The night sky often dazzles with brief explosions of unimaginable power. Gamma-ray bursts are among the most intense, usually marking the catastrophic end of stars. These bursts vanish within seconds or minutes, leaving astronomers with little more than fleeting traces.



But a recent observation broke every rule. One gamma-ray burst not only lasted far longer than usual but also repeated in a pattern that has never been recorded before.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-astronomers-stunned-by-burst">Astronomers stunned by burst</h2>



The burst, labeled GRB 250702B, was reported in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Dr. Antonio Martin-Carrillo and colleagues used the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope to study the phenomenon.



“This event is unlike any other seen in 50 years of GRB observations,” said Dr. Martin-Carrillo of the <a href="http://www.ucd.ie" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University College Dublin</a>. “GRBs are catastrophic events, so they are expected to go off just once because the source that produced them does not survive the dramatic explosion."



"This event baffled us not only because it showed repeated powerful activity but also because it seemed to be periodic, which has never seen before.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-star-collapse-or-black-hole">Star collapse or black hole?</h2>



Theories about its origin vary. One possibility involves the collapse of a star many times more massive than the Sun. In such a case, some material could have continued feeding the central engine, extending its activity.



Another explanation suggests a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-cosmic-explosion-changes-what-we-know-about-space/">tidal disruption event</a>, where a star is torn apart by a black hole. 



For this burst, the data hint that a white dwarf might have been shredded by an intermediate-mass black hole - a long-hypothesized but rarely seen type.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-burst-that-wouldn-t-end">A burst that wouldn’t end</h2>



Most gamma-ray bursts last milliseconds to minutes. This one endured about a day - hundreds of times longer than the norm. 



Professor Andrew Levan of <a href="https://www.ru.nl/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Radboud University</a> noted that it was 100 to 1,000 times longer than most GRBs.



The unusual length led astronomers to compare it with ultralong bursts and even with rare tidal disruption events. 



However, GRB 250702B showed distinct bursts at intervals that seemed close to integer multiples, hinting at possible periodic behavior.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pinpointing-the-source">Pinpointing the source</h2>



Initial detections came from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and the <a href="https://english.cas.cn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a>’ Einstein Probe. 



Both caught early signals but could not locate the source precisely. The Very Large Telescope provided sharper data, showing the event was located outside of our galaxy.



“The event seemed to have originated from within our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-clues-about-the-brightest-gamma-ray-burst-of-all-time/">galaxy</a> due to its proximity to the galactic plane. The VLT fundamentally changed that paradigm,” Professor Levan noted.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-host-galaxy-revealed">Host galaxy revealed</h2>



The HAWK-I camera on the VLT revealed an extremely red infrared counterpart, suggesting a heavily dust-obscured source. 



Follow-up imaging with the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/35-years-of-hubble-the-telescope-that-changed-our-view-of-the-universe/">Hubble Space Telescope</a> confirmed the host galaxy’s structure. Observations showed the galaxy had a complex, asymmetric shape, possibly with dust lanes. Such dust could explain the unusually red afterglow.



“What we found was considerably more exciting - the fact that this object is extragalactic means that it is considerably more powerful,” said Dr. Martin-Carrillo.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-collision-explains-the-glow">Collision explains the glow</h2>



The afterglow in X-ray, infrared, and radio wavelengths appeared consistent with models in which relativistic jets collide with surrounding material.



Yet the details pointed to an unusually narrow jet angle and significant dust extinction, unlike most known bursts.



Despite these differences, the afterglow fit within the broader family of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/recent-gamma-ray-burst-was-70-times-brighter-than-any-cosmic-explosion/">GRB</a> models, strengthening the case for either a rare stellar collapse or a tidal disruption event involving a black hole.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mystery-sparks-new-theories">Mystery sparks new theories</h2>



The researchers outlined four possible scenarios. First, it may have been a relativistic tidal disruption event, most likely a white dwarf consumed by an intermediate-mass black hole.



The second possibility is a nonstandard stellar collapse involving unusual progenitors or environments. Third, the event may have been echoes caused by the scattering of gamma rays through dense dust shells.



A fourth possibility is that the burst came from a very distant, high-redshift source and was brightened by gravitational lensing. Each theory presents challenges, but the first two currently align best with the data.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clarifying-the-gamma-ray-burst">Clarifying the gamma-ray burst</h2>



“We are still not sure what produced this or if we can ever really find out but, with this research, we have made a huge step forward towards understanding this extremely unusual and exciting object,” said Dr. Martin-Carrillo.



Future monitoring with instruments like the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/james-webb-detects-signs-of-life-on-exoplanet-k2-18b/">James Webb Space Telescope</a> may offer more clues. Continued X-ray and radio tracking could reveal whether the burst’s jet shuts down like those in tidal disruption events or follows the path of an unusual star’s collapse.



Either way, GRB 250702B has already reshaped what astronomers thought they knew about cosmic explosions.



The study is published in <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/adf8e1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Astrophysical Journal Letters</a>.



Image Credit: NASA, ESA and M. Kornmesser



-----



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Gamma-ray burst explodes in an unusual pattern never seen before

The night sky often dazzles with brief explosions of unimaginable power. Gamma-ray bursts are among the most intense, usually marking the catastrophic end of stars. These bursts vanish within seconds or minutes, leaving astronomers with little more than fleeting traces. But a recent observation broke every rule. One gamma-ray burst not only lasted far longer than usual but also repeated in a pattern that has never been recorded before. Astronomers stunned by burst The burst, labeled GRB 250702B, was reported in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Dr. Antonio...

Climate Change A Matter of Opinion According to 6th Grade Science Textbooks. If American teens are unsure about climate change or its cause, some school textbooks aren't helping, says teaching expert Diego Román, Southern Methodist University, <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=dallas&amp;cvid=b6e75ca051074f78a05bc94e2ef1af08&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Dallas</a>, co-author of a new study on the subject.

Studies estimate that only 3 percent of scientists who are experts in climate analysis disagree about the causes of climate change. But the most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change -- the evidence of 600 climate researchers in 32 countries reporting changes to Earth's atmosphere, ice and seas -- in 2013 stated "human influence on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/experts-have-outlined-the-top-ten-climate-insights-of-2020/">climate</a> system is clear."

Yet only 54 percent of American teens believe climate change is happening, 43 percent don't believe it's caused by humans, and 57 percent aren't concerned about it. Climate Change A Matter of Opinion According to 6th Grade Science Textbooks

The new study measured how four sixth-grade science textbooks adopted for use in California frame the subject of global warming. Sixth grade is the first time California state standards indicate students will encounter climate change in their formal science curriculum.

The researchers examined different textbooks, each published in either 2007 or 2008 by a different major publisher. They found and analyzed 279 clauses containing 2,770 words discussing climate change.

"We found that climate change is presented as a controversial debate stemming from differing opinions," said Román, an assistant professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning in the SMU Simmons School. "Climate skeptics and climate deniers are given equal time and treated with equal weight as scientists and scientific facts -- even though scientists who refute global warming total a miniscule number."

The message communicated in the four textbooks was that climate change is possibly happening, that humans may or may not be causing it, and its unclear if we need to take immediate mitigating action, the researchers found.

That representation matches the public discourse around global warming, in which previous studies have shown that media characterize climate change as unsettled science with high levels of scientific uncertainty. The researchers said only 33 percent of the U.S. public believes climate change is a serious threat.

The textbooks misrepresented, however, actual scientific discourse, which asserts climate change is an environmental problem bearing immense risk, where the human impact is clear, and where immediate action is warranted, the authors said.

"The primary purpose of science education is to represent the science accurately, but this analysis of textbooks shows this not to be the case for climate science," they said.

Co-author on the article is K.C. Busch, a Ph.D. candidate in science education in Stanford University's Graduate School of Education.

The authors reported the findings in October at the 11th Conference of the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA), held in Helsinki, Finland.

The findings were also published in the Environmental Education Research journal in the article, "Textbooks of doubt: Using systemic functional analysis to explore the framing of climate change in middle-school science textbooks."

New national standards align with scientific discourse

An extensive body of prior research has revealed students have many misconceptions about climate change, confusing it, for example, with causing acid rain and ozone depletion, as well as linking it to skin cancer, the authors note.

Now there's an opportunity to ensure textbooks aren't part of the problem, by altering misleading language, Román said.

States have begun adopting new national standards for science education as a result of recommendations by the U.S. Next Generation Science Standards. Those standards were developed in part by the National Science Teachers Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and align more accurately with the scientific discourse.

"As the Next Generation Science Standards become adopted and implemented, publishers are writing new textbooks that include climate change," the authors said. "This reworking of science textbooks provides a rare opportunity to reflect on how we can create texts that enhance science teaching and learning." The standards were completed in April 2013.

Specifically, the textbook researchers recommend against stripping out uncertainty, since even well proven theories carry the possibility of a better theory that contradicts one or more postulates of the theory.

Instead they recommend clarifying what exactly is unknown and why.

They also recommend the inclusion of humans as agents and as the cause of climate change. That fact is scientifically supported and not controversial among scientists who study climate from a broad range of disciplines, including geology, geophysics, geography, paleoclimatology, glaciology, hydrology, ecology, evolutionary biology, environmental studies and oceanography.

Textbook language doesn't reflect science of climate change

To study the textbooks, the researchers applied text analysis to conduct an exhaustive examination of the choices and frequency of language, including the level of uncertainty as well as the agents involved.

The textbooks did promote uncertainty when addressing the causes of climate change by using verbs such as could, may or might. And some passages created the view that global warming could even be beneficial. One textbook wrote:

"Global warming could have some positive effects. Farmers in some areas that are now cool could plant two crops a year instead of one. Places that are too cold for farming today could become farmland. However, many effects of global warming are likely to be less positive. Higher temperatures would cause water to evaporate from exposed soil, such as plowed farmland. Dry soil blows away easily. Thus, some fertile fields might become 'dust bowls.'"

