by boosting burial and trimming apparent outgassing.



The key is that littoral plants take in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) during photosynthesis, send a portion of that carbon below ground, and help trap organic matter in low-oxygen <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-some-lakes-may-disappear-faster-than-others/">sediments</a>. 



Those sediments can store carbon for long periods, changing the net ledger of what lakes contribute to the atmosphere versus what they lock away.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plants-trap-and-store-carbon">Plants trap and store carbon</h2>



Aquatic plants, known as macrophytes, often grow densely in littoral zones and can be highly productive per square foot. 



Independent global work has shown that carbon burial in lakes and reservoirs is on the same order as burial in the oceans, underscoring how potent these inland sinks can be.



That background makes the new accounting intuitive. If the most productive, plant-rich parts of lakes were omitted from global budgets, the scale would tilt toward emissions by default, even if sediments at the edges were quietly piling up carbon year after year.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-calculating-carbon-balance">Calculating carbon balance</h2>



The study links littoral zones to open-water areas using a simple transport model and a mass-balance approach. 



The research builds on recent syntheses showing that global inland waters emit substantial greenhouse gases (GHGs) but also bury a lot of carbon, with regional variation and strong dependence on surface area estimates.



By integrating shoreline vegetation into the budget, the authors report scenarios in which the annual carbon buried in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-shock-lakes-are-losing-oxygen-faster-than-expected/">lake</a> sediments exceeds the annual carbon released to the air.



This flips the global lake balance from net source to net sink in their estimates - a change driven by the sheer footprint and productivity of vegetated edges.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lakes-can-switch-to-carbon-sinks">Lakes can switch to carbon sinks</h2>



One detail is important for interpretation. Part of the CO2 escaping from open-water zones may actually come from carbon originally fixed in the littoral zone, transported horizontally, and then respired offshore. 



This suggests that previous attributions may have overestimated the portion coming directly from land.



This adjustment doesn’t eliminate emissions - it clarifies them. It highlights the multiple pathways carbon takes within lakes and shows that the littoral zones do more than just support reeds, frogs, and shallow shelves: they actively process and store carbon on a continental scale.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lake-edges-and-the-carbon-budget">Lake edges and the carbon budget </h2>



“We were planning to write a conceptual paper about how aquatic plants in the littoral zone are overlooked in lake carbon cycling," said Grasset. 



"But after doing some initial calculations quantifying the role of these plants, we quickly realized that littoral zones could be a significant player in the global carbon budget!” 



The team’s calculations revealed that factoring in vegetated lake edges can change the overall carbon balance, often transforming lakes from net carbon sources into net carbon sinks.



According to Grasset, the team hopes their findings will encourage further investigation into the importance of littoral zones and highlight the potential benefits of restoring these habitats as part of nature-based climate <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microbes-in-arctic-lakes-are-fueling-a-large-methane-surge/">solutions</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-restoration-takes-center-stage">Restoration takes center stage</h2>



Marine blue carbon ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrasses, and salt marshes have been treated as nature-based climate solutions for more than a decade, backed by extensive monitoring and finance frameworks. 



The new lake analysis argues that freshwater shorelines deserve a similar look, not only for carbon but also for water quality and biodiversity.



There is practical support for that move. Studies show that healthy macrophyte communities help stabilize clearer water states, reduce algal blooms, and retain nutrients, all of which can reinforce carbon burial in sediments while improving ecological conditions for fish and invertebrates.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-next-for-lake-edges">What’s next for lake edges</h2>



Accounting choices for methane (CH4) matter because methane warms more per pound than CO2 over a century, and littoral habitats can be methane hotspots. 



Current assessments use IPCC AR6 100-year global warming potentials, where non-fossil methane has a value of about 27 with climate-carbon feedbacks considered, a standard that sharpens cross-gas comparisons and helps frame tradeoffs.



Improved maps of vegetated littoral coverage, better separation of terrestrial versus littoral carbon sources, and year-round measurements in underrepresented tropical and productive lakes would tighten the error bars. 



As these data become available, planners can more precisely balance shoreline restoration with other measures to achieve climate, water quality, and habitat objectives.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-025-01739-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Geoscience</a>.



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Lakes with vegetated edges are powerful carbon sinks

Lakes are often labeled as steady emitters of carbon dioxide,...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.ubu.es/english-version" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Burgos</a>, Spain, have found that cross-ventilation is the best type of natural ventilation to maintain healthy air quality inside buildings. 



However, they found that they could not practically apply it in more than half of the existing public buildings they surveyed.



Since the COVID-19 pandemic, recirculated air in public spaces has become a real cause for concern. People need safe access to public spaces. 



Schools, colleges, office spaces, and gyms are essential for a thriving community. But how do we make the air safe?



The researchers developed a replicable model for this. The model assesses the capacity of buildings to maintain good indoor air quality based on real ventilation capacity. <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/19/7331" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Carbon dioxide</a> (CO₂) concentration is a key marker in the model.



