Climate change could overwhelm our sewers – here’s how green infrastructure could help

Cities need to find new ways to handle rainwater, especially in the face of climate change. Green infrastructure offers a way to tackle this challenge.

Mayra Rodriguez, Postdoctoral Researcher, Earth Observation Science, Plymouth Marine Laboratory • conversation
Dec. 17, 2024 ~8 min

No flood gauges, no warning: 99% of US streams are off the radar amid rising flash flood risks – we saw the harm in 2024

If federal streamgages were bolstered by networks of cheaper monitors run by communities, the results could save lives.

Branko Kerkez, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Michigan • conversation
Dec. 17, 2024 ~10 min


After wildfires, ranchers face 2-year delay to graze cattle on federal land – is it doing more harm than good?

That delay can tip ranchers’ finances into the red. While the land needs time to recover, studies raise questions about whether two years is really necessary.

Jared L. Talley, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, Boise State University • conversation
Dec. 16, 2024 ~8 min

Rising desertification shows we can’t keep farming with fossil fuels

Tractors and chemicals have served food production well, but at a cost to healthy soil.

Jack Marley, Environment + Energy Editor, UK edition • conversation
Dec. 12, 2024 ~7 min

15% of global population lives within a few miles of a coast − and the number is growing rapidly

Nearly 10% of the planet’s human inhabitants live within 3.1 miles of the coast − where the risk of climate disasters is often highest.

Viswadeep Lebakula, Research Scientist in Human Geography, Oak Ridge National Laboratory • conversation
Dec. 12, 2024 ~6 min

Polluting shipwrecks are the ticking time-bomb at the bottom of our oceans

As their structures break down, the wrecks could release toxic substances into the environment.

Fraser Sturt, Professor of Archaeology, University of Southampton • conversation
Dec. 11, 2024 ~8 min

Sediment is a time capsule that shows how past climate change altered our landscapes – and hints at their future

Analysing sediments can help scientists to predict how climate change will influence natural disasters.

Joanne Egan, Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography, Edge Hill University • conversation
Dec. 10, 2024 ~7 min

Arctic has changed dramatically in just a couple of decades – 2024 report card shows worrying trends in snow, ice, wildfire and more

Rapid changes underway in the Arctic affect the region’s people and wildlife, and the entire planet.

Rick Thoman, Alaska Climate Specialist, University of Alaska Fairbanks • conversation
Dec. 10, 2024 ~9 min


A ‘doom loop’ of climate change and geopolitical instability is beginning

Climate change is driving inflation and instability, which harms climate action. But it’s not too late to escape the doom loop.

James Dyke, Associate Professor in Earth System Science, University of Exeter • conversation
Dec. 9, 2024 ~9 min

As floodwaters rise, toxic contaminants released from old landfills pose more of a hazard to nature and to us

As floods get more severe and more frequent as a result of climate change, the risk of toxic pollutants being released from old landfills rises.

Kate Spencer, Professor of Environmental Geochemistry, Queen Mary University of London • conversation
Dec. 9, 2024 ~8 min

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