science wire

At Carnegie Mellon researchers are helping cities learn how to make room for too much of a good thing: renewable energy.

The psychological impacts of flooding in Ireland often far outlast the physical damage, according to new research from Trinity College Dublin, Dublin City University and National College of Ireland. The working paper published today by the Climate Change Advisory Council [March 12th] highlights the mental health toll of flooding and practical actions that could reduce it.

Research led by the University of Cambridge and the RSPB shows that farming wetland-adapted crops on wetter peat - known as paludiculture - can support richer and more diverse bird communities than drained grassland.

A large-scale international study spanning 13 EU countries shows that when it comes to climate policy proposals, the decisive factor is not the proor con-camps that are decisive, but a substantial middle group. This middle group responds differently depending on the specific climate policy, and their opinions often determine whether a policy gains majority support In brief   As part of the Horizon Europe project Capable, researchers surveyed around 19'000 people from 13 European countries on 15 specific climate proposals in the summer of 2024.

Six out of 10 older people in England view climate change as a serious risk, with only one in 17 (5.8%) dismissive of climate change concerns, according to a new study led by UCL researchers. The study, published in The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences , looked at survey responses from 6,572 people in England aged 50 and over who were asked to rate their agreement or disagreement with statements about climate change.

Researchers have shed new light on how a unusual rock formation in Oman was created, which could reveal new details about the Earth's ability to store carbon dioxide (CO2) for millions of years. The study, led by Keele University, in collaboration with The University of Manchester and University of Ottawa, looked at geological evidence from Oman to better understand processes that occur in subduction zones - where one of the Earth's tectonic plates sinks beneath another due to the plates colliding together.

Underground, intricate networks of soil fungi underpin the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems.

Digital polarisation is often explained by the idea of the filter bubble: the notion that people are stuck in a stable information environment that confirms their existing beliefs.

Industrial pollution is often seen as a problem that can be solved with new regulations, stricter standards or better enforcement.

This week, EPFL is hosting Sustainability Week, with a public open house on Saturday, March 7. How EPFL has halved its volume of incinerable waste over the past ten years? We spoke with two of the people who are helping to change our habits - and our campuses - one bin at a time.

Up to half of the insects in the Amazon region could be exposed to life-threatening heat levels due to progressive, anthropogenic global warming.

Payments that enable landowners to rewild ecologically degraded land - in the form of biodiversity credits bought by investors wishing to offset their impact on nature - could be an effective component of the emerging market for nature recovery, but will not work as a stand-alone approach.

The first survey of Canadian consumers regarding their purchase and disposal of electronics reveals that 64 per cent of people replace their items for reasons other than the device breaking down or being obsolete.

After more than twenty years of competing in the World Solar Challenge in Australia, Solar Team Twente is entering a new chapter.

Around 10 years ago, the first wastewater treatment plants in Switzerland began to introduce a new process with thickened activated sludge in the biological treatment stage. By doing so, they intended to increase their capacity without having to expand the clarifiers. An Eawag survey of 10 wastewater treatment plants has now shown that the process is effective, but that its potential is frequently underutilised.

A harmonised set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) at farm level is intended to help Dutch farmers, governments and supply chain parties steer more effectively towards climate, biodiversity, water, soil, scarce resources and animal welfare goals.

The gilthead seabream, a species of commercial interest that migrates seasonally, does not form independent local populations in the north-western Mediterranean but instead constitutes a single, functionally connected population on a large scale.

Storing energy from sunlight and converting it into hydrogen days later is what a new material jointly developed by researchers from Ulm and Jena can do-even in the dark.

A new study has revealed a critical gap between global promises to restore forests and what is happening on the ground for the communities who depend on, manage and care for them. The research, led by researchers from The University of Manchester and published in the journal Restoration Ecology , is based on a detailed assessment of national policies in Mexico.

Habitats much more vulnerable for nitrogen deposition than previously thought Highlight Nitrogen is an essential building block for life, but high nitrogen deposition on natural areas causes biodiversity loss.

Methane emissions from cows and sheep can be reduced by 25% using breeding programmes Highlight Dutch livestock farmers have already made considerable strides towards a sustainable livestock sector.

Society is asking ever more pressing questions about animals and the way in which we live alongside them.

An international team of researchers, led by microbiologist Martyna Glodowska from Radboud University, will use microorganisms to recover scarce metals from electronic waste.

Huge mussel beds and large numbers of flatfish have surprised the researchers studying underwater life in the Wadden Sea over the past year.

From waste collection and repairs of quayside walls to energy poverty: for over a decade, AMS Institute has been helping to resolve problems faced by cities.

33 million mussels in Grevelingenmeer lake, nearly 2 billion cockles in the Western Scheldt, 306 hectares of oyster beds in the Wadden Sea.

Anyone who eats a bag of peanuts should be able to assume it's safe. Behind the scenes, Wageningen Food Safety Research works 24/7 to monitor food and feed for pathogens, pesticides, antibiotics and other substances.

To find out whether migratory fish use the gaps in the Haringvliet sluices to access the rivers, Melanie Meijer zu Schlochtern is using transmitters to monitor over three hundred fish.

What if farmers were to fertilize their land with urine instead of inorganic fertilizer? Scientists at Wageningen University & Research show this is possible - and in fact better.

Trees and plants store carbon. In biobased materials that are made from wood and plant fibres, the carbon remains sequestered for longer.

Exploitation and environmental pollution are still far from uncommon in the countries that our coffee and chocolate come from.

Nico Claassens' aim is to help bring about a circular bio-economy in which bacteria use CO2 as an input to produce the raw materials for bioplastics and proteins.