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Yale Environment 360
Beyond Lithium: New Battery Tech Starts to Break Through
As EV sales boom and grids seek more energy storage, researchers are racing to develop batteries that are cheaper, more powerful, and less reliant on hard-to-source materials. Lithium-ion still dominates, but sodium-ion and solid-state technologies are moving from lab to market.
What Do We Actually Know About the Microplastics Inside Us?
Pervasive plastic contamination and unreliable methods have clouded the science on microplastics in the human body. In an interview, Australian scientist Cassandra Rauert, who built a plastics-free lab to study human exposure, explores the challenges for researchers.
Collapse of Atlantic Currents May Already Be ‘Locked In’
A vast system of Atlantic currents that delivers warmth to northern Europe is at risk of collapse, according to a growing body of research. The latest study to warn of its demise finds there is at least a 10 percent chance that a collapse may already be “locked in.”
In Overfished Adriatic Sea, Dolphins Look to Trawlers for Food
Off the eastern coast of Italy, large numbers of bottlenose dolphins are looking to fishing trawlers as a source of food, a sign that dolphins may be struggling to feed themselves in waters depleted by overfishing.
A Home Battery Revolution Is Reshaping the Power Grid
As residential batteries have become more energy dense, cheaper, and smaller, more households are storing their excess solar power. Now, utilities and energy companies in dozens of countries are buying up those electrons, bundling them together, and using them to balance the grid.
After a Civil Rights Complaint, Chicago Built Largest Air Monitoring Network in the U.S.
As extreme heat worsens pollution, a network of 277 monitors will identify pollution hot spots.
The Loss of Glaciers Is Inflicting a Spiritual Toll on Indigenous People
In mountain regions from the Andes to the Himalayas, Indigenous people see the retreat of glaciers as a sign that they have lost the favor of their gods or ancestors.
In East Africa, a Controversial Oil Project Is Poised for Production
Like Humans, Mediterranean Sperm Whales Have Their Own Dialects
Much like human languages, the vocalizations of sperm whales evolve over time, as disparate populations of whales develop distinct dialects. A new study shows how an isolated population of sperm whales in the eastern Mediterranean developed its own dialect based on vocalizations used by other whales.
Europe Hit by Another Record Heat Wave
Europe is sweltering through an intense heat wave that is setting temperature records in the U.K. and France. It comes on the heels of another record heat wave in May.
Amid Iran War, Africa Sees Growing Demand for Electric Motorbikes
As the Iran War has driven up fuel costs in Africa, demand for electric motorbikes has grown.
A Missing Piece in Climate Models: Nature’s Own Emissions
Rising temperatures are set to drive up emissions from wildfires, fermenting wetlands, and melting permafrost, but these feedback loops are poorly captured in climate models. Scientists are racing to make sense of these emissions to gauge how much warming may lie ahead.
An EPA Researcher Details the Agency's Assault on Science
In January 2025, the Trump administration began shutting down projects within the EPA’s independent science division that touched on climate change and environmental justice. Air quality researcher Thomas Luben, who had worked at the agency for 18 years, was fired for objecting.
Digital Tools Are Transforming Efforts to Save Plants from Extinction
Researchers are increasingly digitizing plant and fungi specimens and using A.I. to analyze them, work that is transforming conservation science, according to a new report.
Albanians Mobilize Against Jared Kushner Plan for Resort on Pristine River Delta
In Albania, a mass protest movement has emerged to challenge a plan, spearheaded by Jared Kushner, to build a sprawling resort along the delta of the last wild river in Europe. Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the capital city of Tirana last week, raising signs that said “Albania Is Not for Sale,” with marches continuing over the weekend.
Dead Organisms Shape the Living World Long After They Perish, Research Shows
A new paper details how the remnants of dead organisms strongly influence the fate of survivors.
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