Environment

  1. Environment

    This house was built partly from recycled diapers

    Disposable diapers can replace nearly a third of the materials used in load-bearing structures, offering a potential path to more affordable housing.

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  2. Environment

    More than half of the world’s largest lakes are drying up

    Satellite data from 1992 to 2020 reveal that 53 percent of the world’s largest freshwater bodies shrank during that period while only 24 percent grew.

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  3. Climate

    Thawing permafrost may unleash industrial pollution across the Arctic

    As the frozen ground warms due to climate change, industrial pollutants could flow free from thousands of sites across the Arctic.

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  4. Climate

    Methane may not warm the Earth quite as much as previously thought

    Methane absorbs both longwave and shortwave radiation, with competing effects on climate, a study finds. The gas remains a potent warmer of the planet.

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  5. Earth

    The Great Salt Lake is shrinking. What can we do to stop it?

    A dropping lake level affects agriculture, public health and the environment — but water conservation can halt the decline.

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  6. Environment

    Satellite imagery reveals ‘hidden’ tornado tracks

    Twisters that churn over barren landscapes leave scars that are invisible to human eyes but are detectable with infrared light.

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  7. Math

    Here’s why the geometric patterns in salt flats worldwide look so similar

    New research suggests the shared geometry of salt flats from Death Valley to Iran comes from fluid flows underground.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    Microplastics are in our bodies. Here’s why we don’t know the health risks

    Researchers are racing to try to understand how much humans are exposed and what levels are toxic.

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  9. Environment

    The Deepwater Horizon oil spill ruined long-term shore stability

    For at least eight years, the oil disaster continued to kill soil-retaining marsh plants along the Louisiana coast, accelerating shoreline loss.

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  10. Climate

    Many Antarctic glaciers are hemorrhaging ice. This one is healing its cracks

    Scientists have explored the recesses of an Antarctic glacier that is currently stable, helping improve predictions of the continent’s fate.

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  11. Environment

    Air pollution made an impression on Monet and other 19th century painters

    The impressionist painting style can be partly explained by the reality of rising air pollution from the industrial revolution, an analysis finds.

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  12. Climate

    Greta Thunberg’s new book urges the world to take climate action now

    Greta Thunberg's ‘The Climate Book’ covers the basic science of climate change, the history of denialism and inaction, environmental justice and solutions.

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