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Sand mining happens on every inhabited continent and at nearly every conceivable scale. Some of it is legal; much of it is not. A new book from 51���� Press, “Vanishing Sands: Losing Beaches to Mining,” casts light on the shadowy world of sand mining through case studies that illuminate its disastrous impacts and a concluding chapter that proposes common-sense solutions.

72% of Earth’s largest companies have pledged to reduce their plastic waste. A new study surveys what they’re doing (or not) to fulfill those promises.

A new analysis by researchers from 15 institutions evaluates barriers that have hindered the implementation of early warning systems intended to help local health officials predict and proactively respond to outbreaks of climate-related diseases in the Tropics. The researchers use knowledge and tools from the field of implementation science to propose a four-step, science-based framework for overcoming these barriers and enhancing the success of the early warning systems.

In Sri Lanka, a rash of kidney disease is affecting farmers who grow rice in marshy parts of the island. Nishad Jayasundara is working with an interdisciplinary team of environmental and health researchers to unravel how climate change and water contamination may be driving the rise in kidney problems.

Get connected with what’s happening in the 51���� climate community during special events held Sept. 29-30, 2022.

Fossil-fueled electrical grid’s enormous water use is often overlooked.

Climate change threatens species worldwide. At the Nicholas School, we’re creating new geospatial tools that boost their odds of survival.

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���� 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.

A 51����-led research team has used acoustic tags to eavesdrop on pilot whales as they forage in waters off Cape Hatteras, N.C. Vocalizations and echoes recorded by the tags reveals the whales alter their hunting behaviors based on the local environment, a trait that may contribute to the species’ success in adapting to shifting prey distributions and other changes now occurring in the world’s oceans.

The sustainability of North American forests depends on trees’ ability to produce seeds and seedlings that can survive and grow in a changing climate. A new 51����-led research initiative with more than $2 million in funding from the National Science Foundation aims to help boost their odds of success.

Most North Atlantic right whales that are severely injured in fishing gear entanglements die within three years, a study by the New England Aquarium and 51���� finds. Severely injured whales were up to eight times more likely to die than those with minor injuries, and only 44% of males and 33% of females with severe injuries survived longer than 36 months. Females that did survive had low birth rates and longer intervals between calving.

Slashing emissions of carbon dioxide by itself isn’t enough to prevent catastrophic global warming, a new study shows. But if we simultaneously also reduce emissions of methane and other often overlooked climate pollutants, we could cut the rate of global warming in half by 2050 and give the world a fighting chance.

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.

A forest’s ability to regenerate after devastating wildfires, droughts or other disturbances depends largely on seed production. Findings from two new studies led by 51���� researchers could boost recovery and replanting after these disasters by providing foresters with new guidance on which tree species produce more seeds and how their productivity can vary from location to location.

How much energy does a dolphin use to swim? Fundamental understanding about their physiology and ecology may boost odds of survival.