E360 FILM CONTEST
A Bicycle Journey Across Brazil to Find a Vanishing Savanna
In “Here There Was Cerrado” — the Second-Place Winner of the 2026 Yale Environment 360 Film Contest — Natascha Otoya shows how industrial farms are plowing up the Brazilian savanna, changing the flow of water, and skewing human memory of the landscape.
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OPINION
For America’s Rarest Wildlife, Survival May Hinge on a Single Word
For 50 years, the Endangered Species Act has defined "harm" as not just injury to individuals but to the habitat on which they depend. By narrowing that definition, the Trump administration is leaving hundreds of species at risk of extinction.
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E360 Film Contest
Who Gets to Decide the Fate of a Pristine Alaskan Rainforest?
In "Land Less" — the Third-Place Winner of the 2026 Yale Environment 360 Film Contest — filmmaker Alexi Liotti follows the activists fighting a bill that would transfer thousands of acres of Alaskan rainforest to five Native corporations, opening the land to logging.
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Biodiversity
‘Wastelands’ No More: India Charts a Future for Its Grasslands
Since the colonial era, India has regarded its native scrublands and savannas as little more than degraded forest. Now, amid a growing recognition of rangelands globally, officials are working to map the nation's ailing grasslands, with a view to restoring these vital ecosystems.
Climate
After Decades of Drought, Water Is Rising in the African Sahel
Warming has brought extreme rain to the parched Sahel, which is seeing aquifers refill as monsoons grow stronger. But heavier downpours alone cannot explain the groundwater revival, say hydrologists, who believe efforts to harvest rainfall may also be paying dividends.
E360 Digest
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Amid Drought, Hundreds of French Rivers Are Drying Up
An ongoing drought in Europe has sapped French rivers. Officials say that 43 percent of small waterways in France have been partially or completely dried up. More about Amid Drought, Hundreds of French Rivers Are Drying Up →
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As Deforestation Falls in Brazil, It Surges in Neighboring Bolivia
As Brazil cracks down on the illegal clearing of forests, farmers and ranchers are moving into Bolivia, helping to fuel a wave of deforestation in a country where land is cheap and enforcement lax. More about As Deforestation Falls in Brazil, It Surges in Neighboring Bolivia →
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Last Month Was the Hottest July on Record for the World's Oceans
Oceans globally recorded their hottest July ever last month, according to a new analysis. The severe ocean heat was evident around Europe, which is coping with a scorching summer. More about Last Month Was the Hottest July on Record for the World's Oceans →
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Cities
In Steel Country, the Fight for Clean Air Faces New Obstacles
A Japanese steel giant has pledged billions in new investment in Pennsylvania’s Monongahela River Valley, raising hopes that it would clean up pollution from its steel mills in the region. But documents show that its plans to ramp up production will worsen local air quality.
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Solutions
Beyond Lithium: New Battery Tech Starts to Break Through
As EV sales boom and grids seek more energy storage, researchers are racing to develop batteries that are cheaper, more powerful, and less reliant on hard-to-source materials. Lithium-ion still dominates, but sodium-ion and solid-state technologies are moving from lab to market.
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INTERVIEW
What Do We Actually Know About the Microplastics Inside Us?
Pervasive plastic contamination and unreliable methods have clouded the science on microplastics in the human body. In an interview, Australian scientist Cassandra Rauert, who built a plastics-free lab to study human exposure, explores the challenges for researchers.
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INTERVIEW
An EPA Researcher Details the Agency’s Assault on Science
In January 2025, the Trump administration began shutting down projects within the EPA’s independent science division that touched on climate change and environmental justice. Air quality researcher Thomas Luben, who had worked at the agency for 18 years, was fired for objecting.
