Yale Environment 360

Scientists have discovered a bizarre array of creatures more than 30,000 feet under the sea. via @voxdotcom.bsky.social

Read more: bit.ly/45cgqMm

A 515-Mile Lightning Flash Is Longest on Record

A reappraisal of satellite data from 2017 revealed that a thunderstorm over Texas produced a 515-mile lightning flash, the longest ever recorded.

A Promised U.S. Drilling Boom Has Yet to Materialize

President Trump promised a drilling boom. It has yet to materialize. via @insideclimatenews.org

Sprawling Study Links Air Pollution to Dementia

A sprawling new study finds a link between air pollution and dementia.

‘Sponge City’: How Copenhagen Is Adapting to a Wetter Future Climate change is bringing ever more precipitation and rising seas to low-lying Denmark. In response to troubling predictions, Copenhagen is enacting an ambitious plan to build hundreds of nature-base...

Climate change is bringing heavier rainfall and rising seas to low-lying Denmark.

In response to troubling predictions, Copenhagen has installed hundreds of flood control projects — from pumping stations to "sponge parks" — with hundreds more in the works.

A Third of Slum Dwellers at Risk of 'Disastrous' Floods

Close to 900 million people live in slums across the Global South.

One in three is at risk of “disastrous” flooding, according to a new study.

On Controlling Fire, New Lessons from a Deep Indigenous Past For centuries, the Native people of North America used controlled burns to manage the continent's forests. In an e360 interview, ecologist Loris Daniels talks about the long history of Indigenous burn...

The 1874 Bush Fire Act outlawed controlled burns in British Columbia. Some Indigenous people were hanged for setting fires on their land.

In a new interview, ecologist Lori Daniels explains how the law helped give rise to today's devastating wildfires.

Lightning Kills 320 Million Trees Yearly. With Warming, the Toll Could Rise

Lightning kills some 320 million trees around the world each year, a new study finds.

That figure could rise in the decades ahead as warming fuels more lightning, particularly in the Far North.

China Breaks Ground on Colossol Dam Project in Tibetan Grand Canyon

China broke ground this week on a massive dam project in the longest and deepest canyon in the world.

Experts fear the impact on wildlife in the river gorge, which is home to snow leopards, Bengal tigers, and the tallest tree in Asia.

Paying the People: Liberia’s Novel Plan to Save Its Forests Plagued by illegal logging and corruption, Liberia has been losing its forests at an alarming rate. But its new strategy to make direct payments to communities that agree to prohibit cutting and prote...

A new scheme will pay Liberian villagers up front and in cash if they agree to protect their forests.

"There is no wasting money on carbon accounting or international consultants," says an expert. "And critically, it is easy to understand — by everyone."

Research Details Devastating Toll of Colonization on Pacific Northwest Wildlife

When Europeans arrived to the Pacific Northwest, they spread smallpox to the Indigenous people, plundered salmon, hunted down deer, and erected sprawling cities.

New research details the profound impact, in numbers.

Clearcutting Can Lead to Devastating Floods, But It Doesn’t Have To

A new study finds that logging can reshape watersheds in surprising ways, leading to dramatically more flooding in some, while having little impact on others.

Ice Recovered from European Alps Holds 12,000-Year Record of History

An ice core taken from the European Alps was found to date back at least 12,000 years.

The core, the oldest sample yet taken in the region, holds a record of history stretching back before the dawn of human civilization.

Drop in Air Pollution Drove a Surge in Warming, Study Finds

A drop in air pollution in East Asia drove a surge in warming, a new study finds.

Trump’s Logging Push Thrusts a Dagger at the Heart of Wilderness Alaska’s Tongass is the world’s largest temperate rainforest and a sanctuary for wildlife. The Trump administration’s plan to rescind a rule banning roads in wild areas of national forests would open ...

A Trump plan would allow road-building on more than 9 million acres of the Tongass National Forest in Alaska.

"Short of replacing forests with, say, shopping malls, roading is the worst thing done to them," writes Ted Williams.