This study proposes that ventilation should be a critical design detail in future public buildings.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-co₂-characterizes-air-quality">CO₂ characterizes air quality</h2>



CO₂ levels rise predictably with human respiration. Researchers consider it a reliable marker for the dilution of potentially <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/city-microbes-are-finding-surprising-new-ways-to-survive">infectious aerosols</a>.



“Good” <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412023004002" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">air quality indoors</a> is when the difference between CO₂ levels indoors and outdoors is less than 500 ppm. 



European standards call this IDA2 category. IDAs 1- 4 classify indoor air quality for non-residential buildings. The buildings surveyed in this study were located in Móstoles, Spain.



Keeping CO₂ within an IDA category requires a specific ventilation flow rate. For infection control, the study suggests aiming for about three air changes per hour (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_changes_per_hour" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACH</a>).



ACH is a measure of how many times the total volume of air in a room is replaced with fresh air in one hour. 



Only CO₂ levels below 800 ppm are safe. More than five ACH can cause discomfort and be counterproductive for disease control.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-most-buildings-lack-natural-ventilation">Most buildings lack natural ventilation</h2>



Cross-ventilation is where air can enter and exit through openings on opposite facades or walls. It is the only natural method consistently capable of reaching the recommended ACH. 



Researchers emphasized that good indoor air quality is critical for the health and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360132323010119" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">well-being</a> of office workers. It is also imperative to reduce airborne diseases.



Yet about 53% of the 183 analyzed rooms had no possibility for natural ventilation at all!&nbsp;



Only a few spaces with windows could achieve good <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/millions-of-americans-live-in-areas-without-air-quality-monitoring/">air quality</a> with only natural ventilation. For example, designers planned to accommodate 77 people in the city’s Plenary Hall (City Council). 



However, the study found that it could accommodate only 20 people while maintaining IDA2 conditions - even with every window fully open.



Because of similar issues, just 11% of the rooms met IDA2 occupancy standards.&nbsp;



Between 28% and 57% reached the more modest benchmarks of five or three ACH, depending on room type and density of occupation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-to-improve-natural-ventilation">How to improve natural ventilation</h2>



The findings make it clear that many existing public buildings do not maintain good <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trees-and-bushes-near-highways-improve-air-quality/">air quality</a>. Their natural ventilation is inadequate. 



The researchers recommended pairing windows with mechanical ventilation to maintain IDA2 conditions. 



They also demonstrated how to transform simple CO₂ monitoring into a daily operational tool. For example, restricting or staggering admission to a space when thresholds of CO₂ are exceeded. 



Sensors could trigger window openings and not require <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378778816304868" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">manual intervention</a>. This would balance energy efficiency and safety in air-conditioned spaces.



“Natural ventilation is a low-cost, scalable intervention,” the authors noted in the paper. This study did not focus on other air purification methods, like filters or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bioengineered-super-plant-acts-as-natural-indoor-air-purifier/">air purifiers</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-designing-buildings-that-breathe">Designing buildings that breathe</h2>



This study provides an integrated approach to designing healthy buildings. They considered specific ventilation conditions, activity types, and occupancy levels.&nbsp;



The majority of public spaces in this study lacked the architectural design to take advantage of natural ventilation. Therefore, forced or mechanical ventilation needs to be combined with the existing system, making it a hybrid.



The study found that cross-ventilation is the most efficient natural way to dilute indoor contaminants. It requires little capital to operate. 



It can be combined with the monitoring of CO₂ levels to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worker-rights-are-among-the-least-protected-human-rights/">protect occupants</a> dynamically. The effects of poor air quality go beyond the spread of infections to other aspects of respiratory health.



Taken together, these findings suggest that the path forward is twofold. 



Existing buildings need to be upgraded to include hybrid systems where required. Secondly, architects should design all new public buildings to breathe from the start.



The study proposes that incorporating cross-ventilation into building design is an essential step toward creating healthier public spaces.



The study findings were published in the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4117/6/8/197" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eng.</a>



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Is natural ventilation the key to healthier public spaces?

Researchers at the University of Burgos, Spain, have found that...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSM3EVeGHJU
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Companies like MindStudio help companies train their employees to implement the latest AI Agent building platform.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-agent-training-transforms-the-workplace-fear-factor-into-a-competitive-advantage">AI agent training transforms the workplace 'fear factor' into a competitive advantage</h2>



Organizations that offer comprehensive artificial intelligence training to their workers find remarkable value that extends well beyond basic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mind-wandering-might-be-more-productive-than-you-think/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">productivity improvements</a>. Emerging research demonstrates that carefully crafted AI training programs <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-does-not-replace-human-creativity-but-enhances-it/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">enhance</a> corporate performance, lower operational costs, and dramatically improve employee psychological well-being by turning workplace uncertainty into professional empowerment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-addressing-the-widespread-ai-anxiety-crisis-among-us">Addressing the widespread 'AI anxiety' crisis among us</h2>



A staggering 53% of employees expressed concern that the use of AI tools to automate work tasks could make them appear disposable to their employers, according to <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Microsoft</a>'s 2024 workplace survey. Such pervasive worry about being substituted by machines has caused what researchers have termed "AI technostress" – a psychological state that can result in occupational burnout and poorer mental well-being.



