Newsletters

A dragonfly sits on a branch end. The closeup of the face look like a smile under big eyes.

Humans are killing helpful insects in hundreds of ways − simple steps can reduce the harm

Christopher Halsch, Binghamton University, State University of New York and Eliza Grames, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Six small piles of minerals.

How the US can mine its own critical minerals − without digging new holes

Yuanzhi Tang, Georgia Institute of Technology and Scott McWhorter, Georgia Institute of Technology

Hurricane forecasts are more accurate than ever – NOAA funding cuts could change that, with a busy storm season coming

Chris Vagasky, University of Wisconsin-Madison

A radar shows a plane in the center of a hurricane
Worsening allergies aren’t your imagination − windy days create the perfect pollen storm

Christine Cairns Fortuin, Mississippi State University

A woman with flowering trees behind her and hair blown back sneezes.
Despite Supreme Court setback, children’s lawsuits against climate change continue

Alexandra Klass, University of Michigan

A group of young people confer with older people wearing suits in a courtroom.
Australia and North America have long fought fires together – but new research reveals that may have to change

Doug Richardson, UNSW Sydney and Andreia Filipa Silva Ribeiro, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ

A firefighter battling a blaze with a helicopter nearby.
Some ‘Star Wars’ stories have already become reality

Daniel B. Oerther, Missouri University of Science and Technology and William Schonberg, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Two technological-looking towers stand in a desert landscape, with dome-like buildings behind them.
Bees, fish and plants show how climate change’s accelerating pace is disrupting nature in 2 key ways

Courtney McGinnis, Quinnipiac University

A bee on a delicate purple flower. The bee is about as big as the flower.
What is a downburst? These winds can be as destructive as tornadoes − we recreate them to test building designs

Amal Elawady, Florida International University; Fahim Ahmed, Florida International University; Mohamed Eissa, Florida International University, and Omar Metwally, Florida International University

A rush of wind and rain drops from a storm cloud on a city.
Why predicting battery performance is like forecasting traffic − and how researchers are making progress

Emmanuel Olugbade, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Icons show batteries with different levels of charge.
Controlled burns reduce wildfire risk, but they require trained staff and funding − this could be a rough year

Laura Dee, University of Colorado Boulder

A Marin County firefighter uses a drip torch during a controlled burn training on June 21, 2024, in San Rafael, California
50 years later, Vietnam’s environment still bears the scars of war – and signals a dark future for Gaza and Ukraine

Pamela McElwee, Rutgers University

A soldier walks through a forests of broken trees, missing leaves.
US, Ukraine sign ‘economic partnership’ centered on Ukraine’s wealth of critical minerals – but extracting them isn’t so simple

Scott L. Montgomery, University of Washington

A person on a bicycle with a dog rides past an open mining area with a large excavator in the distance.
Trump administration pauses new mine safety regulation − here’s how those rules benefit companies as well as workers

Jeremy M. Gernand, Penn State

People wearing protective clothing, including hard hats, crouch and kneel in a confined space.
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Extreme weather + disasters

Rescuers with an inflated boat walk in waist-deep water toward older brick houses.

Two key ingredients cause extreme storms with destructive flooding – why these downpours are happening more often

Shuang-Ye Wu, University of Dayton

Volcanic ash is a silent killer, more so than lava: What Alaska needs to know with Mount Spurr likely to erupt

David Kitchen, University of Richmond

A volcano and the crater where Mount Spurr has erupted in the past.
If FEMA didn’t exist, could states handle the disaster response on their own?

Ming Xie, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

A flag stands in front of rubble and parts of buildings.
NOAA’s vast public weather data powers the local forecasts on your phone and TV – a private company alone couldn’t match it

Christine Wiedinmyer, University of Colorado Boulder and Kari Bowen, University of Colorado Boulder

A man sits in front of a bank of computer screens showing hurricane storm surge warnings, a map and the hurricane radar image.
What causes the powerful winds that fuel dust storms, wildfires and blizzards? A weather scientist explains

Chris Nowotarski, Texas A&M University

A big dust storm spreads over suburban streets in this aerial photo.
Read more about extreme weather

Biodiversity + environment

A colorful reef with many types of fish feeding on it.

Trump is stripping protections from marine protected areas – why that’s a problem for fishing’s future, and for whales, corals and other ocean life

David Shiffman, Arizona State University

25 years of Everglades restoration has improved drinking water for millions in Florida, but a new risk is rising

John Kominoski, Florida International University

A wide expanse of wetlands with tall grasses.
Removing federal protection for clean water harms just about everyone, especially already vulnerable communities

Jeremy Orr, Michigan State University

A man dips water out of a river for testing.
As federal environmental priorities shift, sovereign Native American nations have their own plans

Alyssa Kreikemeier, University of Idaho

Two men stand in front of a river holding an enlargement of an old photograph.
Ecological disruptions are a risk to national security

Bradley J. Cardinale, Penn State; Emmett Duffy, Smithsonian Institution, and Rod Schoonover, Georgetown University

A person uses a chain saw to cut logs next to a massive tree stump.
Read more about environmental issues

Energy + infrastructure

People stand in an aisle lined with refrigerators.

