Extreme heat waves are putting lives in danger, with some of the hottest urban neighborhoods 10 degrees hotter or more than their wealthier neighbors. Often, these are communities of color.
A farmer spreads fertilizer on a field in Berks County, Pa.
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Farmers are contending with huge spikes in fertilizer prices. The Biden administration is paying US companies to boost synthetic fertilizer production, but there are other, more sustainable options.
Exposure to hot and dry conditions can damage the DNA of nestling birds in their first few days of life – meaning they age earlier and produce less offspring.
A green turtle with a satellite tag at Poilão Island, Guinea-Bissau. Photo: Miguel Varela.
Miguel Varela
Other presidents used the Defense Production Act to boost fossil fuel supplies. Biden is now using it to boost clean energy. But just ramping up production isn’t enough to succeed.
Already critically endangered, the southern bent-wing bat is still declining in a drying climate. If we don’t step in, it will likely be extinct within three generations of bat.
Renewed interest in nuclear energy will go nowhere unless we talk about carbon pricing. As energy minister Chris Bowen points out, nuclear is extremely expensive.
A new study finds that companies’ emissions reductions may not be what they seem.
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Companies are buying renewable energy certificates to meet their emissions targets, but new research suggests that the bulk of these purchases do not lead to actual emission reductions.
Greenhouse gases emitted today linger in the atmosphere for years to centuries.
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Julien Emile-Geay, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
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.
Corals and fish in the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, San Pedro, Belize.
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As nations pledge to preserve swaths of ocean within their territorial waters, a marine scientist explains why some marine protected areas shelter ocean life more effectively than others.
Australia’s Traditional Owners have survived climate shifts before. Bringing traditional ecological knowledge in contact with western climate scientists could help First Nations survive this one.
Seagrasses form dense meadows in shallow seas worldwide.
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Only 13% of US solar industry jobs are currently in manufacturing. The Biden administration hopes the sector will grow fast, but that might not be so simple.
The front of Thwaites Glacier is a jagged, towering cliff.
David Vaughan/British Antarctic Survey
Thwaites Glacier’s ice shelf appears to be splintering, and scientists fear it could give way in the next few years. A polar scientist takes us on a tour under the ice to explain the forces at work.
The collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation would profoundly alter the anatomy of the world’s oceans and climate. New research explores the consequences.