Scientists have uncovered a "blind spot" in the research on rising seas, revealing that tens of millions of people thought safe from coastal flooding are at risk of inundation. Across much of the world, sea levels are higher than previously assumed and land is sinking faster.
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INTERVIEW
Why Protecting Flowering Plants Is Crucial to Our Future
In his latest book, biologist David George Haskell describes flowering plants as “world creators.” In an interview with Yale Environment 360, he explains how they spurred the evolution of new ecosystems and what flowering plants can teach us about survival on a warming planet.
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OPINION
Trying Times: Keeping the Faith as Environmental Gains Are Lost
For people who came of age in the 1970s, it is especially painful to witness the Trump administration’s relentless rollback of hard-won environmental progress. But as the assaults on clean air and water, endangered species, and more mount, a noted ecologist finds reasons for hope.
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ANALYSIS
As It Boosts Renewables, China Still Can’t Break Its Coal Addiction
Despite being a renewables superpower, China continues to permit and build new coal-fired power plants at a rapid pace. Analysts say the nation’s new five-year plan will ensure further coal plant expansion and jeopardize China’s ability to deliver on its climate promises.
MINING
As Zambia Pushes New Mining, a Legacy of Pollution Looms
Zambia is expanding development of its rich deposits of critical minerals, which are needed for the global shift to renewables. But poisoning from past mining and a huge toxic spill at a mine site are raising fears that new wealth will come at a high cost for people and the environment.
E360 Digest
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The Global Wildlife Trade Is Fueling the Spread of Viruses
Scientists have long known that deadly diseases, from HIV to SARS to Ebola, can begin in animals and spill over to humans. But a new study is the first to quantify the risks from the global trade in wildlife, finding that nearly half of traded mammals share at least one pathogen with humans. More about The Global Wildlife Trade Is Fueling the Spread of Viruses →
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A Shift to EVs Would Lower the Price of Gasoline, Study Finds
A broad shift to electric vehicles would benefit drivers of gas-powered cars by lowering the price of fuel. That is the finding of a new study, which comes as the war in Iran rattles energy markets, driving up oil prices. More about A Shift to EVs Would Lower the Price of Gasoline, Study Finds →
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Google to Use Natural Gas to Power Massive Data Center in Texas
A planned gas-fired power plant at a Google data center in Texas would generate up to 4.5 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, more than the city of San Francisco. More about Google to Use Natural Gas to Power Massive Data Center in Texas →
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Gray wolves made an uneasy comeback in the Northern Rockies and are struggling to return to the Southwest. But legislation now working its way through Congress is being spurred by misinformation and myth, rather than science, and threatens to end wolf recovery in the U.S.
Biodiversity
Long Overlooked as Crucial to Life, Fungi Start to Get Their Due
Fungi create soil, sequester vast amounts of carbon, and contribute $55 trillion to the global economy, but knowledge about them is scarce. Now, mycologists are pushing to get the international scientific community to recognize fungi on the same level as plants and animals.
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ANALYSIS
Species Slowdown: Is Nature’s Ability to Self-Repair Stalling?
When scientists recently analyzed hundreds of studies of ecosystems, they were surprised to see a marked slowing in the rate of species turnover. If new species don’t replace old ones, they say, ecosystems may have less flexibility to respond to habitat loss and climate change.
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OPINION
Beyond ‘Endangerment’: Finding a Way Forward for U.S. on Climate
Environmentalists are challenging the EPA’s repeal of the “endangerment finding,” which empowered it to regulate greenhouse gases. Whether or not the action holds up in court, now is the time to develop climate strategies that can be pursued when the political balance shifts.
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Solutions
The E.U.’s Burgeoning Repair Movement Is Set to Get a Boost
Europe’s new Right to Repair Directive will make it easier — and cheaper — for consumers to get their household goods fixed, rather than buy something new. Part of the E.U.’s Green Deal, the plan is expected to slash waste, promote recycling, and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
From the Ukraine Front
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Collateral Damage: The Environmental Cost of the Ukraine War
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From Ruins to Reuse: How Ukrainians Are Repurposing War Waste
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How Ukraine Is Turning to Renewables to Keep Heat and Lights On
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Ukraine Rewilding: Will Nature Be Allowed to Revive When War Ends?
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How Restored Wetlands Can Protect Europe from Russian Invasion