In a First, Solar Was Europe's Biggest Source of Power Last Month

In a first, solar was the biggest source of power in Europe last month.

Analysts say the abundance of solar power helped keep the grid stable during a powerful heat wave.

In Pakistan, a Solar Revolution Is Bringing Power to the People Fed up with pricey electricity from an unreliable grid, Pakistanis have gobbled up cheap solar panels. In an interview, Muhammad Mustafa Amjad, of Islamabad-based Renewables First, says his country ca...

Fed up with costly power from an unreliable grid, Pakistanis are snapping up cheap solar panels.

Rural families are using solar to power water pumps and air conditioners, says analyst Muhammad Mustafa Amjad. Some are including panels in wedding dowries.

Koalas Spend Just 10 Minutes a Day on the Ground — That's Usually When They're Killed

Koalas spend just 10 minutes a day on the ground, a new study finds. That's usually when they're killed.

In Uganda, Deadly Landslides Force an Agricultural Reckoning As growing populations denude its slopes and heavy rain intensifies, Mount Elgon has become increasingly vulnerable to landslides. In response, Ugandan farmers are planting native trees and changing t...

Increasingly deadly landslides on Uganda's Mount Elgon have forced an agricultural reckoning.

Villagers who once cleared forests for farming are now planting deep-rooted native trees, like jackfruit, among their crops to keep soils in place.

With 'Big Beautiful Bill,' U.S. to Reverse Course on Clean Energy

The Republican spending bill will reset the course for the U.S. energy sector, stunting the growth of renewables, analyses show.

With the law’s passage, the U.S. is set to fall further behind China in the race for clean-energy dominance.

Meta Said A.I. Could Help Tackle Warming. An Early Experiment Underwhelmed

Meta said A.I. could help tackle warming. An early experiment involving carbon removal underwhelmed.

A Decade After a Lead Crisis, Flint Has At Last Replaced Its Pipes

A decade after Flint, Michigan, was beset by lead contamination, the city has finally finished replacing its lead pipes.

London Inches Closer to Running Transit System Entirely on Renewable Power

Under a new agreement, London will source enough solar power to run its light railway and tram networks entirely on renewable energy.

Why U.S. Geothermal May Advance, Despite Political Headwinds The Trump administration is outwardly hostile to clean energy sourced from solar and wind. But thanks to close ties to the fossil fuel industry and new technological breakthroughs, U.S. geothermal pow...

New technological breakthroughs and close ties to the fossil fuel industry mean U.S. geothermal may survive GOP assaults on renewable power.

After decades of lagging behind wind and solar, geothermal could thrive under Trump.

City Lights Extend Growing Season for Urban Trees

City lights are extending the growing season of urban trees, a new study finds.

In New York, Paris, and Beijing, the growing season starts around 10 days earlier and ends 10 days later than in surrounding rural areas.

Planned EV Battery Plant Threatens Uncontacted Tribe in Indonesia

A planned EV battery factory in Indonesia poses a grave threat to an uncontacted tribe, a watchdog warns.

In War Zones, a Race to Save Key Seeds Needed to Feed the World In conflict areas from Ukraine to Palestine, storage facilities holding seeds vital for future plant breeding are being lost. Scientists are rushing to send some remaining seeds to a “doomsday” vault ...

In conflict zones from Ukraine to Sudan to Palestine, seed banks have been shelled, looted, or shut down.

Scientists are rushing to preserve salvaged seeds, which may be needed to grow crops in a warming world.

As Wind and Solar Grow, China Ships More Coal Overseas

A slowing economy and the rapid growth of wind and solar have blunted demand for coal in China.

Increasingly, producers are selling coal overseas.

Endangered Eels a Top Target for Traffickers in Europe

Critically endangered European eels are a top target for wildlife traffickers, generating billions of dollars in profits.

Renewables Did Not Cause Spanish Blackout, Investigations Find

A shortfall in gas power, not solar, led to the April blackouts in Spain and Portugal, official inquiries found.