Data published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/palcomms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humanities and Social Sciences Communications</a> showed that belief in AI learning ability was a moderator in the link between technology adoption and work pressure, and higher confidence significantly lowered negative psychological responses. Workers provided ample training to become competent with AI software have significantly lower stress.



Companies like <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MindStudio</a> have platforms for building what are known as "AI Agents". In essence, AI Agents are simply tools that employees can build for themselves or their teams quickly and inexpensively. MindStudio will even train entire companies, from the CEO on down, at no cost. By letting MindStudio empower employees, companies avoid hiring more IT staff, buying more software, and implementing solutions to problems that do not exist.



MindStudio even has partners locally for companies, like <a href="http://www.dominnus.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dominnus</a> with offices in the Carolinas, California, and Denver, to help build AI Agents and support employees as they become resident AI experts for their organization. The training provided by MindStudio is applicable across other AI Agent building platforms as well.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revolutionary-productivity-through-focused-learning">Revolutionary productivity through focused learning</h2>



Organizations that implement large-scale AI training programs achieve dramatic outcomes. Employees performed tasks significantly better when they utilized AI support compared to when they didn't, according to <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nielsen Norman Group</a> research findings. Their study documented productivity increases of 66% for a variety of professional tasks.



Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis research finds workers record 33% higher productivity in time working with generative AI tools. The benefit is equivalent to 5.4% of work time savings for AI users – around 2.2 hours per week for full-time workers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-psychological-well-being-benefits-through-ai-competence">Psychological well-being benefits through AI competence</h2>



The emotional transformation when employees are provided with proper technology training is a fundamental transformation from fear to professional confidence. A survey of 600 employees across industries, carried out by ScienceDirect, proved that AI capabilities strengthen work environment commitment and improve job satisfaction.



A <a href="https://www.lut.fi/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LUT University</a> study discovered that AI adoption has no direct effect on workers' well-being but does so indirectly through working conditions like task optimization and safety protocols. Strategically deployed AI that involves correct training can actually increase workplace mental well-being.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-replacement-anxiety-to-partnership-confidence">From 'replacement anxiety' to 'partnership confidence'</h2>



Although 35% of those interviewed in recent McKinsey studies were concerned about workforce displacement, firms with large-scale training initiatives witness such fears dissipate quickly. The World Economic Forum found that two out of three respondents believe AI competencies will enhance their career prospects and job marketability.



This shift from fear to trust has measurable implications for job satisfaction. Applied Sciences research indicates AI can create tailored wellness programs based on individual employee requirements.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-financial-benefits-of-increased-retention">Financial benefits of increased retention</h2>



The mental health advantages of AI learning have a direct impact on organizational bottom lines in the form of a positive feedback cycle with high retention of employees. Recent ROI research validates that artificial intelligence learning has a beneficial impact on employee turnover and satisfaction levels.



PriceWaterhouseCoopers' research documents 20% to 30% improvements in productivity, market speed, and revenue in organizations that attempt systematic AI adoption through comprehensive training.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-environmental-advantages-of-ai-enabled-teams">Environmental advantages of AI-enabled teams</h2>



AI training has unforeseen environmental benefits as it makes the work environment more efficient. According to a study in Scientific Reports, the carbon footprint in writing and illustrating work is significantly lower when AI performs it compared to humans. AI software produces 130 to 1,500 times less CO2 equivalent per page of text created than human authors.



In addition, AI-driven remote work functionality significantly reduces environmental impact. Research by Cornell University and Microsoft indicates that remote workers reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 54% by not commuting daily to offices. Hybrid workers working remotely two to four days a week can reduce their carbon footprint by 11% to 29%.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cumulative-organizational-advantages">Cumulative organizational advantages</h2>



The compounding gains of better mental well-being, reduced turnover, increased productivity, and environmental benefits flow to enterprises from the pairing. McKinsey analysis estimates the long-term AI potential at $4.4 trillion in incremental productivity growth opportunity from business use cases.



As of now, 75% of knowledge workers globally utilize generative AI, mirroring widespread adoption patterns. Organizations that provide organized training and assistance see the most favorable results in productivity, worker satisfaction, and ecological sustainability.



The research overwhelmingly indicates that companies that invest in proper AI education, like that offered through <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MindStudio</a>, establish win-win scenarios where employees are both more empowered and less stressed, and companies enjoy the gains of increased productivity, reduced turnover, and improved mental health outcomes throughout their workforce.



For more on MindStudio's free AI training for companies, visit the website's of MindStudio and Dominnus from the links below.



