After the smoke clears, a wildfire’s legacy can haunt rivers for years, putting drinking water at risk

Scientists analyzed water quality in 145 watersheds after wildfires and found dramatic spikes in contaminants.

Ben Livneh, Associate Professor of Hydrology, University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
June 23, 2025 ~8 min

Declining soil health is a global concern – here’s how AI could help

Knowing where best to scale up soil health solutions will help protect people, businesses and ecosystems from extreme events.

Nima Shokri, Professor, Applied Engineering, United Nations University • conversation
June 17, 2025 ~7 min


‘Heavy metals’ contaminate 17% of the world’s croplands, say scientists

Heavy metals are a silent threat to our food – here’s what we can do about it.

Jagannath Biswakarma, Senior Research Associate, School of Earth Sciences and Cabot Institute for the Environment, University of Bristol • conversation
April 17, 2025 ~6 min

Why the price of your favorite chocolate will continue to rise

Aridity is silently spreading through many of the world’s cocoa-producing regions. There are steps we can take to save them.

Narcisa Pricope, Professor of Geography and Land Systems Science and Associate Vice President for Research, Mississippi State University • conversation
Feb. 10, 2025 ~10 min

LA gets rain, but also risk of flooding and debris flows from wildfire burn scars – a geologist explains the threat

Rain on land burned by a series of devastating fires in the Los Angeles area has the potential to contribute to flooding and debris flows.

Jen Pierce, Professor of Geosciences, Boise State University • conversation
Jan. 23, 2025 ~8 min

After the fire: Rain on wildfire burn scars can trigger deadly debris flows – a geologist explains how

In the Los Angeles area, the potential for rain on land burned by a series of devastating fires has people on edge.

Jen Pierce, Professor of Geosciences, Boise State University • conversation
Jan. 23, 2025 ~7 min

Five speculative novels that can help to understand our relationship with soil

By looking at how it is represented in works of fiction, we can try to understand how we relate to soil. And through soil, how we relate to the environment more broadly.

Meg Meredith, PhD Candidate, School of English, University of Sheffield • conversation
Dec. 2, 2024 ~6 min

Fungal infections known as valley fever could spike this fall - 3 epidemiologists explain how to protect yourself

Cases of valley fever are typically most prevalent in California’s Central Valley and southern Arizona, but they have been increasing in California’s central and southern coastal areas.

Simon Camponuri, PhD Candidate in Environmental Health Sciences, University of California, Berkeley • conversation
Sept. 26, 2024 ~10 min


EPA has lowered the screening level for lead in soil – here’s what that could mean for households across the US

The new level won’t trigger automatic cleanups, but it sets a lower threshold for taking precautions to reduce lead exposure.

Gabriel Filippelli, Professor of Earth Sciences and Executive Director, Environmental Resilience Institute, Indiana University • conversation
June 18, 2024 ~9 min

How a little-known clergyman studying worms by candlelight in the 1700s inspired Charles Darwin – but didn’t get the credit he deserved

My passion for earthworms and ecology led me to continuing Darwin’s experiments in his own ‘back garden’

Kevin Richard Butt, Reader in Ecology, University of Central Lancashire • conversation
April 16, 2024 ~22 min

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