Category archives: Environment

Human activity has not always harmed biodiversity – quite the opposite

Human activity has not always harmed biodiversity – quite the opposite

BiologyEcologyEnvironmentPlant biology

By Mapping Ignorance

For millennia, farming in Switzerland did not reduce plant diversity but helped increase it, researchers have shown in a detailed reconstruction covering the past 7000 years. Only recent decades paint a different picture. The fall of the Roman Empire and major plague outbreaks: These events not only affected people but also reduced plant diversity on […]

Understanding the risks of environmental pollutants in the human brain

Understanding the risks of environmental pollutants in the human brain

BiomedicineEnvironmentHealth

By Invited Researcher

The world’s population is growing, people are living longer, and industry continues to expand. These changes bring many benefits, but they can also increase risks to human health. Over time, people are exposed to many substances in the environment, some of which may be harmful. At the same time, greater industrial activity means more chemicals […]

Climate change is transforming Biscayne Bay

Climate change is transforming Biscayne Bay

Environment

By Mapping Ignorance

Climate change and sea level rise are altering the chemistry of Biscayne Bay in ways that could threaten South Florida’s coastal ecosystems, water resources, fisheries, and recreation, according to a study led by scientists from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science and Miami-Dade County’s Department of Environmental Resources Management […]

Bottom trawling is scraping oceans of wildlife

Bottom trawling is scraping oceans of wildlife

BiologyEnvironment

By Invited Researcher

Authors: Sarah Foster, Program Leader, Project Seahorse and Senior Researcher, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia and Amanda Vincent, Professor, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia Bottom trawlers extract one-quarter of the world’s fisheries catches by weight and raise significant ecological, economic and social concerns. Given that […]

Climate change is altering Saharan dust – and Europe is downwind

Climate change is altering Saharan dust – and Europe is downwind

Environment

By Invited Researcher

Author: Hossein Hashemi, Senior Lecturer, Division of Water Resources Engineering & Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies, Lund University In recent years, residents of Spain, France and the UK have looked up to see an eerie sight: deep orange sunrises and skies thick with a yellowish haze. These hazy skies often deposit “blood rain”, rust-colored […]

12 reasons why plastic recycling is failing so badly

12 reasons why plastic recycling is failing so badly

ChemistryEconomicsEnvironmentMaterials

By Invited Researcher

Author: Jordi Diaz Marcos, CCiTUB , Universitat de Barcelona As good citizens, we diligently fill the recycling bins provided by our local authorities with all manner of plastic trays, boxes, bottles and bags. But as these bins fill up quicker and quicker each week, an awkward question arises: is all this effort actually doing any […]

The potential of used cooking oil for the energy transition

The potential of used cooking oil for the energy transition

Chemical engineeringChemistryEnergyEnvironment

By Invited Researcher

Authors: Crisbel Cardenas 1, Eduardo Torre-Pascual 1,2 , Maite de Blas 1,2 , Estíbaliz Sáez de Cámara 1,2, Erlantz Lizundia 1,3 & Ion Agirre-Arisketa 1,2 1 Repsol Foundation Classroom on Energy Transition & Circular Economy. Bilbao School of Engineering. University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). Bilbao. España 2 Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department. Bilbao School […]

Plate tectonics and climate change

Plate tectonics and climate change

EnvironmentGeosciences

By Invited Researcher

Our planet has experienced dramatic climate shifts throughout its history, oscillating between freezing “icehouse” periods and warm “greenhouse” states. Scientists have long linked these climate changes to fluctuations in atmospheric carbon dioxide. However, new research reveals the source of this carbon – and the driving forces behind it – are far more complex than previously […]