The texts emphasized abstractions, such as deforestation or the burning of wood, without referencing humans.

When attributing information to scientists, the textbooks used verbs such as believe, think or propose, but rarely were scientists said to be drawing conclusions from evidence or data. There was one occurrence when the noun evidence was used, the authors said, and then it was to suggest the notion that climate change is not new:

"Scientists have found evidence of many major ice ages throughout Earth's geologic history."

Less frequently used were verbs that describe scientific practices -- such as "find," "determine," "measure," "obtain." The most frequently used word when scientists were present in the sentence was "think," which introduces the idea that it was decided rather than observed or found as the result of scientific observation and research, Román said.

Language matters, particularly in California, Texas, New York

The findings suggest that textbooks should be more specific about the facts, should cite sources, and should accurately reflect the methods by which scientists reached their conclusions.

"The work of scientists should be represented accurately rather than saying that scientists think or believe, as if it's a matter of opinion," Román said.

As a social scientist who studies linguistics and the impact of words, Román said language matters, particularly in the textbooks in the nation's three most populated states, California, Texas and New York, which set standards for the rest of the country.

"These textbooks discuss the impact of climate change on the Earth in hypothetical terms, in complete contradiction to scientific research findings," he said.

The researchers note that while it's accurate that agreement isn't unanimous, only about 3 percent of climate scientists disagree about the causes of climate change. "Yet textbooks characterize that with the description 'some scientists,' so students can assume its 50-50, which is very different from saying '97 percent of scientists,'" he said.

Does the language reflect a compromise by publishers as they walk a fine line?

"It appears textbook publishers include discussion of climate change to appease one segment of their market -- but then to appease another segment they suggest doubt, which doesn't reflect the scientific reality," he said.

Textbooks lack specific language to guide student action

Textbook language should reflect the language used in scientific reports, be explicit about the sources of information and should clarify human cause, with specific actions students can take to produce change, the authors recommend.

Yet none of the textbooks explicitly called students to act to mitigate climate change, the authors note.

Generic information, such as "take care of the environment" or "stop burning coal and wood," lack specific solutions for action.

"Students think, 'that's not me -- that's the people in the Amazon who are burning forests,'" Román said. "Textbooks must draw the connection between specifics, such as turning off lights or driving less, to relate solutions to students and their lives."

---

<a href="http://www.smu.edu/">SMU</a>

Climate Change A Matter of Opinion According to 6th Grade Science Textbooks

Climate Change A Matter of Opinion According to 6th Grade...

Report: US Forest Restoration Work Falling Way Behind. The U.S. Forest Service says it has increased the pace and scale of its forest restoration work since 2011, but progress waned this year and the agency risks falling further behind without more resources.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is using a new report to press <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/congress-moves-again-to-prevent-obama-from-protecting-water-quality/">Congress</a> to change the way in which the federal government funds wildfire fighting. The report states that the Forest Services was able to thin out more than 4.6 million acres of forest lands in 2014, a 9 percent increase from 2011. The amount of timber produced for public consumption increased by about 12 percent during that same period.
Vilsack said he expects that improvements will drop off this year, but will still exceed the 2011 levels.
"We're doing more, but we're not necessarily keeping up with the risk that's out there. You've got 45 million acres of diseased trees out there that are just waiting for a lightning strike to ignite them," Vilsack said. "We've got to pick up the pace of restoration if we want to reduce the risk of fire."
With Congress finishing its work on this year's budget bills, the Obama administration is pressing for legislation that would treat the most devastating wildfires as natural disasters and relieve pressure on other parts of the Forest Service's budget.
Some Republican lawmakers are pushing an alternative bill that would ease the environmental review process for certain projects to speed up forest-thinning projects. They would also provide disaster funding after 100 percent of the budget for firefighting has been consumed. Vilsack said the Forest Service needs more certainty.
"If I don't know for a fact I'll have that money available until the last day of the fiscal year, I can't commit it," Vilsack said.
Vilsack said the agency was able to do more with less thanks to changes that sped up the environmental review process for small projects and more work by states to thin federal lands.
He said budget constraints have reduced the number of Forest Service workers dedicated to restoration and recreation work by nearly 40 percent over the past 17 years. More than half the agency's budget was dedicated to firefighting this year, setting a record.
"We're moving the Forest Service from being a forest service to being a fire department," Vilsack said.
----
Follow Kevin Freking on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/APkfreking" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://twitter.com/APkfreking</a>
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Report: US Forest Restoration Work Falling Way Behind

Report: US Forest Restoration Work Falling Way Behind. The U.S....

NIGERIA-OIL-CRIME

20 Years After Activist Hangs, Oil Pollution Still Wrecks Nigeria. Twenty years after a Nigerian military regime hanged activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, his Niger Delta homeland remains blighted by oil pollution.
Thousands of lives have been wrecked, according to Amnesty International: oil slicks killed the fish, earth crusted with crude grows stunted crops, lungs are polluted from oil flaring.
Gen. Sani Abacha's regime hanged Saro-Wiwa and seven other Ogoni leaders on trumped-up murder charges. "Judicial murder," charged then-<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/new-species-of-sea-sponge-discovered-in-british-columbia/">British</a> Premier John Major. 20 Years After Activist Hangs, Oil Pollution Still Wrecks Nigeria
The executions came two years after protesters forced Shell out of Ogoniland, although its pipelines still carry oil.
"It is heartbreakingly tragic," said Amnesty International's Nigeria director M.K. Ibrahim. "The oil spills have not stopped, and Shell has still not cleaned up this huge environmental degradation."
Shell says it is committed to cleaning up the pollution. Nigeria has been home to several indigenous pre-colonial states and <a title="Sahelian kingdoms" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahelian_kingdoms">kingdoms</a> since the second millennium BC. The modern state originated with British colonialization in the 19th century, taking its present territorial shape with the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914 by Lord Frederick Lugard. The British set up administrative and legal structures while practicing <a title="Indirect rule" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indirect_rule">indirect rule</a> through traditional chiefdoms. Nigeria became a formally independent federation on October 1, 1960. It experienced a civil war from 1967 to 1970, followed by a succession of democratically-elected civilian governments and military dictatorships, until achieving a stable democracy in 1999; the 2015 presidential election was the first time an incumbent <a title="President of Nigeria" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Nigeria">president</a> had lost re-election
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20 Years After Activist Hangs, Oil Pollution Still Wrecks Nigeria

20 Years After Activist Hangs, Oil Pollution Still Wrecks Nigeria....

Scientists Develop New And Faster Way To Assess Ocean Ecosystem Health. A new study published today identifies a set of features common to all ocean ecosystems that provide a visual diagnosis of the health of the underwater environment coastal communities rely on. Together, the features detail cumulative effects of threats -- such as overfishing, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-has-increased-covid-19-deaths-by-at-least-15-percent/">pollution</a>, and invasive species -- so responders can act quickly to increase ocean resiliency and sustainability.

"Until now, we've had to look at the condition of different species and habitats individually. Having an easy-to-adopt approach that gives us a good idea of what is happening to the ecosystem as a whole - not just a piece of it - and anywhere on the planet, is a giant leap forward in managing marine ecosystems," said Richard Merrick, Ph.D., NOAA Fisheries director of scientific programs and chief science advisor. "It's similar to giving a doctor the ability to look at a person's whole body and treat an illness, not just its symptoms."Scientists Develop New And Faster Way To Assess Ocean Ecosystem Health

Scientists incorporate satellite imagery, fishery surveys, and landings data -- among other things -- to produce a visual image of the patterns in the food chain of the ecosystem. These patterns show when there is a problem. Scientists can also use the data in reverse to see how an <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dna-can-help-predict-ecosystem-changes-when-animals-are-reintroduced/">ecosystem</a> is recovering after a threat is reduced.

"For example, this discovery gives us an easier way to understand how an ecosystem is recovering after an oil spill," said Jason Link, lead author of the study and NOAA Fisheries senior scientist for ecosystem management. "The information will be especially useful as climate change and ocean acidification continue to alter our environment in unpredictable ways."

The study is published in Trends in Ecology and Evolution. Although a NOAA Fisheries scientist is the lead author, this study is a collaborative effort by a team of researchers representing institutions in six different countries. For more on ecosystem based fisheries management, please visit the NOAA Fisheries website on this topic.

---

<a href="http://www.noaa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NOAA</a>

Scientists Develop New And Faster Way To Assess Ocean Ecosystem Health

Scientists Develop New And Faster Way To Assess Ocean Ecosystem...

Nigeria Oil Thefts

Oil Pollution Still Blights Nigeria. Twenty years after a <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=nigeria&amp;cvid=301d46cccae54124b088161c4c3dc5eb&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Nigerian</a> military dictatorship hanged activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, his Niger Delta homeland remains blighted by oil pollution.
Thousands of lives have been wrecked, according to Amnesty International, as oil slicks killed the fish, crude-crusted soil stunted <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/derecho-storm-destroys-more-than-6-million-acres-of-crops/">crops</a> and oil flare-ups polluted lungs.
Gen. Sani Abacha's regime hanged Saro-Wiwa, then 54, and seven other Ogoni leaders on trumped-up murder charges. "Judicial murder," charged then-British Prime Minister John Major.
The executions came two years after protesters forced Shell out of Ogoniland, although Amnesty says some aging pipelines there still leak oil. Oil Pollution Still Blights Nigeria
"It is heartbreakingly tragic," said Amnesty's Nigeria director M.K. Ibrahim. "The oil spills have not stopped, and Shell has still not cleaned up this huge environmental degradation."
Shell says it is committed to cleaning up the pollution, including in Ogoniland.
Life is worse, said Ogoni leader Celestine Apko Bari.
"Since his death, our lives have been wracked by the massive oil pollution. Things have gone from bad to worse: We can't fish, farm or collect drinking water from our lands," he told the AP.
With oil prices halved, hurting all Nigerians, people in Ogoniland can't even afford to buy clean water to drink, Apko Bari said.
Still, "even though Ken Saro-Wiwa is dead, his spirit still lives on. He brought the Ogoni struggle into the limelight," he said. "Therefore, he did not die for nothing."
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Oil Pollution Still Blights Nigeria

Oil Pollution Still Blights Nigeria. Twenty years after a Nigerian...