Appliance efficiency standards save consumers billions, reduce pollution and fight climate change

David J. Vogel, University of California, Berkeley

Alaska, rich in petroleum, faces an energy shortage

Brett Watson, University of Alaska Anchorage

A large metal pipe stretches from mountains in the distance under a road in the foreground.
Utilities choosing coal, solar, nuclear or other power sources have a lot to consider, beyond just cost

Erin Baker, UMass Amherst and Paola Pimentel Furlanetto, UMass Amherst

A large wind turbine behind a coal facility and coal pile.
How single-stream recycling works − your choices can make it better

Alex Jordan, University of Wisconsin-Stout

a truck dumps its contents of recyclable items on the tipping floor at the Town of Brookhaven Material Recycling Facility in Yaphank, N.Y., on Aug. 30, 2023.
How and where is nuclear waste stored in the US?

Gerald Frankel, The Ohio State University

A man in a hard hat holds a piece of electronic equipment near a metal and concrete structure.
White House plans for Alaskan oil and gas face some hurdles – including from Trump and the petroleum industry

Scott L. Montgomery, University of Washington

A large pipe runs through a wooded area to a cleared space with tanks and metal towers.
The US energy market has its troubles, though it may not be a ‘national emergency’

Seth Blumsack, Penn State

A large cluster of industrial buildings and towers.
Trump’s offshore wind energy freeze: What states lose if the executive order remains in place

Barbara Kates-Garnick, Tufts University

Two workers stand on a dock with three large wind turbine blades on a ship in front of them.
Deep-sea mining threatens sea life in a way no one is thinking about, and Trump’s order could clear the way for operations soon

Alexus Cazares-Nuesser, University of Hawaii

An aquatic invertebrate that looks like a floating star or an underwater sunflower floats above nodules on the seabed.
Read more about energy

Climate change

A woman holds a microphone and gestures to a crowd.

Lawsuits seeking to address climate change have promise but face uncertain future

Hannah Wiseman, Penn State

Three ways Pope Francis influenced the global climate movement

Celia Deane-Drummond, University of Oxford

Indigenous people with Pope Francis in gardens
Greenland’s rapidly melting ice and landslide-prone fjords make the oil and minerals Trump covets dangerous to extract

Paul Bierman, University of Vermont

Inuit village of Kulusuk in winter, Greenland
How to find climate data and science the Trump administration removed from government websites

Eric Nost, University of Guelph and Alejandro Paz, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

A scientist in a T-shirt works on a computer
How the oil industry and growing political divides turned climate change into a partisan issue

Joe Árvai, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Trump sits at a meeting about wildfires, with an image of a helicopter dumping water on a wildfire in the background.
Read more about climate change

Laws + regulations

A man in a suit stands at a lectern; behind him are a U.S. flag and the flag of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Federal laws don’t ban rollbacks of environmental protection, but they don’t make it easy

Stan Meiburg, Wake Forest University

EPA must use the best available science − by law − but what does that mean?

H. Christopher Frey, North Carolina State University

The EPA logo on a door with people reflected in the glass.
Companies will still face pressure to manage for climate change, even as government rolls back US climate policy

Ethan I. Thorpe, Vanderbilt University; Michael Vandenbergh, Vanderbilt University, and Zdravka Tzankova, Vanderbilt University

Rows of solar panels in a field.
Revoking EPA’s endangerment finding – the keystone of US climate policies – won’t be simple and could have unintended consequences

Patrick Parenteau, Vermont Law & Graduate School

A coal-fired power plant in West Virginia
3 ways Trump’s EPA could use the language of science to weaken pollution controls

Eric Nost, University of Guelph

A refinery with a large American flag on the side is lit up at night.
Read more about environmental regulation

Environmental health

Avian flu virus has been found in raw milk − a reminder of how pasteurization protects health

Kerry E. Kaylegian, Penn State

Black and white dairy cows stand and lie in a muddy pasture
Cycling can make seniors healthier and more independent − here’s how to design bikes and networks that meet their needs

Anne Lusk, Boston University

A man and woman ride past townhouses on a two-seat, three-wheeled cycle
Carbon offsets can help bring energy efficiency to low-income Americans − our Nashville data shows it could be a win for everyone

Zdravka Tzankova, Vanderbilt University; Carol Ziegler, Vanderbilt University, and James Muchira, Vanderbilt University

A man installs in a heat pump on an older house.
Should I worry about mold growing in my home?

Nicholas Money, Miami University

A wall with splatters of mold growth
Read more about environmental health

The roles of government agencies

Agriculture secretary oversees food production, rural life, and nutrition programs that help millions afford healthy diets

Kathleen Merrigan, Arizona State University

A harvester pipes corn into a truck in a field covered with corn stalks
From watts to warheads: Secretary of energy oversees big science research and the US nuclear arsenal

Valerie Thomas, Georgia Institute of Technology and Margaret E. Kosal, Georgia Institute of Technology

A long silver bomb on a truck bed
How the EPA administrator protects public health, air, water and the environment

Stan Meiburg, Wake Forest University

A worker sprays water on a pile of waste dredged from the adjoining canal
Interior secretary manages vast lands that all Americans share − and can sway the balance between conservation and development

Emily Wakild, Boise State University

A man and two children wearing day parks look across a rocky canyon