A look at our changing environment.
There has been a great deal of interest in the plight of monarch butterflies in this country. Monarchs’ population and migratory habits are closely watched, and many people have been planting milkweed in their gardens to help their caterpillars. But other butterfly species have received much less attention despite the fact that many butterfly populations […]
Microplastics are a real problem. They are pretty much everywhere. They are in our food, in the oceans, on mountains, up in the clouds, and most alarmingly, in our bodies. All of that is already bad news, but researchers at Boston University have found that microplastics may also be contributing to antibiotic resistance in dangerous […]
Last year was the hottest year on record and the ten hottest years on record have in fact been the last ten years. Ocean heat reached a record high last year and, along with it, global sea levels. Those are rising twice as fast as they did in the 1990s. The World Meteorological Organization reports […]
The largest iceberg in the world, which has been slowly drifting for nearly 5 years, has finally come to a halt. The iceberg – called the unexciting name A-23A – came into existence in 1986 when it broke off from another iceberg A-23 that had calved or torn off from Antarctica earlier that year. For […]
Plastic waste management is a complicated business. Most methods of recycling or breaking down plastic are costly and harmful to the environment. The most common biodegradable alternatives – like paper straws – are less than ideal replacements. There are many approaches to creating biodegradable plastics using feedstocks like seaweed, sugarcane, and other plant matter. However, […]
Alexandria is the second largest city in Egypt and is the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Its history goes back over 2,300 years and it was once home to a lighthouse that was among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and a Great Library that was the largest in the ancient world. The […]
Amphibians are a group of vertebrate animals that include frogs, toads, and salamanders. They are unique for their ability to live both in water and on land during different stages of life. Amphibians play a crucial role in ecosystems, often serving as both predators and prey in food webs. Amphibians are the world’s most at-risk […]
The battery pack in an electric car is the most expensive part of the car. Currently, it accounts for as much as 30% of the price. But EV batteries last a long time. Most are guaranteed for 8-10 years and are likely to last as long as 20 years. In practice, only 1.5% of electric […]
Early March saw more than 200 wildfires break out in the southeastern U.S. – a busy start to the region’s annual fire season. One fire in the Carolina Forest near Myrtle Beach scorched over 2,000 acres over a two-week period and firefighters were busy containing it and many other blazes. Strong winds and an unusually […]
A new study by MIT researchers looked at the potential for grid-edge resources to enhance the ability of the electric grid to respond to unforeseen power outages. Grid-edge resources are devices found close to consumers rather than located near central power plants, substations, or transmission lines. These include residential solar panels, storage batteries, electric vehicles, […]
The 2025 U.S. State of the Birds report was released recently. The report is produced by a coalition of leading science and conservation organizations. The bottom line is that there have been continued widespread declines in American bird populations across all mainland and marine habitats. More than one-third of U.S. bird species are of high […]
We are all familiar with the grout that is used for tiles in our homes. We are less familiar with grout that is used to stabilize the soil beneath buildings. Grouting is a process of ground improvement by injecting materials that can fill voids and cracks, strengthen and increase the bearing capacity of soil, and […]
Lithium-ion batteries are used to power computers and cellphones and, increasingly, vehicles. The batteries contain lithium as well as various other valuable metals such as nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese. Like other batteries, lithium-ion batteries have a finite lifetime before they can no longer perform their intended function. Recycling lithium-ion batteries to recover their critical […]
Solar and wind farms are spreading rapidly around the world. Many economists believe that solar power has crossed the threshold where it is generally cheaper than other ways to make electricity and will become the dominant energy source in the next couple of decades. As a result, both solar and wind farms are gobbling up […]
Vacationers love beaches with shallow water. They are great for families with small kids and for less confident swimmers. Such beaches often attract intense coastal development. However, they are also fragile habitats that are disappearing around the world. A new study led by the University of South Florida highlights the need to protect these marine […]
Many experts say that combating global warming will require both drastically reducing the use of fossil fuels and permanently removing billions of tons of CO2 already in the atmosphere. Developing practical, large-scale technologies for carbon removal is a significant challenge. There is a nearly inexhaustible supply of minerals that are capable of removing carbon dioxide […]
Life is a struggle for survival from the moment a sea turtle hatches. In fact, only one sea turtle out of every 1,000 typically reaches adulthood as a result of natural predators and other challenges. Those fortunate enough to make it to adulthood face serious threats from humans. For example, sea turtles are hunted for […]
Refrigeration is based on heat transfer mediums that absorb heat from the area being cooled and transfer it to the outside environment. The earliest refrigerants were dangerous substances like ammonia. In the 1930s, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) like Freon became the standard refrigerant for use in refrigeration systems and even in aerosol cans. When these substances were […]
According to a recent forecast from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, solar panels and batteries will account for more than 80% of new power capacity installed in the U.S. this year. The record growth of these technologies is hastening the decline of coal power in this country. Solar power alone will account for more than […]
Microplastics are tiny plastic particles, less than 5 millimeters in size, that come from the breakdown of larger plastics, synthetic fibers, microbeads, and tire wear. Microplastics are found in oceans, rivers, soil, and even the air we breathe. These particles can take hundreds of years to degrade, spreading across ecosystems and accumulating in unexpected places, […]