Saudi Arabia, whose oil-fueled economy could suffer from global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, on Tuesday submitted a climate action pledge to the United Nations.

Though thin on commitments, the Saudi pledge was symbolically important because the desert kingdom has been seen as reluctant to join the fight against global warming. Saudi Arabia Makes Climate Action Pledge

The pledge, just weeks ahead of a U.N. climate summit in <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=paris&amp;cvid=6865f8f45b6a4a81833eb190b4c7b00d&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Paris</a>, was mainly focused on efforts to diversify the Saudi economy and study the impact on it by international policies to fight climate change. Saudi Arabia gets about 80-90 percent of its revenue from oil exports.

The submission said diversification efforts could help Saudi Arabia avoid 130 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually by 2030, but didn't give a detailed explanation of how to achieve that.

"The Saudis may be sending a very first tentative signal that they're preparing for a post-oil economy, which will clearly be a challenge for them more than any others," said Bill Hare, of Climate Analytics, a research group that analyzes countries' climate pledges.

The submission noted that Saudi Arabia, as a desert and coastal nation, is vulnerable to climate change impacts such as heat waves and rising seas.

Jennifer Morgan of the World Resources Institute, a Washington-based environmental think tank, said it was the first time that Saudi Arabia has committed itself to act to address climate change.

"It demonstrates that Saudi Arabia understands the impacts of climate change on its people and the role that renewable energy can play in diversifying its economy," Morgan said.

The U.N. said 158 countries have now formally submitted climate action plans ahead of the two-week Paris conference, which starts on Nov. 30. At the end of the conference, delegates are supposed to adopt a climate pact that for the first time would require all countries to take action to limit the greenhouse gas pollution blamed for global warming.

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Saudi Arabia Makes Climate Action Pledge

Saudi Arabia, whose oil-fueled economy could suffer from global efforts...

2015 Lake Erie Algae Bloom Was Largest Ever Recorded. The Lake Erie algae bloom this summer was the largest on record and left behind a thick, paint-like scum that covered an area roughly the size of <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/earth-from-space-new-york-city/">New York City,</a> government scientists said Tuesday.
The bloom fueled by heavy summer rains surpassed the record-setting algae outbreak in 2011 that stretched from Toledo to Cleveland, said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Scum from the bloom covered about 300 square miles in early and mid-August, the agency said.
But the actual bloom was much larger. Just how big is still being determined, though it was clearly bigger than anything measured so far, said Richard Stumpf, a NOAA researcher.2015 Lake Erie Algae Bloom Was Largest Ever Recorded
The massive algae colony this year stayed toward the center of the lake between Canada and Ohio and away from the shoreline, which lessened the impact on boaters and drinking water plants, he said.
Toxins from a much smaller bloom in August 2014 contaminated the tap water for 400,000 people in the Toledo area and a sliver of southeastern Michigan.
Heavy rains across northern Ohio in June and July washed huge amounts of algae-feeding phosphorus into the lake.
Algae blooms - linked to phosphorus from farm fertilizers, livestock manure and sewage treatment plants - have taken hold in the western third of the lake over the last decade and colored some of its waters a shade of green that looks like pea soup.
The blooms, which typically peak from the middle of August through the end of September, also have been blamed for contributing to oxygen-deprived dead zones where fish can't survive.
Ohio, along with Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario, agreed in June to sharply reduce the amount of phosphorus flowing into western Lake Erie within the next 10 years.
Some changes limiting when farmers can spread fertilizer and manure on fields already have been made, but it will take at least a few years to see improvements.
"It would be hard to find much evidence of progress based on what we saw this year," said Jeff Reutter, former director of the Ohio Sea Grant Program, which studies water quality issues.
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2015 Lake Erie Algae Bloom Was Largest Ever Recorded

2015 Lake Erie Algae Bloom Was Largest Ever Recorded. The...

India Urges Clean Cooking To Fight Climate Change. Kamlesh feeds the flames of a crude clay cookstove with kindling, kerosene and sunbaked discs of cow dung. She breathes in the billowing smoke, as she does for hours every day. Her eyes water and sting. Her throat feels scratchy and sore.
Kamlesh is one of hundreds of millions of<a href="http://www.earth.com/video/the-republic-of-maldives-in-the-indian-ocean/"> Indian</a> housewives who, with the simple act of cooking family meals, fill their homes every day with deadly airborne pollutants. The constant exposure to indoor air pollution kills some 4.3 million people every year across the world - 30 percent of them in India.
The menace of cookstove pollution, which contains high concentrations of tiny particles known as black carbon, does not stop in the home. It compounds many environmental problems as well, from glacial melt to falling crop yields. India Urges Clean Cooking To Fight Climate Change
India, the world's third largest climate polluting nation, has spent decades encouraging clean cooking technologies, with limited success. Such a shift would have little impact on India's emissions of climate-warming greenhouse gases, and many of the alternatives pollute as well.
But countries like India - far behind the industrialized world in economic and infrastructure development - argue that it's a crucial step in saving lives and ensuring energy justice for the poor.
Impoverished women like 40-year-old Kamlesh remain unconvinced. She and her neighbors in Ganora Sheikh, a north Indian village about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from New Delhi, aren't thinking about the climate, or about melting glaciers hundreds of kilometers (miles) away. They wonder why they should spend $30 to $60 on a cookstove when they can build a fire and find fuel in the forest for free.
Even as Kamlesh, who goes by one name, complained that cooking on her old stove "is very difficult ... the smoke, the heat, it makes my eyes burn," she doubted any of the smoke-free alternatives could do the job right.
The fire-roasted flatbreads called roti and naan that are a staple across northern India just don't have the same smoky flavor if cooked on a gas-fired or fuel-efficient stove. "If we can't make roti, then what will we eat? Nothing can replace roti."
---
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is part of an occasional series focusing on the science, the costs and the challenges of climate change around the world ahead of a critical summit in Paris.
---
Pure black carbon is a significant climate pollutant, with some studies suggesting it is responsible for up to 20 percent of climate change. It is also a major component of the tiny particulate matter known as PM2.5 that is now one of the most common measures for air pollution.
About a quarter of the world's black carbon pollution comes from cookstoves, with the rest released by car exhaust, forest fires, agricultural burning and other sources.
The soot is blackening glaciers and polar ice so that they absorb more solar radiation and melt more quickly. It's creating hazy layers in the atmosphere that block sunshine from reaching the Earth, a phenomenon called "global dimming" that can harm crops. And it messes with the weather by interacting with clouds in complex ways.
But black carbon, the product of incomplete combustion, is rarely released alone. It depends on what's being burnt, but it usually comes with a messy cocktail of other polluting compounds including organic carbon and sulfates, which can actually have the opposite effect on climate by limiting the rise in temperatures.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which compiles and analyzes climate-related research every four years, has so far left the topic of black carbon out of its assessments. It is a short-term pollutant, dissipating within days whereas greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane will linger for decades in the atmosphere. As of now, black carbon pollution is entirely unregulated, poorly measured and unevenly distributed, pooling in the air above wherever it was released.
The climate-change benefits of replacing traditional cookstoves are even more muddled because common replacements also pollute. Gas stoves create more emissions of methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas. Emissions from electric stoves depend on how the electricity is generated; in India, it's largely from coal, another major contributor to global warming.
"It can be politically incorrect to advocate for gas cooking, since it's not a renewable energy source," said Kirk R. Smith, professor of global environmental health at the University of California, Berkeley.
Still, he and other atmospheric health experts say the health benefits justify the change. According to his research, if all 2.8 billion people still cooking with old-world fuels suddenly switched to gas, the increase in global emissions would equal just a half-a-percent change in the efficiency of the world's automobile fleet.
"You can't blame the poor for climate change," Smith said. "It's rather a strange idea to put the poor at the margin when we're not doing all that much ourselves" to cut electricity consumption or switch away from fossil fuels.
Despite the unknowns, India has listed cleaner cooking as part of its national climate action plan, submitted to the U.N. last month before the world's nations begin negotiating a new agreement to limit climate-warming greenhouse gases.
Unlike many countries, India is not promising any overall emissions cuts. It expects its emissions to continue to grow as its economy expands, but the increase relative to economic output will decline.
India has made no calculations to determine how much of an impact a cookstove transition could make, Renewable Energy Secretary Varsha Joshi said. "We are making the connection with indoor air pollution. It's not all about the emissions," she said.
India's new measures for promoting cleaner cooking include asking citizens to give up cooking gas subsidies so they could instead be spent on extending cleaner-cooking options to the poor. Energy Minister Piyush Goyal said they're aimed at helping those "who've been deprived of clean energy sources for years." Already, 2 million Indians have waived the subsidy.
The problem is not limited to India. Countries from China and Ethiopia are also pushing cookstove programs. In Nigeria, where deforestation has become a major concern, the government said last year it would distribute some 750,000 clean cookstoves in order to keep people from harvesting so much wood.
The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, a U.N. foundation working to develop a viable cookstove market, will have helped distribute 43 million cookstoves worldwide by the end of the year by linking manufacturers and developers with investors and other financial support mechanisms.
The potential market is at least 10 times that size, likely more given that many homes use more than one stove.
"When you multiply the effects by 500 million households," alliance CEO Radha Muthiah said, "it's clear that scaling it up can have a substantial impact for health and the environment."
---
Back in Ganora Sheikh, Rekha Devi couldn't be happier with her new fuel-efficient cookstove. She needs half the time to cook dinner as before. She can move the new stove around and bring it indoors when it rains. The walls no longer turn black with the stain of soot. And the great plumes of smoke she once breathed have been reduced to faint ribbons wafting into the air.
"Everything is better," the 40-year-old housewife said.
Yet six months after the black, metal-cylinder stoves became available for about 2,000 rupees ($30), she is still the only person in the village to switch.
While India has had some sort of clean-cooking program since the 1950s, the number of people who rely on burning wood and cow dung has remained steadfast around 700 million since 1980. That's partly because the population has risen, and partly because the programs have had limited impact.
That may change as the commercial market grows with more manufacturers seeking bank loans, carbon credits and other funding instruments.
"India is a peculiar market. You go into a typical household, and they will have a TV, a couple of mobile phones. And yet somehow the kitchen is still 50 years behind the rest of the house," said Neha Juneja, co-founder and CEO of cookstove developer Greenway Appliances.
She has a simple explanation: "Cooking is mostly done by women.
"I want someone to run a campaign to make men cook for two days, and then you would see a change in how the country cooks overall."
---
Follow Katy Daigle: <a href="http://twitter.com/katydaigle" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/katydaigle</a>
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is part of an occasional series focusing on the science, the costs and the challenges of climate change around the world ahead of a critical summit in Paris.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

