"It"s an emergency." Midwest towns scramble as drought threatens drinking water
James Rainbolt typically can tackle most problems at his rural water plant with some extra time or money......»»
Top 5 stories of the week: Mazda"s incentives soar along with its sales; UAW threatens Stellantis
A quick look at the top automotive stories of the week as determined by reader interest......»»
Flooding: Is it time to stop living in basements?
Repeated flooding is neither inevitable nor exceptional. Whether it's the result of a river overflowing, torrential rain or even a failure in the water supply network, flooding has become part of our daily lives......»»
How human urine can disrupt soil health and water quality
Festival season is in full flow, and like any self-respecting plant-soil biogeochemist attending a local music festival, I'm curious about how these outdoor events might modify important nutrient cycles......»»
Automakers say new automatic emergency braking standard will cause more false positives
Government officials have criticized NHTSA for failing to keep up with driver-assistance technology, but it must also attempt to issue regulations for a lifesaving system that is still in its relatively early days......»»
Automatic emergency braking saves lives. It also causes crashes and recalls.
Automakers have faced recalls, documented injuries and lawsuits related to these false activations, which can lead to rear-end crashes and spooked drivers......»»
Australia tackles poor Great Barrier Reef water quality
Australia on Friday launched a multi-million dollar effort to stop pesticide runoff and other water quality issues on the Great Barrier Reef, the latest effort to save the ailing natural wonder......»»
US water reservoirs are shrinking and becoming less reliable, new study finds
Major water reservoirs across the continental United States are experiencing longer, more severe, and more variable periods of low storage than several decades ago, a new study reports. The problems are most severe in the western and central United S.....»»
Breaking boundaries: The unexpected routes of minerals in crop growth
Imagine plants not just sipping nutrients dissolved in water, but actually munching on tiny mineral particles straight from the soil. A study sheds light on how wheat and lettuce aren't just passive feeders—they actively grab, transport, and utiliz.....»»
Nitrogen deposition also reduces biodiversity on a larger scale, research shows
It has long been known that nitrogen deposition, where nitrogen is released from the atmosphere into soil or water, can lead to biodiversity loss on a small scale. New research shows that this effect can also be seen in larger areas of several kilome.....»»
EU sends water bomber planes to fight Madeira wildfires
The European Union said Thursday that two water bomber planes were headed for the Atlantic island of Madeira to bolster firefighting efforts following an emergency request from the Portuguese government......»»
Portugal seeks EU help as wildfire threatens UNESCO-listed forest
Portugal on Wednesday appealed to EU partners for assistance in fighting a wildfire on the Atlantic island of Madeira that has raged for a week and threatened a UNESCO-listed forest......»»
Research team designs AI approach to drought zoning in Canada
A recent study by the University of Ottawa and Laval University shows that climate change may cause many areas in Canada to experience significant droughts by the end of the century. In response, the researchers have introduced an advanced AI-based m.....»»
Study tracks decades of extreme heat, cold in Upper Midwest
Researchers analyzed meteorological data from nine Upper Midwest states from 1979–2021, tracking trends in extreme heat and cold over every 4-kilometer square of that territory. They found striking regional differences in the extremes. Many parts o.....»»
Advanced safety technology causes traffic jam in collision shops
Blind spot monitoring, automatic emergency braking and sensors everywhere have made fixing vehicles after an accident a long and expensive process......»»
Students" toxin research shows public health benefits of citizen science
Long-term exposure to arsenic, a hidden danger in many New England drinking water supplies, poses serious health risks, including cancer and cognitive challenges. A citizen science initiative called "All About Arsenic" has emerged in response, empowe.....»»
Achieving effective removal of caffeine and painkillers, scientists turn food waste into water cleaners
Researchers at the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague have achieved a significant breakthrough in water purification by developing low-cost activated carbons derived from biomass waste, specifically artichoke leaves and pomegranate peel.....»»
The overshoot myth: We can"t keep burning fossil fuels and expect scientists of the future to get us back to 1.5°C
Record breaking fossil fuel production, all-time high greenhouse gas emissions and extreme temperatures. Like the proverbial frog in the heating pan of water, we refuse to respond to the climate and ecological crisis with any sense of urgency. Under.....»»
Amazonian drought may have long-lasting effects on carbon cycle
The 2015–2016 El Niño hit the Amazon basin hard, causing a drought that severely reduced aboveground vegetation and caused the basin to release nearly 1 gigaton of carbon into the atmosphere......»»
Astronomers discover spectacular increase in the deuterium to hydrogen ratio in Venus"s atmosphere
Thanks to observations by the Solar Occultation in the Infrared (SOIR) instrument on the Venus Express space probe of the European Space Agency (ESA), researchers have discovered an unexpected increase in the abundances of two water molecule variants.....»»
Coming through wildfire: Professor"s campus is a living lab
Flames surrounded West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund's crews. Firefighters had dug in to protect the $75-million Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant from the 2023 McDougall Creek wildfire......»»