The research was published across a variety of peer-reviewed journals, including <a href="https://www.nature.com/palcomms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humanities and Social Sciences Communications</a>, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/artificial-intelligence" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence</a>, and <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci">Applied Sciences</a>.



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MindStudio.AI: <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.mindstudio.ai</a>



Dominnus: <a href="https://www.dominnus.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.dominnus.com</a>

AI agent training boosts mental health and profits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSM3EVeGHJU Companies like MindStudio help companies train their employees to...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HDXqTGEmi4
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Scientists give plants superpowers against bacterial disease</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-natural-solution-to-disease-through-crop-modification">A natural solution to disease through crop modification.</h2>



The agricultural industry stands at a crossroads between productivity and environmental responsibility, and crop modification often carries a negative connotation. While chemical pesticides have long been the go-to solution for crop protection, their harmful effects on ecosystems and human health have prompted scientists to seek alternatives. The recent breakthrough by <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Southampton</a> researchers offers a promising path forward through the precise manipulation of plant-associated microbial communities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-science-behind-microbial-partnerships">The science behind microbial partnerships</h2>



Plants naturally harbor diverse ecosystems of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms that function as biological allies. These microscopic partners contribute to disease resistance, nutrient absorption, and stress tolerance. However, until now, scientists lacked the tools to deliberately reshape these communities to enhance crop protection.



The Southampton team's approach centered on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/engineered-plant-microbiomes-the-future-of-crop-protection/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">modifying lignin biosynthesis genes in rice plants</a>. This strategic intervention altered the plant's metabolic output, creating conditions that favored beneficial bacterial populations while suppressing harmful ones. The result was a living defense system embedded within the plant itself.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-global-food-security">Implications for global food security</h2>



The successful demonstration against Xanthomonas oryzae, the pathogen responsible for bacterial blight in rice, represents more than a laboratory achievement. Rice feeds nearly half the world's population, and bacterial blight causes devastating crop losses annually. Traditional control methods rely heavily on pesticides that contaminate soil and water systems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-beyond-disease-resistance">Looking Beyond Disease Resistance</h2>



While disease protection represents the immediate application, the research framework opens doors to broader agricultural improvements. Future developments could engineer microbiomes to enhance nutrient uptake, reducing dependence on synthetic fertilizers. This dual benefit addresses both crop productivity and environmental sustainability.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-path-forward">The path forward</h2>



As this technology advances from laboratory to field applications, it promises to reshape sustainable agriculture. The ability to program plants with their own biological defense systems could herald a new era where crops protect themselves naturally, reducing chemical inputs while maintaining yields necessary for global food security.



The study is published in the journal&nbsp;<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44335-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Revolutionizing agriculture through microbiome engineering

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HDXqTGEmi4 Scientists give plants superpowers against bacterial disease A natural...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Acid rain and a crisis solved.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-don-t-we-ever-hear-about-acid-rain-anymore-the-environmental-crisis-that-was-solved">Why don't we ever hear about "acid rain" anymore? The environmental crisis that was solved</h2>



Remember the 1980s when acid rain dominated headlines? Dire warnings about rain eating buildings, killing fish, and destroying forests filled every news cycle. Then, almost like magic, acid rain vanished from public discourse. What happened? Did we actually solve one of the late 20th century's most pressing environmental challenges?



The answer might surprise you. Unlike many environmental issues that drag on indefinitely, acid rain represents one of modern history's most successful ecological recovery stories. It's a tale of science, politics, and technology working together to tackle what seemed impossible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What was acid rain?</h2>



Acid rain isn't regular rain having a bad day – it's precipitation that became significantly more acidic due to air pollution. When power plants, factories, and vehicles burn fossil fuels, they release sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the atmosphere.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The science behind it</h2>



Think of acid rain as nature's chemistry experiment gone wrong. These compounds react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids. When mixed with water vapor in clouds, they create precipitation with dangerously low pH levels.



While clean rain has a pH of about 5.6, acid rain could drop as low as 4.2 to 4.4 – roughly as acidic as tomato juice or coffee. According to US Geological Survey documentation, Scottish chemist Angus Smith first coined "acid rain" in 1872, but it didn't become a household phrase until the 1960s and 1970s when Swedish scientist Svante Odén documented its devastating effects on Scandinavian lakes and European forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The crisis at its peak</h2>



During the height of public concern, environmental damage was both widespread and visible. This wasn't some abstract future threat – people could see destruction happening in real-time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Environmental devastation</h2>



The most dramatic impacts were impossible to ignore. Research documented by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation shows that in the Adirondack Mountains, more than 200 lakes became so acidic they couldn't support fish life. The Adirondack Council reports that 409 lakes once supported brook trout, but many lost their fish populations due to acid rain.



By 1976, when scientists cataloged all acidified lakes in the Adirondack Park, researchers found that half of the lakes over 2,000 feet above sea level had no fish, according to studies published in environmental journals. The acidification process worked like a slow-motion disaster. As acid rain fell into watersheds, it gradually lowered pH levels. Fish couldn't survive in acidic water, and their food sources died off too.