India Urges Clean Cooking To Fight Climate Change

India Urges Clean Cooking To Fight Climate Change. Kamlesh feeds...

China's Polluted Air Has Improved This Year. Lawyer Wu Congsi has asthma and keeps air purifiers whirring away in his office, home and car to counter Beijing's hazardous smog. He prefers to stay inside unless the sky is blue. But this year, he's been able to regularly walk the 15 minutes or so to work.
That's because of some good news that so far has gone little noticed outside of <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/historic-flooding-has-killed-hundreds-across-china/">China</a>: The air in Beijing - and across the rest of the country - has improved so far this year.
"I just feel generally better in terms of the air quality," said Wu, 26. "At least so far, this summer and this fall, it's actually better than last year - just more clear days than previously. I might go out hiking or maybe just stroll around the parks." China's Polluted Air Has Improved This Year
---
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is part of an occasional series focusing on the science, the costs and the challenges of climate change around the world ahead of a critical summit in Paris. China's Polluted Air Has Improved.
---
Chinese official sources have cited the improvement, and U.S. Embassy readings have corroborated the findings.
China's polluted air is still largely hazardous to health - killing 1.4 million people a year, according to one recent study - and officials won't even guess when air will finally reach levels that could be considered healthy. But some experts, officials and observers see the improvement as the start of a long-term upward trend in air quality resulting from central and local government measures to lower pollution.
"It's not just Beijing or one region," said Lauri Myllyvirta, who campaigns on air pollution for Greenpeace. "It's really widespread reductions in (levels of particulate matter and pollutants) across all of eastern and central China."
Myllyvirta said data on average levels of aerosols, or tiny particles, for the past 15 years from NASA satellites backed up the improvement in official readings.
"The fall from 2014 to 2015 was the biggest in that entire time series - and by a pretty wide margin at that," he said. "So it's definitely been a very exceptional year for air quality."
The early success gives China a credibility boost ahead of a climate change conference beginning late this month in Paris, where countries are to hash out a <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=global&amp;cvid=b0ac06f57d7548a5b23bca3d94f1a5ed&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">global</a> agreement intended to slow down global warming. Many are hoping that China, the world's top emitter of carbon emissions, plays a leading role in the negotiations, particularly as an example to other developing nations.
Yi Bo, an engineer at Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau's air management office, said the capital had seen a drop in all major pollutants in the first three quarters of this year. That includes a 40 percent decrease in sulfur dioxide and a 19 percent decrease in PM2.5 - small inhalable particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs and are considered to be a good gauge of air quality.
"People make an effort and the heavens help," Yi said, evoking a Chinese idiom to describe what he said were the two reasons for the improvement: government efforts to reduce emissions and more favorable weather conditions compared with last year, including more winds from the north.
China's pollution problems are notorious after three decades of breakneck growth in which there was little official concern about the environmental impact. The air gets especially bad in the winter when the burning of coal increases and weather patterns add to the smog.
A study led by atmospheric chemist Jos Lelieveld of Germany's Max Planck Institute and published this year in Nature magazine estimated that 1.4 million people are prematurely dying because of pollution in China each year.
Growing public anger over air pollution has pushed the government to make combating it a priority.
In 2013, months after a particularly bad winter that spurred many Chinese and expatriates to leave Beijing because of health concerns, the central government banned new coal-fired power plants in key industrial regions around Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, ordered cities to drop their pollutant levels by 2017 and looked to increase non-fossil fuel energy such as wind and solar power. Last year, it changed its environment law to allow unlimited fines against persistent polluters and public oversight of companies' emissions.
Beijing sits in one of the most heavily polluted regions. Its main sources of pollution are vehicles, coal-burning, industry and dust from construction sites. The city government has been replacing coal-fired boilers with natural gas-powered facilities, raising exhaust emission standards and forcing older, more polluting vehicles off the road. It plans on closing or moving 300 polluting factories this year.
Yi said coal-fired power plants will disappear next year from the capital as its switch to gas power generation is completed, which should both reduce pollution and lessen the city's greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.
There is a long way to go. Beijing officials say the average PM2.5 figure for the first 10 months of the year was 70 micrograms per cubic meter - down 20 percent from the same period last year. But that's still double China's own standard of 35 and seven times higher than an annual mean of 10 that the World Health Organization gives as its guideline.
Daunting challenges also remain elsewhere in China. This week, the northern city of Shenyang had levels of PM2.5 particles that were more than 40 times the safety level set by WHO.
Yi said he expects Beijing to meet the central government-imposed goal of a 25 percent drop in the 2012 level of PM2.5 by 2017. Asked when city residents can expect to breathe clean air, Yi said: "I can only say that the air we breathe will be better and better."
Tonny Xie, director of the secretariat of the Clean Air Alliance of China, which works with provinces and cities to promote clean air schemes and whose members include Chinese universities, said the air quality's overall trend should keep improving.
That may not mean every year will see improvement, because meteorological conditions also have an effect, Xie said. He also cautioned that if China's planned economic transformation from heavy industries to a more service-oriented economy does not go as planned, the air quality might "go worse again."
---
AP news assistant Dong Tongjian contributed to this report.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is part of an occasional series focusing on the science, the costs and the challenges of climate change around the world ahead of a critical summit in Paris.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

China's Polluted Air Has Improved

China's Polluted Air Has Improved This Year. Lawyer Wu Congsi...

Scientists: Slow Climate Change Theory Is Flawed. Climate change is progressing rapidly. It is not the first time in our planet’s history that temperatures have been rising, but it is happening much faster now than it ever has before. Or is it? Researchers at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have shown in the latest edition of the journal <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/mental-health-benefits-of-nature-cannot-be-prescribed/">Nature</a> Communications* that the temperature changes millions of years ago probably happened no more slowly than they are happening today, debunking the slow climate change theory.

In order to predict how today’s ecosystems will react to increasing temperatures over the course of global warming, palaeobiologists study how climate change happened in the earth’s history and what the consequences were. In order to compare the events of the past with current changes researchers need data on the scope of the changes. What was the speed with which temperatures increased or decreased? What was the magnitude of the change in temperatures? Until now, the general consensus has been that current climate change is happening more quickly than any previous temperature fluctuations.Scientists: Slow Climate Change Theory Is Flawed
<h3>Climate change in the earth’s past faster than previously thought</h3>
Together with a British colleagues, palaeobiologist Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Kießling and geosciences student Kilian Eichenseer, both from FAU, have published a pioneering study in Nature Communications explaining that the idea that environmental changes in the earth’s past happened slowly in comparison to current, rapid climate change is wrong. The reason for this incorrect assumption is the different time periods that are examined in climate research. ‘Today we can measure the smallest fluctuations in climate whenever they occur,’ Kilian Eichenseer explains. ‘Yet when we look at geological history we’re lucky if we can determine a change in climate over a period of ten thousand years.’

Therefore, if we compare global warming over recent decades with the increase in temperature that happened 250 million years ago over the Permian-Triassic boundary, current climate change seems incredibly fast. Between 1960 and 2010, the temperature of the oceans rose at a rate of 0.007 degrees per year. ‘That doesn’t seem like much,’ Prof. Kießling says, ‘but it’s 42 times faster than the temperature increase that we are able to measure over the Permian-Triassic boundary. Back then the temperature of the oceans rose by 10 degrees, but as we are only able to limit the period to 60,000 years, this equates to a seemingly low rate of 0.00017 degrees per year.’
<h3>Rapid changes are invisible, not absent</h3>
In their study the researchers looked at around two hundred analyses of changes in climate from various periods in geological history. It became clear that the apparent speed of climate change appears slower the longer the time periods over which increases or decreases in temperature are observed. The reason for this is that over long periods rapid changes in climate do not happen constantly in one direction. There are always phases during which the temperatures remain constant or even sink – a phenomenon that has also been observed in the current period of global warming. ‘However, we are unable to prove such fast fluctuations during past periods of climate change with the available methods of analysis. As a consequence, the data leads us to believe that climate change was always much slower in geological history than it is today, even when the greatest catastrophes occurred. However, that is not the case,’ Prof. Kießling says. If we consider these scaling effects, the temperate increase over the Permian-Triassic boundary was no different to current climate change in terms of speed. The increase in temperature during this event is associated with a mass extinction event during which 90 percent of marine animals died out.

