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Yale Environment 360

Sprawling Study Links Air Pollution to Dementia
A wide-ranging analysis, drawing from data on nearly 30 million people, finds a link between air pollution and dementia.
‘Sponge City’: How Copenhagen Is Adapting to a Wetter Future
Climate change is bringing ever more precipitation and rising seas to low-lying Denmark. In response to troubling predictions, Copenhagen is enacting an ambitious plan to build hundreds of nature-based and engineered projects to soak up, store, and redistribute future floods.
A Third of Slum Dwellers at Risk of 'Disastrous' Floods
Close to 900 million people across the Global South live in densely packed urban slums, which often sit in floodplains. A new study finds that one in three slum dwellers is at risk of "disastrous" flooding, a risk that is set to grow as warming spurs more intense rainfall around the world.
On Controlling Fire, New Lessons from a Deep Indigenous Past
For centuries, the Native people of North America used controlled burns to manage the continent's forests. In an e360 interview, ecologist Lori Daniels talks about the long history of Indigenous burning and why the practice must be restored to protect against catastrophic fires.
Lightning Kills 320 Million Trees Yearly. With Warming, the Toll Could Rise
A new study finds that lightning kills some 320 million trees around the world each year, more than was previously thought. And that figure could rise in the decades ahead as increasingly hot and humid weather fuels more lightning, particularly in forested parts of the Far North.
China Breaks Ground on Colossal Dam Project in Asia's Grand Canyon
China has begun construction on a massive dam project in the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon in Tibet, the longest and deepest canyon in the world. Experts fear the impact on wildlife in the river gorge, which is home to snow leopards and Bengal tigers, as well as some of the tallest and oldest trees in Asia.
Paying the People: Liberia’s Novel Plan to Save Its Forests
Plagued by illegal logging and corruption, Liberia has been losing its forests at an alarming rate. But its new strategy to make direct payments to communities that agree to prohibit cutting and protect their trees is seen as a potential model for other developing nations.
Research Details Devastating Toll of Colonization on Pacific Northwest Wildlife
When Europeans arrived to the Pacific Northwest, they spread smallpox that devastated the Indigenous people, plundered stocks of salmon and herring, hunted down deer and other game, and built sprawling cities and ports. New research tallies the profound impact on wildlife.
Clearcutting Can Lead to Severe Floods, But It Doesn’t Have To
It has long been understood that clearcutting forests leads to more runoff, worsening flooding. But a new study finds that logging can reshape watersheds in surprising ways, leading to dramatically more flooding in some forests, while having little effect on others.
Ice Recovered from European Alps Holds 12,000-Year Record of History
Glacial ice offers a detailed record of the atmosphere, preserved in discrete layers, providing researchers with a valuable tool for studying planetary history. A sample taken from a glacier in the European Alps dates back at least 12,000 years, making it the oldest ice yet recovered from the region.
Drop in Air Pollution Drove a Surge in Warming, Study Finds
A new study finds a drop in air pollution likely drove a recent surge in warming.
Forest Service Plan Threatens the Heart of an Alaskan Wilderness
Alaska’s Tongass is the world’s largest temperate rainforest and a sanctuary for wildlife. The Trump administration’s plan to rescind a rule banning roads in wild areas of national forests would open untouched parts of the Tongass and other forests to logging and development.
In a First, Solar Was Europe's Biggest Source of Power Last Month
For the first time, solar was the largest source of electricity in the EU last month, supplying a record 22 percent of the bloc's power.
Pakistan's Solar Revolution Is Bringing Power to the People
Fed up with pricey electricity from an unreliable grid, Pakistanis have snapped up cheap solar panels. In an interview, Muhammad Mustafa Amjad, of Islamabad-based Renewables First, says his country can stand as a model for other nations as they transition away from fossil fuels.
Koalas Spend Just 10 Minutes a Day on the Ground — That's Usually When They're Killed
Koalas, which spend most of their lives high up in eucalyptus trees, usually die while on the ground, often mauled by dogs or hit by cars. More striking, a new study reveals that the amount of time they spend on the ground is only around 10 minutes a day.
In Uganda, Deadly Landslides Force an Agricultural Reckoning
As growing populations denude its slopes and heavy rain intensifies, Mount Elgon has become increasingly vulnerable to landslides. In response, Ugandan farmers are planting native trees and changing the crops they plant in efforts to build resilience against future disasters.
With 'Big Beautiful Bill,' U.S. to Reverse Course on Clean Energy
The Republican spending bill, signed into law Friday, will reset the course for the U.S. energy sector, analyses show. The law rapidly phases out tax credits for wind, solar, and electric cars, while making it cheaper to drill and mine for fossil fuels on federal lands.
Meta Said A.I. Could Help Tackle Warming. An Early Experiment Underwhelmed
Last year, as part of an experiment in using A.I. to help with carbon removal, Meta identified 135 materials that could potentially be used to draw down carbon dioxide, work it described as "groundbreaking." But when scientists tried to reproduce the results, they found that none of the materials could perform as promised and that some did not even exist.
A Decade After a Lead Crisis, Flint Has At Last Replaced Its Pipes
A decade after Flint, Michigan, was beset by widespread lead contamination, officials confirmed the city has replaced its lead pipes, as ordered by a federal court.
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