Trees at high elevations showed stress directly linked to acid rain. It weakened them by leaching nutrients and making them susceptible to disease. Historical records show Germany's Black Forest saw nearly half its trees damaged by the mid-1980s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Economic impact</h2>



Acid rain wasn't just environmental – it was expensive. Acidic precipitation corroded infrastructure, buildings, and monuments. Historic stone structures deteriorated at accelerated rates. Tourism suffered as lakes became fishless and forests declined. EPA economic analyses from the period documented repair costs mounting into billions annually.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The solution: government action and technology</h2>



Transformation from crisis to success required unprecedented cooperation between governments, industries, and environmental groups.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Clean Air Act of 1990</h2>



The turning point came with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, signed by President George H.W. Bush. This represented a fundamentally new approach to environmental regulation, as documented in EPA historical records.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cap-and-trade success</h2>



Instead of mandating specific technologies, the 1990 amendments introduced something revolutionary: a cap-and-trade system for sulfur dioxide emissions. EPA program documentation shows this market-based approach set overall limits but allowed companies to trade emission allowances.



The genius was harnessing market forces to find cost-effective pollution reduction. Companies reducing emissions cheaply could sell excess allowances to those facing higher costs. Research published in environmental economics journals and EPA progress reports shows this resulted in dramatic SO2 reduction at a fraction of projected costs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Technology advances</h2>



Policy provided the framework, but technology made reductions possible. Studies in atmospheric science journals document the widespread adoption of flue gas desulfurization systems ("scrubbers") that removed sulfur dioxide before it reached the atmosphere. By the 2000s, new installations could remove over 95% of SO2 emissions, according to EPA technical reports.



The push coincided with cleaner energy development. Natural gas produces fewer sulfur compounds than coal. Wind and solar, emerging in the 1990s, captured growing market share, reducing reliance on high-sulfur coal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-we-don-t-hear-about-it-today">Why we don't hear about it today</h2>



Why did acid rain disappear from headlines? Simple: the problem was largely solved.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Success doesn't make news</h2>



There's an old journalism saying: "If it bleeds, it leads." Environmental success stories don't generate urgency like crisis reporting. Media attention shifted to other challenges: climate change, plastic pollution, and biodiversity loss. There's only so much environmental anxiety the public can absorb, and newer concerns replaced acid rain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mission accomplished</h2>



The primary reason is beautifully simple: interventions worked. EPA monitoring data shows sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990. Academic research published in environmental science journals confirms pH levels in formerly affected areas returned closer to normal. This represents one of history's most dramatic environmental recoveries. Studies by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation show fishless lakes now support healthy populations. Forests recovered, and building damage slowed dramatically.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-it-really-gone">Is it really gone?</h2>



The crisis is largely resolved, but monitoring data shows the problem isn't completely eliminated – it's managed to acceptable levels. Some areas still experience occasional events during high pollution periods. International environmental research indicates that rapidly industrializing Asian countries face similar problems to what we experienced decades ago, though they're implementing successful strategies.



EPA research shows nitrogen oxide emissions proved more challenging than sulfur dioxide, coming from vehicles and mobile sources. Climate science studies suggest changing weather patterns add complexity to how acid rain forms and falls.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What this teaches us</h2>



The acid rain experience proves that seemingly intractable environmental problems can be solved with scientific understanding, political will, and technological innovation. Environmental monitoring data shows recovery speed was remarkable – within a decade, measurable improvements appeared in air quality and ecosystem health.



Success came from bipartisan support across party lines. Policy analysis studies show the market-based approach appealed to those preferring economic incentives while achieving environmental goals. This support created lasting policy surviving political changes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Conclusion</h2>



Acid rain's disappearance from public consciousness represents environmental science's greatest success stories. Through effective regulation, technological innovation, and international cooperation, we transformed an overwhelming crisis into a manageable challenge.



Today's silence isn't because we forgot – it's because we solved it. The 1990 Clean Air Act, combined with technology and energy market changes, reduced acid rain emissions over 90%, according to comprehensive EPA data analysis.



This success offers hope for current challenges. It proves complex problems can be solved when science, policy, and technology work together. As we face climate change and plastic pollution, acid rain reminds us that dramatic positive change is possible.



Next time someone asks whether environmental regulations work, remember acid rain. It's proof that sometimes, we get it right.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Sources: This article draws from EPA official documentation and progress reports, peer-reviewed research published in environmental and atmospheric science journals, historical data from the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation records, US Geological Survey publications, policy analysis studies, and environmental monitoring data collected over three decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Frequently Asked Questions</h2>



1. Is acid rain completely gone? No, but EPA monitoring shows it's reduced to manageable levels. US sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990, making acid rain much less severe than the 1980s crisis.