*Kemp, D. B., K. Eichenseer, and W. Kiessling. 2015. Maximum rates of climate change are systematically underestimated in the geological record. Nature Communications DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9890

---

<a href="http://www.fau.eu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.fau.eu</a>

Scientists: Slow Climate Change Theory Is Flawed

Scientists: Slow Climate Change Theory Is Flawed. Climate change is...

Declining Snowpacks May Cause Water Shortages. Gradual melting of winter snow helps feed water to farms, cities and ecosystems across much of the world, but this resource may soon be critically imperiled. In a new study, scientists have identified snow-dependent drainage basins across the northern hemisphere currently serving 2 billion people that run the risk of declining supplies in the coming century. The basins take in large parts of the American West, southern Europe, the Mideast and central Asia. They range from productive U.S. farm land to war-torn regions already in the grip of long-term water shortages.

Snow is an important seasonal water source mainly around large mountain chains. From higher elevations, snowmelt runs gradually into the lowlands during spring and summer growing seasons, when human demand peaks. But global warming is upsetting this convenient balance. Studies show that in many areas, more winter precipitation is falling as rain, not snow, and washing away directly; the snow that does fall is settling at progressively higher elevations, and melting earlier. The new study estimates snow's potential to supply present human needs in both current and projected climates, taking both weather trends and population into account.

"Snow is important because it forms its own reservoir. But the consequences of reduced snowpack are not the same for all places--it is also a function of where and when people demand water," said lead author Justin Mankin, a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University's Earth Institute based jointly at the institute's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and its affiliated NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. "Water managers in a lot of places may need to prepare for a world where the snow reservoir no longer exists." The study appears this week in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

As the world warms, scientists have been observing declining snow accumulations in many regions, a trend that is expected to continue. Once-permanent snowfields are disappearing in the Rocky Mountains from Colorado to northern Montana, as well as in the Himalayas and other areas. A recent study showed that this year the snowpack in California, which is suffering an ongoing drought as well as long-term warming, reached its lowest point in 500 years.

Mankin and his coauthors calculated the possible future effects, based on how many people consume water from snowmelt. They looked at 421 drainage basins spanning the northern hemisphere, combining multiple climate models with present water-use patterns and demographics. From these data, they identified 97 basins currently serving some 2 billion people that depend on snowmelt, and run at least a two-thirds chance of declines, given present water demands.

The researchers further zeroed in on 32 of those basins, with the largest populations--collectively nearly 1.45 billion people--where present snowmelt meets a substantial proportion of human demand. These are the most sensitive to any changes, and have the most at stake. Among them are the basins of northern and central California, where much of U.S. produce is grown; the basins of the Colorado and Rio Grande rivers, which serve much of the American West and northern Mexico; the Atlas basin of Morocco; the Ebro-Duero basin, which feeds water to Portugal and much of Spain and southern France; and a series of basins covering eastern Italy, the southern Balkans, several Caucasus nations, and northern Turkey.

Also on the list is the volatile Shatt al Arab basin, which channels meltwater from the Zagros Mountains to Iraq, Syria, eastern Turkey, northern Saudi Arabia and eastern Iran. Studies suggest that warming climate has already decreased rainfall and increased evaporation across much of the eastern Mediterranean and Mideast, and a study earlier this year suggested that the spreading civil war now engulfing the region was sparked in part by a record 2006-2010 drought.

The study concentrates only on human water supplies, but lack of snowpack may have wider ecological consequences. In the American West, land managers fear that forest fires undamped by snow might start earlier in the year, and food sources for nesting birds might start running out in late summer. Native trout depend on a steady flow of cold water during summer, so some species could face extinction.

The news is not uniformly bad. Across most of North America, northern Europe, Russia, China and southeast Asia, rainfall alone is projected to keep meeting human demand. Many changeable factors can affect water supply and demand, so the projections contain large uncertainties; in large regions, the models show that changing climate is about as likely to increase water supply as to decrease it, in the form of greater seasonal rains. All things considered, supplies could stay about the same in India's Indus and Ganges basins, home to about 1 billion people. This is true also of the Huai, a sub-basin of China's Yellow River, with a current population of more than 130 million. And at least temporarily, accelerated melting of glaciers in the Himalayas and outlying ranges may actually increase water supplies to wide areas, including central <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/global-warming-could-help-asian-carp-invade-lake-michigan/">Asian</a> countries like Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

"Managers need to be prepared for the possibility of multi-decadal decreases in snow water supply," said Mankin. "But at the same time, they could have large multi-decadal increases. Both of those outcomes are entirely consistent with a world with global warming."

Yoshihide Wada, a researcher at the Netherlands' Utrecht University who studies global water resources, said the study makes a "convincing argument" that "climate change will add another stressor over many regions" where water scarcity is already an issue. He said this would be especially so in semi-arid areas where irrigation is supplemented by shrinking supplies of groundwater. If anything, the study could underestimate some risks, he suggests, because it does not account for projected increases in population.

What Mankin calls the "irreducible near-term uncertainties" in many projections will leave water managers faced with whether to make big infrastructure investments or not. Some areas may be able to compensate for shrinking snowmelt by expanding storage reservoirs or pumping more groundwater. But Wada says reservoirs are so expensive, many areas may not be able to afford them. And groundwater has limits; in parts of California, farmers are pumping up so much water, the land surface is visibly sinking--a trend that probably cannot be maintained for more than a few decades. Wada says more efficient irrigation methods, water recycling and switches to less water-intensive crops may be more realistic solutions.

---

<a href="http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/">The Earth Institute at Columbia University</a>

Photo Credit: Dario Martin-Benito

Declining Snowpacks May Cause Water Shortages

Declining Snowpacks May Cause Water Shortages. Gradual melting of winter...

Carbon Accumulation by US Forests to Slow Over Next 25 Years. Currently, the carbon sequestered in U.S. forests partially offsets the nation's carbon emissions and reduces the overall costs of achieving emission targets to address climate change - but that could change over the next 25 years.

The accumulation of carbon stored in U.S. forests may slow in the future, primarily due to land use change and forest aging - with the rate widely varying among regions - according to findings by U.S. Forest Service scientists published today in the journal Scientific Reports.

Future declines in forest carbon sequestration could influence emission reduction targets in other sectors of the economy and impact the costs of achieving policy goals. The study also found that policies that encourage retaining or expanding forest land could enhance carbon sequestration levels in U.S. forests over the next 25 years.

Using detailed forest inventory data, Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) scientists David Wear and John Coulston estimated the amount of atmospheric carbon U.S. forests currently sequester. "We found that after accounting for 44 teragrams of land use transfer carbon, sequestration by U.S. forests offset 173 teragrams or 173 million metric tons of the carbon emissions that result from U.S. transportation and energy sources," said Wear, project leader of the SRS Center for Integrated Forest Science.

The scientists used five different scenarios to project carbon accumulation over the next 25 years, and found that under all of the scenarios the ability of U.S. forests to sequester carbon -- act as a carbon sink -- will decline overall, with <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/mangrove-forests-face-a-triple-threat-to-their-survival/">forests</a> in some regions faring better than others.

"Our projections show only a gradual decline in forest carbon sequestration in the East, but a rapid decline to zero by 2037 in the Rocky Mountain region, where forests could become a carbon emission source due to disturbances such as fire and insect epidemics," said Coulston, SRS Forest Inventory and Analysis supervisory research forester. "We found that carbon sequestration in the Pacific Coast region will fluctuate from current levels but then stabilize as forests harvested in previous decades regrow."

The researchers found that land use change strongly influences the amount of forest carbon stored. One of the scenarios they ran simulated the effects of policies that would encourage the retention or expansion of forest land as a way to enhance carbon sequestration. They found that afforesting or restoring 19.1 million acres over the next 25 years, a plausible goal in light of historical conservation efforts such as the USDA Conservation Reserve Program, could yield significant gains in carbon sequestration over that period.

"Policymakers interested in reducing net carbon emissions in the U.S. need information about future sequestration rates, the variables influencing those rates, and policy options that might enhance sequestration rates," said Wear. "The projection scenarios we developed for this study were designed to provide insights into these questions at a scale useful to policymakers."

---

<a href="http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/index.php">USDA Forest Service</a>

Carbon Accumulation by US Forests to Slow Over Next 25 Years

Carbon Accumulation by US Forests to Slow Over Next 25...

<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=WXXGGiynIjs
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Greenland is not sinking. In fact, it is the opposite.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-contrasting-climate-response">A contrasting climate response</h2>



Most coastal towns are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sinking-land-will-intensify-the-effects-of-rising-sea-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">preparing for higher sea levels</a>, but <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenland-no-longer-has-to-worry-about-rising-sea-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Greenland presents</a> a different scenario during climate change. The ground there is rising at a remarkable rate. Over the past decade, some areas have lifted about 20 centimeters, which translates to roughly 2 meters per century. This rate significantly exceeds current projections for sea level rise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-geological-rebound-process-through-climate-change">Geological rebound process through climate change</h2>



The mechanism behind this phenomenon is straightforward. As the ice sheet melts, the immense weight is removed from the bedrock, causing the land to rebound upward. This process resembles the way compressed material springs back when pressure is released.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientific-monitoring-networks">Scientific monitoring networks</h2>



Researchers at the <a href="https://www.dtu.dk/english/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Technical University of Denmark</a> are documenting this uplift using the GNET network, consisting of 61 GPS stations positioned around Greenland's coast. These sensors can detect movement with millimeter precision, providing detailed measurements of the ongoing changes.



