For every US$1 the world invests in protecting nature, it spends US$30 on destroying it. This stark imbalance is the central finding of a new UN Environment Program (UNEP) report released today. It calls for a major shift in global financing of nature-based solutions and phasing out harmful investments to deliver high returns, reduce risk exposure, and enhance resilience.
When California neighborhoods increased their number of zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV) between 2019 and 2023, they also experienced a reduction in air pollution. For every 200 vehicles added, nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) levels dropped 1.1%. The results, obtained from a new analysis based on statewide satellite data, are among the first to confirm the environmental health benefits of ZEVs, which include fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars, in the real world. The study is published in The Lancet Planetary Health.
As temperatures rise and water supplies drop, public policy could bolster municipal water provisions under pressure. But one policy prescription—pushing conservation—will likely be insufficient as a standalone fix to sustain some reservoirs, according to research led by scientists at Penn State.
Plastic pollution is everywhere—including where you would least expect it, especially when it's in tiny particle form. Today, scientists are working to measure the consequences of this contamination. There's the pollution you can see—on the beach, on the roadside and in open-air landfills. And then there's the pollution you can't—on the peak of Mount Everest, deep inside the Mariana Trench, in clouds, in buildings, and in our water supply, food, blood and brain.
A study led by University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography alumnus Jarod Snook, Ph.D., identified a long-term source of PFAS, or "forever chemicals," entering the Pawcatuck River from two historically contaminated textile mill waste retention ponds located in Bradford and Westerly, Rhode Island.
CO2 that has been absorbed and accumulated in fresh water areas like lakes and reservoirs—is receiving attention for its potential contributions to achieving a carbon neutral society. Kobe University is a hub for freshwater carbon research, with Graduate School of Engineering Professor Nakayama Keisuke, an expert in aquatic and environmental engineering, at the forefront.
With western states deadlocked in negotiations over how to cut water use along the Colorado River, the Trump administration has called in the governors of seven states to Washington to try to hash out a consensus.
Smartphone weather apps that summarize their forecasts with eye-popping numbers and bright icons may be handy during mild weather, but meteorologists say it's better to listen to human expertise during multi-faceted, dangerous winter storms like the one blowing through the U.S.
Americans stripped supermarket shelves Friday ahead of potentially "catastrophic" winter weather that threatened at least 160 million people across the country with transportation chaos, blackouts and life-threatening cold.
Predicting the duration of a Central Pacific El Niño event has long frustrated climate scientists and forecasters. Now, a new study reveals that Central Pacific El Niños follow two fundamentally different life cycles—and the difference is determined months before they peak.
Ancient pine trees growing in the Iberian mountains of eastern Spain have quietly recorded more than five centuries of Mediterranean weather. Now, by reading the annual growth rings preserved in their wood, scientists have uncovered a striking message: today's storms and droughts are becoming more intense and more frequent than almost anything the region has experienced since the early 1500s.
Plastic pollution is one of those problems everyone can see, yet few know how to tackle it effectively. I grew up walking the beaches around Tramore in County Waterford, Ireland, where plastic debris has always been part of the coastline, including bottles, fragments of fishing gear and food packaging.
The atmosphere is an important transport medium that carries microplastics to even the most remote parts of the world. These microplastics can be inhaled and pose a health risk to humans and animals. They can also settle out of the atmosphere and contaminate oceans and soils worldwide.
Researchers investigating the effectiveness of outdoor ads promoting climate change awareness and action found that a general message of climate emergency awareness received more QR code scans compared to a more-specific campaign focusing on sustainable fashion, according to a study published in PLOS Climate by Maxwell Boykoff from the University of Colorado Boulder, U.S., and colleagues.
Over Christmas, vegetables, bananas and insulation foam washed up on beaches along England's southeast coast. They were from 16 containers spilled by the cargo ship Baltic Klipper in rough seas. In the new year, a further 24 containers fell from two vessels during Storm Goretti, with chips and onions among the goods appearing on the Sussex shoreline.
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