2. How long did solving take? Environmental monitoring data shows significant improvements began within 5-10 years of 1990s emission controls. Full ecosystem recovery took longer – some areas need 20-30 years for complete recovery.



3. What made the solution successful? Clear scientific understanding, visible damage motivating action, bipartisan support, available technology, and innovative market-based policies like cap-and-trade.



4. Do other countries have acid rain problems? Yes, particularly rapidly industrializing Asian countries. However, international environmental research shows many implement similar successful control strategies.



5. Could acid rain return? Potentially, if regulations weaken or we return to high-sulfur coal without controls, though effects would take years to become severe according to environmental projections.



6. Can you recommend any teaching tools on the subject of "acid rain"? The United States Environmental Protection Agency produced a wonderful teacher's guide for ages 14 and under that you can find on the EPA website here: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf</a>



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The environmental problem we actually solved

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk Acid rain and a crisis solved. Why don't we...

Green,Ecoduct,Over,An,Empty,Highway,During,Sunset.

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</div></figure>



A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that wildlife tunnels significantly reduce amphibian road mortality during seasonal migrations. 



Frogs and salamanders often cross roads to reach breeding ponds each spring, but many are killed by vehicles. 



Researchers from the <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Vermont</a>, in collaboration with local citizens and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, installed two underpass tunnels in 2015. 



Over a 12-year monitoring period, they observed an 80.2% reduction in amphibian deaths, and up to 94% for non-climbing species like salamanders. 



The study used a before-after-control-impact design and documented more than 5,200 amphibians, highlighting the tunnels’ effectiveness even in nearby buffer zones.



Funded at $342,397 - far cheaper than wildlife crossings for large mammals - the project showcased the power of community-led conservation.



Local groups initiated the effort after observing mass amphibian deaths. Wildlife cameras later captured over 2,200 amphibians using a tunnel in just one spring, along with other species like raccoons and bobcats, indicating wider ecosystem benefits.



This marks the first peer-reviewed, long-term data set in the northeastern U.S. confirming amphibian-specific underpasses work. 



The study urges transportation departments to incorporate these designs into road planning and highlights how community action, thoughtful infrastructure, and persistence can make a real difference for biodiversity.



The full study was published in the <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1617138125000780" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal for Nature Conservation</a>.



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that...

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing it with probiotics and prebiotics, aiming to create a treat that satisfies cravings while supporting gut health. 



The challenge lies in maintaining chocolate's beloved texture and flavor while adding health benefits.



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https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
</div></figure>



Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



Prebiotics act as food for these microbes, helping them thrive. Together, they form "synbiotics," a powerful health combination.



Researchers Smriti Gaur and Shubhi Singh from India's Jaypee Institute of Information Technology took an innovative approach, using natural prebiotics like corn and honey instead of complex processing methods. 



They created five chocolate varieties: a control and four synbiotic versions containing different combinations of prebiotics, probiotics (Lactobacillus strains), and flavor enhancers (cinnamon or orange).



Laboratory simulations of human digestion showed the probiotics remained viable for over five hours, suggesting they could survive long enough to benefit gut health.



Taste tests were positive, with researchers particularly enjoying the orange-flavored variety, describing it as having "vibrant citrus notes" complementing the "rich cocoa" with a "luxurious" texture.



This research represents just the beginning. With further refinement of strains, textures, and flavors, chocolate could evolve beyond mere indulgence to become a functional food that nourishes while it delights.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Food Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Designing crops that can beat the heat

[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Carl...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes the first comprehensive estimate of carbon density in the Saharan, Sahel, and Sudanian zones of Africa. In an effort to measure the amount of carbon stored across these drylands, a team of scientists used high-resolution satellite images and artificial intelligence to map nearly 10 billion individual trees. 



"The high spatial resolution (50 cm) combined with AI and field measurements used in this study is key to improving tree inventories in drylands," said Pierre Hiernaux, a French researcher working for NASA. "The ever-increasing availability of very high-resolution satellite imagery will make it possible to assess carbon pools and their dynamics at the individual tree level on a global scale."



"This study is exceptional because it is pioneering a type of approach that will revolutionize the monitoring of trees and forests on a global scale: in the short term, it will be possible to map the world's trees from the centre of the Amazon to our schoolyards," said <a href="https://www.inrae.fr/en">INRAE</a> researcher Jean-Pierre Wigneron.



"Many fields of application will become much more efficient and accurate, such as tracking carbon stocks, biodiversity, monitoring logging and protection against illegal forest degradation, in near real time.”



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features northwest Lesotho in South Africa.



According to ESA, Lesotho is the only nation in the world that lies completely above 1,000 m in elevation. The country is famous for its tall mountains and narrow valleys, and is known as Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky."



Out of a population of around two million people, about 80 percent live in rural areas. More than 75 percent of these people are engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-have-a-global-impact-on-agriculture/">agriculture</a>, including rainfed cereal production and animal grazing.&nbsp;



ESA reports that the country’s agricultural system faces a growing number of issues, with climate-related vulnerabilities such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. 