The data reveal that current uplift rates exceed the gradual rebound occurring since the last ice age ended approximately 12,000 years ago. This acceleration corresponds directly with increased ice sheet melting rates.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-coastal-transformation">Coastal Transformation</h2>



This uplift is actively reshaping Greenland's coastline. New islands and rocky formations, called "skerries," are emerging as previously submerged land surfaces rise above the water level. This represents a notable contrast to global concerns about rising seas.



The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, demonstrates the varied regional impacts of climate change. While many locations face rising water levels, Greenland's bedrock is literally rising above the surrounding seas.



The full study was recently published in <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2023GL104851" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.



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Greenland's ground rises while coasts worldwide face higher seas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXXGGiynIjs Greenland is not sinking. In fact, it is the...

<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=kVywlgRJXsc
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Some children read facial expressions when making food choices.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-other-people-s-reactions-influence-children-s-eating-habits">Other people's reactions influence children's eating habits</h2>



Many children are finicky eaters, but research explains how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-have-learned-why-so-many-kids-dislike-vegetables/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">watching others eat and social modeling</a> influence the eating habits of children.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Study Methodology Demonstrates Social Learning Impact</h2>



Researchers at <a href="https://www.aston.ac.uk/hls/school-of-psychology" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aston University School of Psychology</a> have published findings in Frontiers in Psychology that illuminate the neurobiological foundations of food preference development through observational learning. The investigation employed controlled video stimuli featuring adults consuming raw broccoli while displaying systematically varied facial expressions to measure participant responses.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Asymmetrical Response Patterns Identified</h2>



The research, conducted with 204 female participants, revealed a pronounced asymmetry in social modeling effects. Negative facial expressions during vegetable consumption significantly diminished observer food preference ratings, while positive expressions failed to produce corresponding increases in vegetable appeal. This finding challenges conventional assumptions about the bidirectional nature of social influence in dietary behavior formation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Evolutionary Psychology Framework Applied</h2>



Dr. Katie Edwards and her research team propose that these results reflect adaptive mechanisms developed through evolutionary processes. The heightened sensitivity to disgust expressions likely functions as a protective system, enabling individuals to identify potentially harmful foods through social cues without direct risk exposure.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Clinical and Educational Implications</h2>



These findings carry substantial implications for pediatric nutrition interventions and family meal dynamics. The research suggests that parental expressions of distaste during vegetable consumption may inadvertently reinforce children's existing food aversions through unconscious social transmission pathways.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Future Research Directions</h2>



The study establishes a foundation for expanded investigation into real-time social modeling effects and cross-demographic applicability. Researchers emphasize the necessity for longitudinal studies examining actual consumption behaviors rather than preference ratings alone, particularly within family contexts where social learning occurs most frequently.



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Social modeling affects our food choices

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVywlgRJXsc Some children read facial expressions when making food choices....

<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=JynHpMaNO8A
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Chaotic cancer protein finally controlled after decades of mystery</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cancer-causing-protein-bound-and-blocked">Cancer-causing protein bound and blocked</h2>



In a discovery that can one day revolutionize cancer treatment, researchers at the <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of California, Riverside</a> have successfully developed a means of controlling MYC, a notoriously slippery protein that causes approximately <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chaotic-protein-that-fuels-75-of-cancers-can-be-controlled/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">75% of all cancers in humans</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-makes-myc-different">What makes MYC different</h2>



MYC presents a unique challenge when studying cancer. Normally, this protein plays a vital role in healthy cells. It carefully controls transcription - the process that converts genetic information from DNA and RNA into proteins.



However, cancer changes everything. In cancer cells, MYC becomes a destructive force. It operates in overdrive mode with no regulation whatsoever.



Professor Min Xue, who led the research team, explains it simply: "MYC is less like food for cancer cells and more like a steroid. It drives cancer's aggressive growth." This superactive behavior makes MYC involved in three out of every four cancer cases.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-myc-is-hard-to-target">Why MYC is hard to target</h2>



Despite its clear role in cancer, targeting MYC has been one of medicine's biggest challenges. The main problem lies in MYC's unusual structure - or rather, its complete lack of structure.



Professor Xue describes the protein as "basically a glob of randomness." This means conventional drug discovery methods don't work. These traditional approaches rely on sharply defined protein structures. MYC simply doesn't have one.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">A New Approach to Fighting MYC</h2>



The UCR research team developed a clever solution. They designed a special peptide molecule that could selectively bind to MYC. More importantly, this peptide could block MYC's destructive activity.



The key was fine-tuning two specific features: the peptide's stiffness and its shape. Through careful adjustments, researchers achieved something remarkable. They reached "sub-micro-molar affinity" - meaning their peptide binds as strongly as antibodies do.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-breakthrough-results">Breakthrough results</h2>



This accomplishment represents a major leap beyond previous attempts. The researchers enhanced their peptide's binding strength by two orders of magnitude. This dramatic improvement brings the work significantly closer to practical drug development goals.



The research opens new possibilities for treating the vast majority of cancers where MYC plays a destructive role.



The researchers are presently optimizing peptide-delivery systems based on lipid nanoparticles that deliver the peptide effectively into cancer cells. The<a href="https://www.nih.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> National Institutes of Health</a> and the <a href="https://www.defense.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S. Department of Defense</a> funded the study, which appeared in the Journal of the <a href="https://www.acs.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">American Chemical Society</a>. This research offers renewed hope against cancer, and it can potentially open a door to more effective cancer therapies for most cancer patients worldwide.



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The protein that fuels 3 out of 4 cancers has been controlled

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JynHpMaNO8A Chaotic cancer protein finally controlled after decades of mystery...

<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=3Y4eLFNYrKE
</div></figure>



On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop and sunlight barely penetrates through the polar winter. It was here, however, that an international team of scientists found <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/predatory-worms-were-terror-beasts-half-a-billion-years-ago/#google_vignette" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evidence of sea monsters</a> that would change our understanding of ocean life in the past.



This video captures the discovery of Timorebestia fossils that had been hidden for more than 500 million years in the Sirius Passet formation. The "terror beasts," as they are called, are a hidden chapter in the evolutionary history of <a href="https://www.earth.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth</a>, showing that sophisticated predator-prey interactions occurred much earlier than previously envisioned.



Dr. Jakob Vinther and his research team at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bristol</a>, in collaboration with researchers at the <a href="https://eng.kopri.re.kr/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Korean Polar Research Institute</a>, braved extreme weather conditions at 82.5 north latitude to locate these giant creatures. Using sophisticated electron microprobe analysis, they revealed the detailed anatomy of the animals, including their muscle and nerve tissues.



The find upsets the traditional timeline of sea predators. Although we've long appreciated that Cambrian oceans were at one time ruled by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWI3-UgA3_o&amp;list=PL1QLQMW9MWDwpkFOnvgAmu7wT6rZmYqdJ&amp;index=19" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">arthropods</a>, these discoveries indicate that relatives of arrow worms were first to dominate the seas. These worms were building sophisticated food webs several million years before other predator groups arose.



Each fossil is a story of ancient hunger, with fossil stomach contents revealing these meter-long beasts dined on heavily armored arthropods regularly, cementing their place as the ocean's first apex predators.



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop...

<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=Ow3JH03PqEQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">New York is the site of the world's oldest forest.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-385-million-year-old-trees-discovered">385-million-year-old trees discovered</h2>



Scientists have uncovered something extraordinary just two hours north of New York City. The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-oldest-forest-discovered-close-to-new-york-city/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">world's oldest forest</a>, dating back 385 million years, offers a window into how Earth's first complex forests shaped our planet's atmosphere.



Located near <a href="https://townofcairo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cairo, New York</a>, in Greene County, these weren't merely primitive plants struggling to survive. These were sophisticated trees with root systems remarkably similar to modern forests. This ancient woodland predates dinosaurs by 140 million years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-cairo-forest-discovery">The Cairo forest discovery</h2>



385 million years ago, upstate New York was a tropical paradise near the equator. Thanks to continental drift, this ancient forest has traveled thousands of miles to its current location.



The fossil forest sits in an abandoned quarry, roughly half the size of a football field. This represents just a slice of what was likely a massive forest system stretching from New York into Pennsylvania.



Charles Ver Straeten, curator of sedimentary rocks at the <a href="https://www.nysm.nysed.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York State Museum</a>, made the discovery in 2009. While scouting the former highway department property, his trained eye spotted wandering patterns in the stone that looked like marine features.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revolutionary-age-and-preservation">Revolutionary age and preservation</h2>



The site contains 385-million-year-old rocks with fossilized woody roots forming horizontal patterns up to 18 feet (5.5 meters) wide. As Christopher Berry, a paleobotanist at Cardiff University, explains: "You are walking through the roots of ancient trees."



This discovery pushes back advanced tree evolution by millions of years. The research, published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a> in December 2019, fundamentally changes our understanding of when complex forests first emerged.



Researchers believe a massive flood buried the forest floor, creating perfect fossilization conditions. Over millions of years, sediment hardened into rock, preserving these root patterns like nature's time capsule.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meet-archaeopteris-the-first-modern-tree">Meet Archaeopteris: the first modern tree</h2>



The star of this ancient forest is Archaeopteris – not to be confused with the feathered dinosaur Archaeopteryx. This tree was far older and more revolutionary.



William Stein from <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binghamton University</a> describes the roots as "strikingly modern, essentially what you'd see outside in my yard right now." These weren't simple root systems you'd expect from ancient plants.



Some fossilized roots are six inches (15 centimeters) in diameter, forming 36-foot-wide (11-meter) patterns. These giants grew up to 65 feet (20 meters) tall with five-foot-diameter (1.5-meter) trunks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-changing-impact">Climate-changing impact</h2>



These trees fundamentally changed Earth's environment. Kevin Boyce, a Stanford University geoscientist, explains how their deep roots triggered "weathering," chemical reactions that pulled carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.



