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Earth Wise

A look at our changing environment.

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2:00

Soda can hydrogen

Earth Wise ·

2025/08/15

Hydrogen is an ideal climate-friendly fuel because it doesn’t release carbon dioxide when it is used. But most hydrogen is produced in ways that result in significant carbon emissions. Thus, the search for green hydrogen goes on. Last year, engineers at MIT developed a new process for making hydrogen that significantly reduces the carbon footprint […]

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Planting trees to cool the planet

Earth Wise ·

2025/07/16

Planting lots of trees is one of many strategies being pursued to combat climate change. Forests absorb carbon dioxide, provide shade, and help regulate temperatures. They also support biodiversity and improve air and water quality. According to a new study by researchers from the University of California – Riverside, restoring forests to their pre-industrial extent […]

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Hidden hydrogen

Earth Wise ·

2025/07/15

The idea of using hydrogen as a fuel or an energy source has been around for a long time. Hydrogen is the most common element in the universe, but most of it is locked up in various chemical compounds, such as water. Hydrogen is a clean fuel; burning it or using it to generate electricity […]

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Fuel from Corn Waste

Earth Wise ·

2025/06/27

A substantial amount of corn is grown in this country for the purpose of producing ethanol. The value of doing so is debatable for many reasons. Nevertheless, the majority of the corn crop is grown for food. But along with all that corn, there is corn stover. Stover is the dried stalks, leaves, and other […]

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The coastal squeeze

Earth Wise ·

2025/06/26

Globally, coastal areas are being squeezed between rising seas on one side and human development on the other. The average distance from the high waterline to the first built-up area with human structures or paved roads is less than 400 yards around the world. The narrower a coast, the sooner rising sea levels cause problems. […]

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Self-healing concrete

Earth Wise ·

2025/06/25

Concrete is the most widely used building material on Earth. It has a dangerous and costly flaw: it cracks easily. Cracks in concrete can lead to inconvenient damage or to catastrophic structural failures such as collapses of buildings, bridges, or highways. Concrete is made by mixing crushed stone and sand with powdered clay and limestone […]

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Our cities are sinking

Earth Wise ·

2025/06/24

A new study by the Columbia University Climate School has found that all of the 28 most populous cities in the United States are sinking to some extent. This phenomenon of subsidence is not just taking place in cities on the coast, where relative sea level is an issue, but also in cities in the […]

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Living in a warming world

Earth Wise ·

2025/06/13

As global temperatures rise due to increased greenhouse gas emissions, communities around the world face more frequent and intense heatwaves, droughts, and extreme weather events. These growing climate pressures not only strain infrastructure and natural resources, but also play a critical role in shaping where people live. Recent projections from the First Street Foundation, which […]

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Toxic algae and West Coast marine life

Earth Wise ·

2025/06/05

Over the first several months of this year, hundreds of sea lions, dolphins, and seabirds have fallen ill or died after eating sardines or anchovies that had been feeding on an algal bloom along the California coast since winter. The biotoxin in the algae accumulates in the feeder fish. Two cases of whales dying from […]

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Solar on farmland

Earth Wise ·

2025/06/04

New studies have found that devoting a small percentage of U.S. farmland to producing solar power would benefit both the country’s energy system and its farmers. Currently, about 46,000 square miles of farmland – about the area of Pennsylvania – is being used to grow corn to make ethanol. One study looked at the impact […]

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A starfish to the rescue

Earth Wise ·

2025/06/03

Beginning in 2013, a mysterious disease associated with a marine heatwave decimated the population of sunflower sea stars. Those huge, colorful 24-armed starfish thrived along the Pacific Coast between Alaska and Baja California. But in fairly short order, nearly six billion of the creatures perished, amounting to 94% of the global population. California lost 99% […]

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Americans breathe unhealthy air

Earth Wise ·

2025/06/02

According to the American Lung Association’s annual State of the Air report, at least 156 million Americans – 46% of the population – live with unsafe levels of ozone, particulate pollution, or both. The report analyzed ozone and particulate pollution levels between 2021 and 2023, during which the worst wildfire season on record took place […]

en-US

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Defeating climate apathy

Earth Wise ·

2025/05/30

Slowing human-caused climate change requires decisive action. But according to psychologists, the gradual rise in global temperatures can lead to climate apathy, especially among those who don’t face frequent climate disasters. Climate apathy is a general indifference or lack of emotional or behavioral response to climate change and environmental issues. People experiencing climate apathy may […]

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A biostimulant for wheat

Earth Wise ·

2025/05/28

Feeding a global population projected to reach nearly 10 billion by mid-century is a massive challenge. Wheat provides a fifth of the calories in the global human diet and is a significant source of protein, minerals, vitamins, and fiber. Finding ways to increase the yield of wheat crops has great value. However, wheat has complex […]

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Parks for bugs

Earth Wise ·

2025/05/27

Urban areas can have a variety of green spaces: gardens, parks, and roadside and median plantings. It turns out that these spaces can serve as pollinator refuges. A study by researchers at the University of British Columbia found that reducing lawn mowing and creating pollinator meadows – essentially parks for bugs – significantly boosts pollinator […]

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Volcano monitoring

Earth Wise ·

2025/05/16

Researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the U.S. Geological Survey have developed a radar-based volcano monitoring system. The purpose is to provide situational awareness of volcano behavior and identify volcanoes that are becoming restless before other more obvious indications like earthquake activity occur. The system is called VolcSARvatory and makes use of interferometric […]

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Hot water in Boise

Earth Wise ·

2025/05/09

Boise is the capital of Idaho, and the Idaho Statehouse is the only one in the United States to use geothermal heat. Geothermal heating is possible in Boise because of fault lines that expose its groundwater to hot rocks. The underground water supply in Boise is heated to around 170 degrees Fahrenheit. It is the […]

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The human impact on biodiversity

Earth Wise ·

2025/04/28

Biodiversity is under threat. More and more plant and animal species are disappearing and humans are to blame. Humans cause biodiversity loss through habitat destruction, invasive species, pollution, direct exploitation, and climate change, all of which are significantly influenced by human activities. But until now, drawing broad conclusions about human impacts on biodiversity has been […]

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A new way to recycle plastic

Earth Wise ·

2025/04/18

Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a new method for recycling plastic that is safer, cleaner, cheaper, and more sustainable than those currently in use. The U.S. is the world’s largest plastic polluter per capita, and we only recycle 5% of our plastics. There is a pressing need for better technologies for processing different types […]

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The cost of electric vehicle batteries

Earth Wise ·

2025/04/04

The battery pack in an electric car is the most expensive part of the car. Currently, it accounts for as much as 30% of the price. But EV batteries last a long time. Most are guaranteed for 8-10 years and are likely to last as long as 20 years. In practice, only 1.5% of electric […]

en-US

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