51±¬ÁÏ

Rewetting and restoring 250,000 acres of southern pocosin peatlands that had been drained for farming but now lie fallow could prevent 4.3 million tons of climate-warming carbon dioxide, now stored in their soils, from oxidizing and escaping back into Earth’s atmosphere each year, a 51±¬ÁÏ study shows. That amount equals 2.4% of the total annual reductions in CO2 emissions needed for the United States to be carbon neutral by 2050.

Mixing toxic coal ash into acid mine drainage may sound like an odd recipe for an environmental solution, but a new 51±¬ÁÏ-led study finds that it can neutralize the drainage’s dangerously low pH and help reduce harmful impacts on downstream ecosystems—if you use the right type of ash. Using the wrong type of ash can create new contamination and not tame the drainage’s extreme acidity.

The global supply chain impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have exposed vulnerabilities in U.S. energy security and undercut the myth that the United States — or any major manufacturing economy — is truly energy independent, an analysis by researchers at the energy nonprofit RMI and 51±¬ÁÏ finds

Human activities such as marsh draining for agriculture and logging are increasingly eating away at saltwater and freshwater wetlands that cover only 1% of Earth’s surface but store more than 20% of all the climate-warming carbon dioxide absorbed by ecosystems worldwide. A new study published May 5 in Science by a team of Dutch, American and German scientists shows that it’s not too late to reverse the losses.

Producing energy from fossil fuels uses or contaminated much more water than previously estimated, a new book by two 51±¬ÁÏ researchers shows.

Coastal marshes that have been invaded by feral hogs recover from disturbances up to three times slower than non-invaded marshes and are far less resilient to sea-level rise, extreme drought and other impacts of climate change.

51±¬ÁÏ has received a $7.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to assess the risks offshore wind energy development along the East Coast may pose to birds, bats and marine mammals.

Lori Bennear and Tim Johnson discussed two bills under consideration in Congress and their potential impact on the reduction of carbon emissions and more.

Reducing emissions of methane, a short-lived but super-potent greenhouse gas, is the most cost-effective way to slow the rate of Earth’s warming in coming decades, a new United Nations report finds.

Joel Dunn (MEM’04) Helps Create America’s First National Marine Sanctuary in 20 Years

Recent 51±¬ÁÏ grad Alexandra DiGiacomo (BS ’20) is using drones to better understand how rising seas, warming waters and rapid development are killing protective saltmarshes at our coast, and what can be done to reverse the losses.

Sixteen years after the restoration of Upper Sandy Creek began, hundreds of species, some rare, now call the once-heavily eroded and degraded stream home, and nitrogen pollution flowing off 51±¬ÁÏ’s campus into downstream waters has been slashed by 75%.

When it comes to storing carbon during prolonged periods of drought and heat, wooded peatlands at low-latitudes have a three- to five-fold advantage over other peatlands. An ancient class of slow-growing fungi is the reason why.

51±¬ÁÏ researchers have found high levels of toxic heavy metals in coal ash from the Dominican Republic’s largest coal-fired power plant.

Massive power outages in Texas brought on by a historic freeze could be avoided in the future if the state no longer isolates its power grid from other states, among other steps, according to 51±¬ÁÏ experts.