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Yale Environment 360
As a Swiss Glacier Melts, a Trove of Invaluable Climate Data Is Being Lost
By analyzing ice collected from glaciers, scientists can study the past composition of the atmosphere and better understand how humans have altered the climate. But the rapid melting of ice may be compromising this critical data, according to a study of the Corbassière glacier in Switzerland. The Corbassière glacier...
Global Power Sector Emissions Headed for Decline
The power sector is the biggest source of emissions globally, but the rapid growth of wind, solar, and nuclear are now pushing its emissions into decline, analysts say. Coal power likely peaked in 2023, as did power sector emissions, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency, which mirrors other recent analysis.
Natural Hydrogen: A Potential Clean Energy Source Beneath Our Feet
A remote community of mud huts and corrugated iron roofs in the arid savannah of West Africa could be a trailblazer for a new form of carbon-free energy. The residents of Bourakebougou in Mali are the only people in the world who get their electricity by burning natural hydrogen. First identified bubbling from the depths through a village water well in 1987, the gas contains no carbon and, when burned, produces only water.
Thousands of Emperor Penguins Discovered by Satellite
A careful study of satellite imagery has revealed four previously undiscovered colonies of emperor penguins along the edges of Antarctica, a promising sign for a region increasingly endangered by climate change. The loss of sea ice has forced emperor penguins around Antarctica to seek out new breeding grounds, with some...
Russia’s War Has Left a Huge Gap in Climate Research
Since war broke out in Ukraine, Western scientists have lost access to information from Russian research stations, leaving a critical data gap in the rapidly warming Arctic. A new analysis investigated the effect of losing Russian data. For the study, scientists looked at 60 field stations belonging to an Arctic research network, including 17 Russian stations, which were barred from the network after war broke out.
How DNA from Museums Is Helping Boost Species on the Brink
When Evelyn Jensen visits a museum to scrape bone from a long-dead Galápagos tortoise, she has two hopes in mind. First, that the specimen’s genetic material will be well-preserved. Second, that she will find that it is a Floreana tortoise — a species that has been extinct for 180 years.
At Solar Farms Planted with Native Vegetation, Insects Flourish
To reach its climate goals, the U.S. will need to build solar arrays on some 15,000 square miles of land, an area larger than Maryland. Growing native plants at these sites could give a much-needed boost to imperiled insects, a new study finds. For the research, scientists at the Argonne...
On YouTube, a Shift from Denying Science to Dismissing Solutions
An analysis of thousands of YouTube videos posted over the last five years finds a decline in videos that outright deny climate change but an uptick in those that impugn the credibility of scientists or question the practicality of shifting to renewable energy,. “Scientists have won the battle to inform...
As Tundra Thaws, an Alaskan River Turns Orange
A dramatic shift in the Alaskan landscape is underway. As unprecedented heat melts long-frozen tundra, runoff is altering the composition of Arctic rivers and streams. One such waterway is Tukpahlearik Creek in northern Alaska, which recently turned a striking shade of orange. Like dozens of other Arctic streams, Tukpahlearik is...
Rethinking Monarchs: Does the Beloved Butterfly Need Our Help?
To help the monarch butterfly, Texas writer Charlie Scudder decided to home-rear its caterpillars. Checking the milkweed in his garden one August evening he spotted two of the flamboyant black, white, and yellow-striped creatures. After naming them Pancho and Lefty after the Townes Van Zandt song, he moved them into a mesh butterfly cage. He checked on them several times a day, cleaning out their copious caterpillar poop, waiting with great anticipation to see them attach to the wall of the cage to form their chrysalises and eventually emerge as black and orange adult butterflies festooned with white spots.
Ten Curious New Plants and Fungi Recorded in 2023
As the planet warms and extinctions mount, researchers are racing to catalog the vast array of life before it disappears. This year, researchers at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, cataloged 89 new species of plant and fungi that spanned the breadth of the Earth, from the rocky edges of Antarctica to a dormant volcano in Indonesia.
The Beleaguered Whitebark Pine Is in Trouble. Can It Be Saved?
Sitting atop the highest slopes in western North America, the whitebark pine has adapted to the continent’s harshest growing conditions. Temperatures in the sub-alpine zone where it thrives are often well below zero, snow is measured in feet, and winds often exceed 100 miles an hour. These stout, twisted trees are survivors: The oldest have grown for nearly 13 centuries.
Global EV Sales Headed for New High in 2024
Analysts project another record year for sales of electric vehicles, driven largely by surging demand in China, the biggest market for battery-powered cars. Global sales of plug-in cars are expected to grow by 21 percent this year, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Analysts project sales will total 16.7 million worldwide, including 1.9 million plug-in cars sold in the U.S., 3.4 million in Europe, and 9.7 million in China.
Mind the Gaps: How the UN Climate Plan Fails to Follow the Science
Climate negotiators meeting in Dubai last month pledged to chart a course for stabilizing the climate system using good science. But many scientists say these promises are at best ill-defined and at worst a travesty of good science — vague and full of loopholes. The U.N. climate conference in...
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon Fell in Half Last Year
Forest loss in the Brazilian Amazon was down 50 percent, year on year, in 2023, according to government figures. Last year saw the loss of 1,989 square miles of rainforest, an area larger than London, according to government figures. That’s down from 3,963 square miles in 2022. Under far-right...
Three in Four Industrial Fishing Boats Are ‘Dark Vessels,’ Study Finds
A sprawling analysis of ocean traffic reveals that 75 percent of industrial fishing vessels worldwide are not publicly tracked, with the bulk of untracked fishing taking place in Southeast Asia. For the study, researchers gathered a vast trove of satellite images from the European Space Agency, spanning 2017 to 2021,...
When Species Names Are Offensive, Should They Be Changed?
A few years ago, Tim Hammer realized suddenly that his research was haunted by a very unpleasant ghost. Hammer is a botanist. He was just beginning a postdoctoral position at the University of Adelaide, working on the taxonomy of Hibbertia, a genus of plants commonly known as guinea flowers. Hammer found that the genus was even more diverse than scientists had previously understood, and soon he was working on descriptions of dozens of new species.
U.K. Fossil Power Falls to Lowest Level Since 1957
The U.K. is drawing less power from natural gas and coal than it has at any point in the last 66 years. Last year, fossil fuels supplied 33 percent of British electricity, while renewables provided 43 percent, according to an analysis from CarbonBrief. Nuclear power and imported electricity accounted for most of the remaining supply.
European Imports of Russian Pipeline Gas Dropped by Half Last Year
Pipeline deliveries of Russian natural gas to Europe were down 55.6 percent, year on year, in 2023. Imports of gas via pipeline fell from 174.8 million cubic meters in 2022 to 77.6 million cubic meters in last year, according to a Reuters analysis of data from Russian state energy giant Gazprom and the European gas transmission network ENTSOG.
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Yale Environment 360 is an online magazine offering opinion, analysis, reporting, and debate on global environmental issues.
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