As he prepares to host the G20 summit, Brazil’s president is championing initiatives to promote a “bioeconomy” in the Amazon that protects biodiversity and helps Indigenous residents. The goal: To get governments to commit to a new economic vision that is truly sustainable.
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Energy
Will Hydrogen Hubs Be a Clean Energy Boom or Boondoggle?
As part of a $7 billion investment in hydrogen, the U.S. Department of Energy is committed to building a network of hydrogen facilities and pipelines centered in southeast Pennsylvania. Critics are questioning the project’s expense and its net savings in carbon emissions.
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INTERVIEW
How to Grow a Forest: It Takes More Than Just Planting Trees
In an e360 interview, microbial ecologist Jake M. Robinson, of Australia’s Flinders University, takes a critical look at tree planting campaigns and discusses scientists’ varied approaches to both “planting” and “growing” forests to restore their ecological health.
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Solutions
Greening Concrete: A Major Emitter Inches Toward Carbon Neutrality
Concrete is the most ubiquitous man-made building material on the planet, but making it generates massive amounts of CO2 emissions. Companies are experimenting with ways to green the process, from slashing the use of limestone to capturing the carbon generated when it’s burned.
INTERVIEW
As Disinformation Swirls, Meteorologists Are Facing Threats
Predicting large and dangerous storms has always been challenging. It’s gotten tougher, says meteorologist James Marshall Shepherd, as a growing fringe has started to harass, verbally abuse, and threaten scientists and forecasters who link ferocious weather with climate change.
E360 Digest
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Light Pollution May Be Keeping Honey Bees Up at Night
Light from cars, homes, and street lamps may be keeping bees up at night, according to a new study. More about Light Pollution May Be Keeping Honey Bees Up at Night →
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Study Finds Steep Rise in Emissions from Private Jets
By virtue of their small size and limited capacity, private jets are deeply inefficient. They have an outsized climate impact and, according to a new study, their emissions are on the rise. More about Study Finds Steep Rise in Emissions from Private Jets →
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Trained Rats Able to Sniff Out Smuggled Rhino Horns
Rats could be the latest weapon deployed in the fight against endangered wildlife trafficking, according to a study of rodents trained to sniff out pangolin scales, rhino horns, elephant tusks, and hardwood. More about Trained Rats Able to Sniff Out Smuggled Rhino Horns →
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Climate
What’s Causing the Recent Spike in Global Temperatures?
Since early 2023, the world has seen a steep rise in temperatures that scientists are struggling to explain. Our contributor Elizabeth Kolbert talked with Gavin Schmidt, NASA’s top climate scientist, about possible causes of the warming and why experts cannot account for the heat.
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Biodiversity
Ukraine Rewilding: Will Nature Be Allowed to Revive When War Ends?
Amid the war’s destruction, Ukrainian scientists are seeing signs of an ecological recovery. When the conflict ends, they say, the nation should not rebuild its massive Soviet-era infrastructure and instead continue the rewilding by letting nature keep restoring itself.
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Oceans
Researchers Parse the Future of Plankton in an Ever-Warmer World
Plankton form the base of the world’s food chain, but warmer and more acidic oceans are affecting their numbers and variety. Some species, which make for good fish food and carbon storage, are largely declining, while others are shifting their ranges and blooming times.
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Food & Agriculture
On Navajo Lands, Ancient Ways Are Restoring the Parched Earth
Farming once thrived in the Black Mesa region, before overgrazing and climate change wreaked havoc with the land. Today, the Navajo are restoring their watersheds — and boosting their food sovereignty — with earthen berms and small dams made of woven brush, sticks, and rocks.
2024 Yale Environment 360 Film Contest
The winners of our 11th annual contest honoring the best short environmental films.
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E360 Film Contest Winner
A Solitary Herder Cares for His Goats and the Bay Area Hills
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E360 Film Contest
For 60,000 Years, Australia’s First Nations Have Put Fire to Good Use
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E360 Film Contest
In Montana’s Northern Plains, Swift Foxes Are Back from the Brink