This process dropped atmospheric CO2 levels from 10-15 times higher than today to roughly modern concentrations. These ancient trees helped create atmospheric conditions that made complex life possible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-forest-ecosystem">Ancient forest ecosystem</h2>



The forest was remarkably diverse. Scientists identified Eospermatopteris, palm tree-like plants with short roots that reached 30 feet (9 meters) tall but lacked woody structure. The forest also housed cladoxylopsids and a mysterious third species still being studied.



All reproduced through spores rather than seeds – millions of years before seeds evolved. This tropical environment had no grass, flowers, or flying insects, just towering trees creating Earth's first complex forest canopy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientific-significance">Scientific significance</h2>



Before this finding, the Gilboa forest, located 25 miles (40 kilometers) away, held the "oldest forest" title. Cairo's trees are 2-3 million years older, showing that complex forest ecosystems developed much faster than scientists believed possible.



Patricia Gensel, a <a href="https://www.unc.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of North Carolina</a> paleobotanist, notes: "The size of those root systems is really changing the picture. Even 20 years ago, researchers assumed trees with such complex root systems didn't evolve so early."



The Cairo site presents three unique root systems, suggesting Devonian period forests were diverse ecosystems with different trees occupying different environmental niches, much like today's forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-modern-preservation-efforts">Modern preservation efforts</h2>



In 2022, New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey secured a $170,000 grant for the town of Cairo to construct specialized fencing around the fossil forest site. The town plans to conduct a feasibility study exploring the possibility of creating an educational center and working lab on-site.



Joe Hasenkopf, chair of the Cairo Planning Board, hopes to partner with educational institutions to create a research facility serving scientists, students, and the public.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-today-s-climate">Lessons for today's climate</h2>



Why does a 385-million-year-old forest matter today? It shows how dramatically forests can change Earth's climate. These ancient woodlands created the atmospheric conditions supporting complex life.



Understanding how prehistoric forests transformed the planet helps us appreciate modern forests' critical role in addressing climate change. Forests remain Earth's most effective carbon capture systems.



These prehistoric trees changed Earth's atmosphere by pulling massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the air. As we face modern climate challenges, this ancient forest reminds us of trees' incredible power to transform our planet's environment.



The next time you walk through a forest, remember you're experiencing an ecosystem whose blueprint was established 385 million years ago in upstate New York. These ancient pioneers didn't just survive – they thrived and changed the world forever.



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow3JH03PqEQ New York is the site of the world's oldest...

<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=Veg4HmmRVZY
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Our bodies hits two 'aging cliffs' at these ages.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientists-map-exact-ages-when-your-body-rapidly-ages">Scientists Map Exact Ages When Your Body Rapidly Ages</h2>



Scientists have <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-bodies-begin-breaking-down-two-very-precise-ages/#google_vignette">discovered that aging</a> isn't the gradual, steady process many assume it to be. Instead, researchers from Stanford Medicine have found that our bodies undergo dramatic molecular changes at two specific ages: 44 and 60. This research, published in Nature Aging, reveals that aging happens in sudden bursts rather than smooth transitions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-two-waves-of-rapid-aging">Two waves of rapid aging</h2>



The Stanford study tracked over 135,000 different molecules and microbes in 108 participants aged 25 to 75 over several years. Results showed that 81% of all molecules studied exhibited non-linear changes, meaning they shifted dramatically at certain ages rather than changing gradually over time.



Michael Snyder, chair of genetics at Stanford School of Medicine and the study's senior author, noted significant findings. "We're not just changing gradually over time; there are some really dramatic changes. It turns out the mid-40s is a time of dramatic change, as is the early 60s. And that's true no matter what class of molecules you look at."



The first wave of changes occurs around age 44, affecting molecules related to alcohol metabolism, caffeine processing, lipid <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/age-related-changes-in-metabolism-dont-match-our-expectations/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">metabolism</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/heart-disease-remains-the-leading-cause-of-death-worldwide/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cardiovascular disease</a>, and skin and muscle function. The second wave hits around age 60, involving changes in carbohydrate metabolism, immune regulation, kidney function, and again cardiovascular and muscle health.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-happens-during-these-aging-bursts">What happens during these aging bursts</h2>



During the mid-40s transformation, researchers observed significant changes in how the body processes alcohol and fats. This period often coincides with increased stress levels in many people's lives, potentially contributing to lifestyle factors that accelerate these molecular shifts.



"It's possible some of these changes could be tied to lifestyle or behavioral factors that cluster at these age groups, rather than being driven by biological factors," Snyder explained. For instance, alcohol metabolism dysfunction might result from increased consumption during the typically stressful mid-40s period.



The changes at age 60 are perhaps less surprising, as this is when many age-related diseases begin to manifest more prominently. The molecular shifts affect immune function and kidney health, both critical for maintaining overall wellness as we enter our senior years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-latest-research-confirms-aging-patterns">Latest research confirms aging patterns</h2>



Recent 2025 studies have validated these findings. Research examining tissue samples from 76 people found similar aging patterns, noting an "inflection point" between ages 45 and 55.



Scientists discovered that blood vessels, particularly the aorta, age fastest among all body tissues. This vascular aging may drive aging in other body parts, highlighting cardiovascular health's central role in the aging process.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cellular-changes-and-microbiome-shifts">Cellular changes and microbiome shifts</h2>



The Stanford research revealed that these aging bursts affect our microbiome – the trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi living in and on our bodies. These microbial communities undergo substantial shifts during both aging periods, potentially affecting everything from digestion to immune function.



Additionally, researchers found that protein production and gene expression begin to fall out of sync as we age. This breakdown in cellular communication becomes especially pronounced during the two aging waves, contributing to the accumulation of damaged proteins associated with diseases such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/alzheimers-may-not-be-brain-disorder-important-data-was-fabricated/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alzheimer's</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-health-implications-and-longevity-considerations">Health implications and longevity considerations</h2>



Understanding these aging patterns has important implications for healthcare strategies. Research suggests that people should pay particular attention to their health during their 40s and 60s, when these dramatic molecular changes occur.



Snyder emphasized the importance of proactive health measures. "I'm a big believer that we should try to adjust our lifestyles while we're still healthy," he noted. This might include increasing exercise to protect heart health and maintain muscle mass, or reducing alcohol consumption in the 40s as the body's ability to metabolize it declines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-approaches-to-anti-aging-treatment">New approaches to anti-aging treatment</h2>



Aging research has seen notable advances in 2025. Harvard Medical School scientists developed chemical cocktails that reverse cellular aging without genetic modification. These six combinations restored aged cells to youthfulness in under a week, offering safer alternatives to gene therapy.



Researchers identified new biomarkers like "InflammAge," a saliva-based test measuring chronic inflammation associated with aging. This non-invasive approach could change how we monitor aging and intervention.



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



Emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, cellular reprogramming, and senolytic therapies, are opening new possibilities for extending healthspan. Companies develop treatments targeting aging's fundamental mechanisms rather than just managing age-related diseases.



The Stanford findings provide a roadmap for implementing preventive measures. Rather than waiting for symptoms, people can prepare for and potentially mitigate these predictable aging waves.



As aging understanding evolves, one thing becomes clear: aging isn't inevitable decline, but specific biological events we may learn to prevent or reverse. The key is recognizing when these transitions occur and taking proactive health steps during vulnerable periods.



The study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nataging" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Aging</a>.



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Scientists discover we age in bursts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Veg4HmmRVZY Our bodies hits two 'aging cliffs' at these ages....

<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=PqlF0XKzHY4
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The hidden science behind tickling.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientists-discover-the-brain-s-tickling-command-center">Scientists discover the brain's 'tickling command center'</h2>



Researchers have finally solved one of humanity's most enduring mysteries: why we can't <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/after-centuries-of-debate-we-still-dont-know-how-tickling-works/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tickle</a> ourselves and what makes some people incredibly ticklish while others barely react? Recent scientific discoveries are revolutionizing our understanding of this peculiar human behavior.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-breakthrough-discovery-in-the-brain">Breakthrough discovery in the brain</h2>



In 2023, Dr. Michael Brecht's team at <a href="https://www.hu-berlin.de/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humboldt University</a>-<a href="https://www.hu-berlin.de/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Berlin</a> made a major discovery published in the <a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(22)01991-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">journal Neuron</a>. They identified the brain's actual "tickling command center" – specific neurons in a region called the periaqueductal gray that control both tickling responses and play behavior.



When researchers used cutting-edge optogenetic technology to shut down these neurons in laboratory rats, something remarkable happened. The animals completely lost their ability to be tickled or engage in playful behavior.



"We found that global blockade of the rat periaqueductal gray with either muscimol or lidocaine interfered with ticklishness and play," the research team reported in their study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-two-types-of-tickling-revealed">Two types of tickling revealed</h2>



What we call "tickling" is two completely different phenomena, according to the latest research. Light tickling – that feathery sensation that makes you want to scratch – is essentially your body's sophisticated bug detection system. This alerts you to potential insects or parasites on your skin.



Deep tickling – the kind that makes you laugh uncontrollably – involves complex brain circuits and is fundamentally social. You literally cannot tickle yourself with this type of stimulation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-self-tickling-is-impossible">Why self-tickling is impossible</h2>



Your cerebellum acts like a prediction machine, recent findings show. When you move your own hand to touch yourself, your brain generates precise predictions about what you will feel and then cancels out the tickling sensation through neural inhibition.



When someone else tickles you, your brain can't predict their movements, so the full tickling response activates. It's like your brain's way of distinguishing between self and others.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-individual-differences-explained">Individual differences explained</h2>



Individual differences in ticklishness depend on genetics, psychology, and even trust. Dr. Xinzhong Dong at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Johns Hopkins University</a> notes that people with denser nerve endings tend to be more sensitive.



