Environment

People travel for many reasons—commuting, as part of their job, or to go shopping—and the time spent traveling differs from day to day, from person to person. But remarkably, populations tend to travel for close to 1.3 hours per day (78 minutes), no matter where they live, or how rich... Read more

The transition to healthy diets with a low environmental impact is crucial to achieving sustainable food systems and reducing health problems. In this context, dietary guidelines for schools can encourage eating behaviors among pupils to reduce their environmental footprint.... Read more

"Off Target," "Broken Record," "Closing Window": the UN Environment Program's flagship reports have been warning for years that emissions must fall faster to avoid dangerous climate impacts—but is the world listening?... Read more

Every day, people and all other living organisms are potentially exposed to dozens or even hundreds of chemicals—from plastics and pesticides to cosmetics and cleaning agents. While each chemical may individually meet safety standards, their combined effects can quietly add up.... Read more

Aging lead-pipe drinking water systems, along with the public health measures implemented to reduce their risks, are reshaping the chemistry and health of nearby urban streams. New research from University of Pittsburgh biogeochemists, hydrologists, and environmental engineers has uncovered previously overlooked environmental impacts of a common water treatment practice: adding... Read more

Groundwater rise as a result of climate change poses a significant threat to coastal cities, says University of Rhode Island assistant professor of geosciences Christopher Russoniello. Russoniello and colleagues recently published a commentary piece highlighting hazards that are often overlooked in urban infrastructure.... Read more

Canada and Ontario are accelerating efforts to attract global investment and speed up approvals for new mining projects.... Read more

The UN climate summit, COP30, is currently taking place in Belém, Brazil, a region with some of the most carbon-dense soils on Earth: the Amazonian dark earths. These deep, dark and exceptionally fertile soils are thought to have been intentionally enriched with carbon.... Read more

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has dubbed COP30 the forest COP. Taking place in Belém, a large urban center in the Amazon, this choice signals a welcome shift from the capital cities of petro-states to the heart of the world's most bio-diverse rainforest.... Read more

An analysis of national climate plans released today at the COP30 climate summit in Brazil warns that countries are failing to carry out core work required to reduce emissions by halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation, and are instead pushing unrealistic carbon removal schemes, such as large-scale tree planting.... Read more

At the COP30 climate summit in Brazil, Pacific Island states are making a familiar plea to keep warming at 1.5°C. But now they have the backing of a legal opinion that has transformed climate action from a moral and political aspiration into an obligation under international law.... Read more

Carbon offsets are a way for companies or countries that pollute the air to "cancel out" some of their carbon emissions by funding projects that protect forests, plant trees, or provide clean energy—sometimes on the other side of the world. Polluting companies in the US, Europe, Asia or elsewhere can... Read more

Imagine a remote Galapagos beach, where iguanas stomp around between fishing nets, flip flops, baseball caps and plastic bottles. Stuck in the sand is the empty packet for food sold only in Ecuador, the nearest mainland hundreds of miles away. To most people, these things are rubbish. But to archaeologists,... Read more

In mountain regions like the Rockies, headwater streams make up more than 70% of the river network and support the downstream waterways and communities. These headwaters are also home to many forms of aquatic life. While these sources are crucial, very few are monitored, and aspects of their hydrology are... Read more

Harmful levels of indoor air pollution have been discovered in U.K. homes, with families from deprived areas and ethnic minority backgrounds facing the highest levels of exposure, according to a new study from the University of York's INGENIOUS research program.... Read more