Articles

Public health and environmental researchers have made it clear that human land-use changes – deforestation, urbanization, and ecosystem degradation – are closely linked to the emergence of infectious zoonotic diseases, including the coronavirus. Public health and conservation experts encourage governments to implement nature-positive COVID-19 recovery policies, especially as we reflect on international climate, biodiversity, and public health summits. 

The United Nations enacted the Paris Agreement in 2015 to ensure a global commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. One way countries can support the Paris Agreement is to protect our coastlines, which have the ability to absorb and store carbon within the Earth’s ecosystem. 

The United States cannot run on 80% renewable electricity without reliable long-term energy storage. New research compares the costs of 14 different types of energy storage.

In cities around the world, there are vast networks of streams hidden below the ground surface. Through a process called daylighting, some cities are looking to rediscover these buried urban waterways. A new study provides a window into this hidden side of cities and tracks how daylighting affects the ecology and water quality of a stream in Norway. 

Conserving tidal wetlands, such as mangroves and saltmarsh ecosystems, can mitigate the risks of coastal flooding and sea level rise associated with climate change. Nature- based solutions can benefit 40% of the world’s population that are exposed to sea level rise by mitigating storm surges and reducing the impact of waves and shoreline erosion. 

Tibetan pastoralists and snow leopards have a long history of coexistence on the Tibet Plateau. Researchers recognize the essential role that pastoralists play in conserving China’s snow leopards and propose a global framework to involve local communities in conservation. 

He once dreamed of playing soccer for Mexico’s national team. Now based in Canada, Dr. Juan Arteaga researches energy storage – although the technology is not yet eligible for transmission and market services, when that day comes, Dr. Arteaga is ready.

Dr. Kimberley Miner is a scientist and systems engineer with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Her climate research has helped to protect some of the world’s most beautiful and fragile landscapes, but some of her most impactful work is closer to home – as an advocate for women and girls in STEM.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors have long been left on the sidelines of company reporting strategies. However, new research links strong and transparent ESG disclosure with financial profitability. 

As climate adaptation goes mainstream, a recent study examines the importance of including local perspectives of smallholder farmers in adaptation planning. 

A natural experiment in the Central Pacific showed scientists that coral can recover from bleaching events while temperatures remain high, especially in pristine water. This exciting advancement could be important for future restoration and conservation efforts.

Can sharing revenue with local governments on the basis of forest cover incentivize conservation and help meet climate goals? Researchers take stock of India’s new ‘ecological fiscal transfer’ scheme.

Human activities, from agriculture to tourism, have significant impacts on wildlife. Strikingly, activities that we might think of as harmless, such as recreation, can have bigger impacts than permanent landscape changes. To preserve the planet’s biodiversity, we need to incorporate these movement patterns into the way we think about and move in our landscapes.