Top Stories

Emissions Have Already Peaked in 27 Cities - And Keep Falling

Nothing against the countryside, which is lovely, but cities are where things happen. They are magnets for trade, and they're where cultures meet. They're also where more than half the world’s population lives, a number that will only continue to grow.

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NASA Sees Tropical Depression Olivia’s Strength Waning

NASA’s Aqua satellite provided an infrared look at a weakening and now tropical depression Olivia in the Central Pacific Ocean. Olivia soaked the Hawaiian Islands on its east to west track through them.

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Conservation Dairy Farming Could Help Pa. Meet Chesapeake Target

If the majority of dairy farms in Pennsylvania fully adopt conservation best-management practices, the state may be able to achieve its total maximum daily load water-quality target for the Chesapeake Bay, according to researchers.

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Blazes of Light Reveal How Plants Signal Danger Long Distances

In one video, you can see a hungry caterpillar, first working around a leaf’s edges, approaching the base of the leaf and, with one last bite, severing it from the rest of the plant. Within seconds, a blaze of fluorescent light washes over the other leaves, a signal that they should prepare for future attacks by the caterpillar or its kin.

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A Nuclear Plant Braces for Impact with Hurricane Florence

On March 11, 2011, a one-two, earthquake-tsunami punch knocked out the safety systems at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, triggering an explosion of hydrogen gas and meltdowns in three of its six reactors—the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Fukushima’s facility was built with 1960s technology, designed at a time when engineers underestimated plant vulnerabilities during natural disasters. In the US, 20 plants with similar designs are currently operating.

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Trees Reveal the Evolution of Environmental Pollution

While walking or driving along tree-lined streets in São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, you will pass many a tipuana tree (Tipuana tipu). Also known as rosewood or tipu, it is a tall tree with a large spreading canopy and is ubiquitous in the city.

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NASA Gets Inside Look at Large and Powerful Hurricane Florence

NASA’s Aqua satellite provided an infrared look at the large and powerful Hurricane Florence early on Sept. 13 that indicated wind shear was temporarily affecting the southern side of the storm.

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NASA Sees Hurricane Helene Decoupled By Wind Shear

NASA’s Aqua satellite provided an infrared look at Helene as it continued tracking toward the Azores Islands in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. Satellite imagery shows that Helene is decoupled from wind shear.

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Otago Researchers Find Answers As to Why Some People Are at Risk of Gout

University of Otago researchers have helped characterise a genetic variant that enables new understanding of why some people are at risk of gout, a painful and debilitating arthritic disease.

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Climate-Induced Soil Changes May Cause More Erosion and Flash Flooding

The earth beneath our feet isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind when people think about the impacts of climate change. However, a study by a UC Riverside-led team of researchers predicts a climate-induced reduction in large soil pores, which may intensify the water cycle and contribute to more flash flooding and soil erosion by the end of the 21st century.

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