Earth Wise

A new study by ETH Zurich, one of the world’s leading universities in science and engineering, demonstrates that human-induced climate change greatly increased the likelihood and intensity of over 200 global heatwaves between 2000 and 2023.  Emissions associated with each of the 180 largest producers of fossil fuels and cement contributed substantially to these events.  […]

A colossal iceberg known as A-23A broke off from the Filchner Iceshelf in Antarctica in 1986.  At that time, it was 1,418 square miles in area, slightly larger than the state of Rhode Island, or roughly twice the size of greater London.  It weighed about a trillion tons.  It was the largest iceberg ever observed. […]

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances – better known as PFAS – are a type of human-made chemicals that are found in a wide range of consumer and industrial products.  They don’t break down in the environment or in the human body, so they are often called forever chemicals.  They can contaminate drinking water sources and can […]

Vast and powerful, the oceans have sustained human life around the world for millennia. They provide food, natural resources, and livelihoods, supporting countless communities and economies. But despite their size and resilience, the oceans are under increasing pressure from climate change and human activity, pushing them toward a dangerous threshold. According to a new study […]

A recent survey of the plans of U.S. electricity utilities for meeting projected future demand indicates that they are looking to build twice as much natural gas capacity as they had anticipated just 18 months earlier.  The reason?  Data centers.  These warehouses full of computers that form the backbone of the internet are multiplying rapidly […]

Sargassum is a free-floating brown seaweed that can drift together in vast mats, sometimes stretching for miles across the ocean’s surface. For centuries, these blooms have been a natural part of the Atlantic, creating food and shelter for many marine creatures.  Sargassum was once thought to be confined mainly to the Sargasso Sea in the […]

A new study by Danish researchers examines how invasive plant species are reshaping ecosystems and people’s relationship with nature in the tropics.  The researchers found roughly 10,000 alien plant species in the greater tropics – which includes both the tropic and sub-tropic parts of the world.  Islands are especially invasion hotspots, and some have more […]

A company called Eco Wave Power has launched the first U.S. wave energy project in the Port of Los Angeles.  The system captures the motion of ocean waves to generate renewable electricity. The Eco Wave Power system harnesses hydraulic energy with floaters installed near the shore on existing structures like breakwaters, piers, and jetties.   The […]

Civilization has an enormous need to utilize the biosphere, that is, the regions of the surface, atmosphere, and bodies of water of the earth occupied by living organisms.  The biosphere supplies us with food, raw materials, and increasingly, climate protection. A study by two European universities looked at functional biosphere integrity, which is essentially the […]

Northern forests store a third of the world’s carbon, acting as sinks for atmospheric carbon dioxide.  Forest carbon exchange is the process whereby forests sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere via photosynthesis, storing it in their wood, leaves, and roots, and releasing some carbon through decomposition and respiration.  This natural cycle in forests is a […]