UK funds controversial climate-cooling research

This issue divides climate academics more than almost any other.

Will de Freitas, Environment + Energy Editor, UK edition • conversation
June 5, 2025 ~9 min

Thousands of satellites are due to burn up in the atmosphere every year – damaging the ozone layer and changing the climate

The number of satellites is exploding, and we still don’t have a fully safe way to dispose of them.

Ian Williams, Professor of Applied Environmental Science, University of Southampton • conversation
March 20, 2025 ~7 min


Geoengineering is politically off-limits – could a Trump presidency change that?

Trump has long been a climate-sceptic. But he’s close to tech figures who like big technological solutions to global problems.

Shaun Fitzgerald, Director, Centre for Climate Repair, University of Cambridge • conversation
Feb. 17, 2025 ~6 min

Here's what's driving the record autumn heat (it's not just carbon emissions)

On top of rising greenhouse gas emissions, aerosol pollution which would normally cool Earth has fallen.

Piers Forster, Professor of Physical Climate Change; Director of the Priestley International Centre for Climate, University of Leeds • conversation
Oct. 11, 2023 ~6 min

Some popping bubbles shoot concentrated aerosols

New research illustrates why popping bubbles fire some contaminants into the air, while allowing others to sink harmlessly.

Andrew Thurston-Boston U. • futurity
March 16, 2023 ~9 min

Toilets spew invisible aerosol plumes with every flush – here's the proof, captured by high-powered lasers

Toilets eject aerosol droplets that may carry disease-causing pathogens. Learning about how these particles move could help reduce exposure in public restrooms.

John Crimaldi, Professor of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
Dec. 8, 2022 ~7 min

What is 'committed warming'? A climate scientist explains why global warming can continue after emissions end

Thanks to humans, the concentration of planet-warming carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is now 50% higher than before the industrial era. These gases are raising Earth’s temperature.

Julien Emile-Geay, Associate Professor of Earth Sciences, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences • conversation
June 9, 2022 ~7 min

What is 'committed warming'? A climate scientist explains why global warming can continue long after emissions end

Thanks to humans, the atmosphere has 50% more planet-warming carbon dioxide today than it did before the industrial era. Those gases will continue raising Earth’s temperature for years.

Julien Emile-Geay, Associate Professor of Earth Sciences, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences • conversation
June 9, 2022 ~7 min


Solid aerosols in Arctic may change clouds and climate

Solid aerosols from the Arctic "didn't look like anything we had ever seen in the literature, in the Arctic, or anywhere else in the world."

Morgan Sherburne-Michigan • futurity
March 31, 2022 ~6 min

What is the best mask for COVID-19? A mechanical engineer explains the science after 2 years of testing masks in his lab

The CDC’s updated mask guidelines say that cloth masks offer the least protection from COVID-19. Differences in the materials masks are made from and the ways they fit are the reason.

Christian L'Orange, Assistant Research Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University • conversation
Jan. 25, 2022 ~8 min

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