Archive for September 2021

New Delhi has had days with air pollution levels nearly 30 times the old World Health Organization guidelines. Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images Air pollution is the world’s fourth leading cause of death, contributing to about 13 premature deaths every minute. The gases and tiny particles can travel deep into your lungs, enter your bloodstream…

Deer cross roads whenever they wish, but some time periods are higher risk than others. Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images Autumn is here, and that means the risk of hitting deer on rural roads and highways is rising, especially around dusk and during a full moon. Deer cause over 1 million motor vehicle accidents in…

Unsustainable fishing remains among the planet’s most serious and elusive environmental challenges. When it comes to the ocean, scientists agree that while reducing and mitigating climate risks is the biggest long-term threat, getting fishing intensity right is the biggest near-term need. Unknown to most people, concerted efforts have been underway now for more than 25 […]

Crowds gather at dusk in Austin, Texas, to watch some 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats emerge to feed from their roost under the Congress Avenue Bridge. Jeff Haynes/AFP via Getty Images The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea Photographs and computer vision techniques using artificial intelligence are able…

Photographer Luigi Avantaggiato has trekked high into the Italian Alps to document the melting of some of the world’s most studied glaciers. His images track the glaciers’ increasingly rapid retreat and capture the stark beauty of a land in transition as the ice disappears.

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The world's pledges so far aren't enough to stop climate change, U.N. data show. Metamorworks via Getty Images You’ll probably hear the term “net-zero emissions” a lot over the coming weeks as government leaders and CEOs, under pressure, talk about how they’ll reduce their countries’ or businesses’ impact on climate change. Amazon, for example, just…

Chinese engineers pose after welding the first seamless rails for the China-Laos railway in Vientiane, Laos, June 18, 2020. Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua via Getty Images China is shaping the future of economic development through its Belt and Road Initiative, an ambitious multi-billion-dollar international push to better connect itself to the rest of the world through trade…

"My family has lost everything. We all live in this area, and now it’s all gone," said Fusto Maldonado, whose home in Barataria, Louisiana, flooded during Hurricane Ida. Brandon Bell/Getty Images Waves of disaster have earned Louisiana a reputation as the place to watch for how climate change will impact coastal areas. Hurricane Ida was…

Some 1,175 gigawatts of new coal projects have been canceled since 2015, an amount greater than the current coal capacity of China, according to a new report from climate think tank E3G.

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Methane is the world’s second most abundant greenhouse gas, and it’s many times more potent than carbon dioxide. Vanderlei Almeida/AFP via Getty Images The U.S. and European Union are working on a pledge to cut methane emissions by at least 30% this decade, President Joe Biden announced on Sept. 17, 2021, and he urged countries…