Diamonds are amongst the minerals found in the mountains. Indeed, Lesotho can truly be called the Kingdom in the Sky. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable, and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: 'Muso oa Lesotho) is an enclaved country in southern Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around 2 million.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"] Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> features a visual dataset of.methane emissions from wetlands across the globe. Atmospheric methane levels have reached record highs in recent years, and wetlands are a major source of these emissions.&nbsp;



"Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. On a molecule by molecule basis, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the main driver of warming," says NASA.



"Though human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, collectively contribute the majority of methane to the atmosphere, about a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands."&nbsp;



According to NASA, understanding methane emissions from wetlands and other natural sources is critically important for scientists and policymakers who are working to combat climate change by reducing emissions from human activities.



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> reveals the evolution of the Columbia Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Columbia is among the fastest shrinking glaciers in the world, and the video documents its rapid retreat over the years.&nbsp;



Columbia Glacier is a large, multi-branched calving glacier that flows out of the Chugach Mountains to the Prince William Sound.&nbsp;



According to USGS, Columbia had a long history of stability prior to 1980, with a length 41 miles, and small, short-lived advances or retreats.



In the years since 1980, however, satellite images have captured Columbia’s alarming retreat. By using false-color images, scientists can distinguish between snow and ice, open water, vegetation, and rocky debris on the glacier’s surface.



The series of false-color images featured in today's video were acquired over the span of 35 years. You can see that by 2021, the glacier’s main branch had retreated about 15 miles from its initial position.



The Columbia Glacier has also lost more than 50 percent of its volume, mostly due to calving. <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/nasa-reveals-3d-visual-of-an-atmospheric-river/">NASA</a> reports that while climate change likely started the retreat, mechanical processes kept the disintegration going.



The NASA images are provided by Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Joshua Stevens, and Lauren Dauphin using data from Landsat satellites, from the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite. The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. 



Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other.



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/&nbsp; NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes how record-breaking heat expressed itself around the world in 2022.



Scientists have determined that 2022 was the 5th warmest year since 1880. Furthermore, the last nine consecutive years have been the warmest on record.



From devastating floods and wildfires to natural disasters like Hurricane Ian, 2022 showed us yet again how a warming climate affects people across the globe.&nbsp;



"As we look back at 20:22 and years past, we see that each year we better understand the challenges we face and how important it is to meet them," says NASA.



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science explores how changes in water temperatures have affected tiger shark habitats and movements in the North Atlantic Ocean. The study reveals that rising temperatures have caused the sharks to shift toward the poles over the past 40 years.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



The researchers analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.



The experts found that during the last decade of record heat, for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. They also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



“Given their role as apex predators, these changes to tiger shark movements may alter predator-prey interactions, leading to ecological imbalances, and more frequent encounters with humans,” concluded Professor Hammerschlag.



Video Credit: University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

Today’s Video of the Day from the University of Miami...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> is focused on the melt ponds that emerge during the spring and summer on the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere.



"Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets and are visible as turquoise-blue pools of water in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image," says ESA.



"When snow and ice melts atop glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface. These melt ponds can speed up the melting of the surrounding ice since they greatly reduce the ice’s ability to reflect sunlight."



"This can create a positive feedback where an increasing number of melt ponds absorb more heat which causes ice cover to melt even faster."



According to ESA, Greenland has been hit with a late-season heatwave that began in early September. This caused the type of melt event that usually occurs in the middle of summer.



"In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists found that major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now ‘inevitable’ even if the burning of fossil fuels were to halt overnight," says ESA. "Using satellite observations of Greenland ice loss and ice cap from 2000 to 2019, the team found the losses will lead to a minimum rise of 27 cm regardless of climate change."



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes how Earth is unique in our solar system for its ability to sustain liquid water on its surface. But now, the water cycle is shifting as the climate warms, and scientists must find ways to predict how these changes will affect water availability.



Overall, 96 percent of Earth's water is saltwater, and nearly all of freshwater is found in ice and groundwater. These sources of water are linked as it passes through solid, liquid and gas phases.



In a warmer climate, the water cycle will be transformed. It will be easier for water to evaporate and form clouds, and storms will become more frequent and intense. Some regions will get too much water, while others will be left without enough water. In addition, soil moisture will be lost - which threatens food security.



Scientists are using satellite data from over the last 40 years to track changes that are happening in the water cycle. This will ultimately help us prepare for extreme events and better manage our water resources, according to ESA.



Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> features images of Saturn from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The photographs capture the start of the mysterious "spoke season" on Saturn - when unexplained features appear on its rings. 



According to NASA, both the cause of the spokes and their seasonal variability have yet to be fully explained by planetary scientists.



"Like Earth, Saturn is tilted on its axis and therefore has four seasons, though because of Saturn's much larger orbit, each season lasts approximately seven Earth years. Equinox occurs when the rings are tilted edge-on to the Sun," explains NASA.