Psychological factors matter just as much. You respond more strongly when tickled by people you trust, and anxiety completely shuts down tickling responses. This explains why the same physical stimulus can produce completely different reactions depending on who's doing the tickling.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-controlling-your-ticklishness">Controlling your ticklishness</h2>



Science offers answers for controlling your ticklishness. You can reduce tickling sensitivity through systematic desensitization – gradual exposure in controlled settings.



Dr. Konstantina Kilteni's 2025 research, published in <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adt0350" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>, reveals another technique: place your hand on the tickler's hand. This allows your brain to partially predict the sensations, reducing the tickling response by up to 90 percent.



"Your brain is essentially learning to override its own reflexes," Kilteni explained in her review of tickling research.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolutionary-purpose-discovered">Evolutionary purpose discovered</h2>



From an evolutionary perspective, tickling serves vital functions according to <a href="https://www.umd.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Maryland</a> researcher Dr. Robert Provine's extensive studies. It trains our defense reflexes for vulnerable body areas and facilitates social bonding between family members.



Tickling-induced laughter is actually one of the first forms of communication between infants and caregivers. "Tickle involves a neurological self/nonself discrimination, providing the most primitive social scenario," Provine noted in his research.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clinical-applications-emerge">Clinical applications emerge</h2>



Research shows people with autism spectrum disorder perceive touches as more ticklish than people without the condition. Investigating this difference could provide insight into brain differences and help advance autism research.



People with schizophrenia tend to experience self-touches similarly to external tickles, allowing them to essentially tickle themselves. This suggests altered sensory prediction mechanisms in the condition.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-animal-research-reveals-universal-nature">Animal research reveals universal nature</h2>



Scientists have discovered that many species beyond humans are ticklish. Rats emit ultrasonic "laughs" when tickled, while chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans all respond to tickling stimulation.



This widespread occurrence across species suggests that tickling serves fundamental biological and social functions that evolved long before humans developed complex language and culture.



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



Dr. Kilteni argues that tickling research deserves more scientific attention. "It is a complex interplay of motor, social, neurological, developmental, and evolutionary aspects," she stated in her recent review.



New haptic technologies and advanced research methodologies now permit scientists to investigate tickle sensation with unprecedented precision. Standardized experimental methods using mechanical tickling devices ensure consistent results across studies.



Recent findings published in Science Advances show that tickling research is opening new doors in neuroscience, potentially leading to a better understanding of social behavior, sensory processing, and neurological conditions.



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Scientists solve the mystery of tickling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqlF0XKzHY4 The hidden science behind tickling. Scientists discover the brain's...

<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=elr4948_uOU
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Dr. Ronald Mallett from the University of Connecticut reveals secret mission to create working time travel device.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-could-an-equation-truly-bend-time-a-physicist-s-decades-long-quest-to-rewrite-reality">Could an equation truly bend time? A physicist's decades-long quest to rewrite reality</h2>



Imagine the impossible: stepping back through time in a time machine, not in fantasy, but through a scientific endeavor driven by profound personal loss. For <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astrophysicist-says-hes-cracked-the-equation-for-time-travel/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Ronald Mallett</a>, a distinguished astrophysicist and professor emeritus at the <a href="https://uconn.edu/">University of Connecticut</a>, this deeply human longing has fueled a lifelong mission. He claims to have discovered the equation that could unlock temporal displacement, pushing boundaries once deemed purely science fiction.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-profound-grief-that-forged-a-vision">A profound grief that forged a vision</h2>



Mallett's extraordinary pursuit began with devastating tragedy in 1955. At merely 10 years old, he endured his father Boyd's sudden death—a television repairman whose passion for science had ignited a similar spark in his young son. Boyd Mallett, only 33, succumbed to a heart attack, leaving behind a grief-stricken child searching for solace.



That solace came through H.G. Wells' The Time Machine. Within its pages, Mallett found a captivating concept: "Time is only a kind of Space." These words transformed from a literary phrase into a guiding principle, becoming the driving force behind his unwavering commitment to unraveling time's fundamental mysteries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-humble-beginnings-to-academic-heights">From humble beginnings to academic heights</h2>



Mallett's journey was far from straightforward. After serving in the Air Force during the Vietnam War era, he utilized the GI Bill for higher education, earning his Ph.D. in physics from Pennsylvania State University in 1973 at the age of 28.



In 1975, he made history as the first African American professor in the University of Connecticut's physics department, achieving full professorship in 1987 before retiring in 2024 as professor emeritus.



Throughout these successful academic years, Mallett harbored his radical ambition as a closely guarded secret. "I kept my time travel goal a secret," he confessed. "I worried people would think I was nuts." His public research centered on black holes, serving as a "cover story" while he quietly developed his revolutionary time travel theory.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-breakthrough-moment">The breakthrough moment</h2>



His pivotal insight arrived while hospitalized for a heart condition—a profound irony given his father's heart attack started this journey. The breakthrough was elegantly simple yet revolutionary: "If gravity can bend time, and light can create gravity, then light can bend time."



"It turns out that black holes can create a gravitational field that could lead to the creation of time loops that could allow us to go back in time," he explained.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-blueprint-for-a-temporal-vortex">The blueprint for a temporal vortex</h2>



Mallett's vision for a functioning time machine replicates spacetime-warping phenomena around black holes. He offers a compelling analogy: "Picture a cup of coffee. Stir it with a spoon, and the coffee swirls. A spinning black hole does the same to spacetime."



In Einstein's general relativity, the universe is a dynamic fabric woven from space and time. Massive objects like black holes warp this fabric—an effect we perceive as gravity. Mallett theorizes that an intense, continuous, circulating beam of light from a ring of powerful lasers could replicate this gravitational torsion, effectively twisting time into a loop.



This "time loop" would theoretically allow information—or perhaps matter—to travel backward in time. He detailed this mathematical concept in his 2006 autobiography, Time Traveler: A Scientist's Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-published-research-and-recognition">Published research and recognition</h2>



His work, published in respected journals including <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/physics-letters-a" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Physics Letters A</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/journal/10701" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Foundations of Physics</a>, suggests circulating laser light could generate gravitational fields potent enough to create closed timelike curves, enabling time travel for data.



Mallett's research has gained worldwide media attention, featured on <a href="https://www.thisamericanlife.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Public Radio's This American Life</a>, the <a href="https://www.history.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">History Channel</a>, and <a href="https://www.today.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NBC's Today Show</a>. The widespread interest reflects both his compelling personal story and rigorous scientific approach.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-galactic-hurdles-and-persistent-skepticism">The galactic hurdles and persistent skepticism</h2>



While Mallett's equations captivate imagination, the path to reality faces immense obstacles. The energy requirement is staggering—Mallett acknowledges needing "galactic amounts of energy," far beyond current technological capabilities.



There's also a poignant limitation: even if realized, his machine could only send information back to when it was first activated, meaning it couldn't transport him to 1955 to prevent his father's death.



The scientific community remains skeptical. Physicists Ken Olum and Allen Everett argue that Mallett's proposed laser ring would need to be larger than the observable universe to achieve the necessary spacetime distortion. They invoke Stephen Hawking's chronology protection conjecture, suggesting physics may prevent macroscopic time travel.



Astrophysicist Paul Sutter has voiced doubts about Mallett's underlying mathematics, while science writer Brian Clegg finds the concept intriguing enough to warrant experimental investigation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-legacy-that-transcends-time">A legacy that transcends time</h2>



Now approaching 80, Dr. Mallett remains steadfast. "I believe my work will show time travel is possible," he asserts. "Future generations will build on it in ways we can't yet imagine."



His equations, though yet to physically bend time, have bent our collective imagination. Ongoing public interest, evidenced by his continued media appearances and Spike Lee's film adaptation of his memoir, underscores his ideas' profound impact.



More than a scientific pursuit, Mallett's story testifies to human resilience, intellectual courage, and hope's enduring power. Whether his theoretical time machine ever materializes, his legacy is immeasurable—inspiring countless individuals to challenge conventional limits and perceive time not as an unyielding barrier, but as a boundless frontier awaiting exploration.







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Retired professor claims he solved time travel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elr4948_uOU Dr. Ronald Mallett from the University of Connecticut reveals...

<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...

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 the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image 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.

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



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.

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Kainji Lake, a reservoir on the Niger River.



In 1968, Kainji Lake was created by the construction of the Kainji Dam. The Niger River, the third longest in Africa, enters the lake in the north.&nbsp;



According to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rivers-in-the-american-west-are-a-lifesaving-resource-for-birds/">ESA</a>, the creation of the lake submerged Foge Island and the town of Bussa and permanently flooded other riverine settlements, leaving around 50,000 people displaced.&nbsp;



Large parts of Foge Island are temporarily exposed during low water tides, and the land is often used by migrating fishermen. Kainji Dam is a dam across the Niger River in Niger State of Central Nigeria. 



Wild mammals occur at relatively low densities due to illegal hunting. Lake Kainji has suffered a dramatic decline as a fishery due to the high numbers of artisanal and subsistence fisherfolk using the lake. It has been suggested that a period of closure, together with controlled fishing rights may help improve fish stocks.



Kainji Lake National Park is the oldest of its kind in Nigeria. The park contains three distinct areas: a part of the Kainji Lake, the Borgu Game Reserve to the west of the lake, and the Zugurma Game Reserve to the southeast. The park is home to around 65 mammal species, 350 bird species, and 30 species of reptiles and amphibians. 



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&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.

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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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



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.

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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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.

How does salt makes things taste better?

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



Video/ Image 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



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.

Santiago, Chile in South America

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