"The spokes disappear when it is near summer or winter solstice on Saturn. (When the Sun appears to reach either its highest or lowest latitude in the northern or southern hemisphere of a planet.) As the autumnal equinox of Saturn's northern hemisphere on May 6, 2025, draws near, the spokes are expected to become increasingly prominent and observable."



Experts believe that the spokes may be a product of the planet's variable magnetic field. When magnetic fields interact with solar wind, an electrically charged environment is created. This phenomenon is visible on Earth as the northern lights.&nbsp;



"Scientists think that the smallest, dust-sized icy ring particles can become charged as well, which temporarily levitates those particles above the rest of the larger icy particles and boulders in the rings," says NASA.



The spokes were first observed in the early 1980s by NASA's Voyager mission. Depending on the angle of the rings, the spokes can appear dark or light.



"Thanks to Hubble's OPAL program, which is building an archive of data on the outer solar system planets, we will have longer dedicated time to study Saturn’s spokes this season than ever before," said NASA senior planetary scientist Amy Simon, head of the Hubble Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program.



"Despite years of excellent observations by the Cassini mission, the precise beginning and duration of the spoke season is still unpredictable, rather like predicting the first storm during hurricane season."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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Closeup,Of,Fresh,Green,The,Napier,Bush,Grass,As,Animal

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="http://www.ntu.edu.sg/">NTU Singapore</a> reveals that some plants can remove toxic heavy metals from soil.&nbsp;



The researchers analyzed samples of various tropical plant species to test for levels of heavy metals and metalloids. The study showed that there are existing plants with high levels of these contaminants, which means that these species are great candidates for drawing pollutants out of the soil.&nbsp;



Among the plants examined in the study, 12 species had accumulated several types of heavy metals and metalloids. These plants are widely available, including species that are native to Singapore.



“In a small nation like Singapore, land may be repurposed to support new development plans, so it is important that we have a green and sustainable way to remediate land that is contaminated," said Professor Lam Yeng Ming.



"We set out to uncover how to better make use of tropical plants to do phytoremediation and through advanced characterization techniques, we showed how some of these tropical plant species can be an environmentally friendly and literally a 'green' way to remove contaminants in soil."&nbsp;



"Phytoremediation also has benefits of cost effectiveness, simplicity of management, aesthetic advantages, and long-term applicability and sustainability. The strategy prevents erosion and metal leaching by stabilizing or accumulating heavy metals, so that helps reduce the risk of contaminant spread.”



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes why herbicides are not as effective in killing weeds anymore. In the 20th century, chemical companies developed thousands of herbicides. The most commonly used herbicide was glyphosate, which was introduced in 1974.



Over the past few decades, dozens of species of weeds have evolved resistance to glyphosate. Depending on the site of action, the part of the plant that an herbicide interacts with, weeds may even be resistant to herbicides that have not been developed yet.&nbsp;



With increasing resistance to glyphosate and other herbicides, weeds are - once again - becoming a major concern for farmers.&nbsp;



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/">NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a> (JPL) describes a dust storm on Mars that was nearly twice the size of the United States. As the storm covered the southern hemisphere of the planet, some of NASA’s explorers had to delay their normal activities.



NASA’s Insight lander put itself in a "safe mode" for 11 days to conserve battery power because solar power was disrupted by the dust. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter postponed flights until conditions improved.



"A fleet of NASA orbiters monitor Martian dust storms like this one and serve as lifelines to Earth by relaying data from the rovers and lander on the ground back to the team. This includes the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MAVEN, and Odyssey," reports JPL.



"Dust storms like this recent one start close to the ground and are spread by wind as they rise – warming the cold Martian atmosphere."



The images in the video were captured by NASA’s Curiosity as the dust rolled in. A fleet of orbiters monitored the dust storm from above, relaying data from Mars’ explorers back to scientists on Earth.



Video &amp; Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="http://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. This strait provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean.



Qeshm is separated from the Iranian coast by the Clarence Strait, also known as Khuran.&nbsp;The Hara Forest Protected Area is a network of shallow waterways and forest located between the island and the mainland. This protected region is home to sea turtles, snakes, and more than 150 species of migrating birds.



Qeshm is famous for its wide range of&nbsp;ecotourist&nbsp;attractions, such as the&nbsp;Hara marine forests. According to environmentalists, about 1.5 percent of the world birds and 25 percent of Iran's native <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/female-hummingbirds-avoid-sexual-harassment-by-looking-like-males/">birds</a> annually migrate to the forests, which are the first national geo park in Iran.



Tourists are also drawn to the island to see an age-old Portuguese&nbsp;fort, historic mosques, the&nbsp;Seyyed Mozaffar&nbsp;and&nbsp;Bibi Maryam&nbsp;shrines, and the "Valley of Stars."



The average temperature on the island is 81 degress and the region is often hot and humid. From June to August, the island is described as being oppressively hot. The ideal time to visit is during the winter season. 



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

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