Shower water carries more than suds. Every shampoo rinse sends long‑chain chemicals from our bathrooms into rivers where they can cling to the bodies of small aquatic animals.



A research team led by Hans Sanderson of <a href="http://Aarhus University https://g.co/kgs/wGFv7P9">Aarhus University</a> tracked what those ingredients do once they leave the drain, focusing on a class called <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0166445X24003485?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">polyquaternium conditioners</a> that make hair feel smooth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-shampoos-tame-frizz">How shampoos tame frizz</h2>



Hair carries a natural negative charge, and damaged strands hold even more. Manufacturers add <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0166248108701168" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">positively charged polymers</a> so those long molecules wrap around each fiber and neutralize static, leaving a sleek finish.



The most common sub‑group, polyquaterniums, numbers more than 25,000 variations. Together they support a <a href="https://www.businessresearchinsights.com/market-reports/polyquaternium-market-107659" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">market valued</a> at about $0.12 billion in 2024 and projected to grow steadily over the next decade.



Each molecule is huge by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-ocean-animals-connect-countries-and-continents/">chemical</a> standards, so toxicology screens once assumed they were harmless to wildlife because they cannot slip through cell membranes. Sanderson’s team asked whether sticking on the outside of a creature could matter just as much.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shampoo-harms-tiny-aquatic-animals">Shampoo harms tiny aquatic animals </h2>



Freshwater ponds and lakes are full of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2042/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">daphnia</a>, tiny crustaceans <a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Shampoo-animals.jpg">sometimes called water fleas</a>. They filter algae and bacteria, purify water, and form a primary food source for many small fish.



Because daphnia propel themselves with rhythmic strokes of their antennae, any extra drag can slow them down. 



The Aarhus experiments showed that a film of conditioner polymers glued to the animals’ shells, halving their swimming speed and hindering feeding.



“We have conducted the first study in the world to investigate this. The substances do not penetrate the animals’ cells, but rather stick to the surface of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-environment-day-2025-plastic-pollution-is-choking-our-planet/">animal</a>,” explained Sanderson. 



“This physically affects the animal, making it unable to move as well, and it impairs its ability to ingest food,” continued Sanderson.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shampoo-s-charge-makes-animals-vulnerable">Shampoo's charge makes animals vulnerable</h2>



The researchers ran complementary tests on two standard laboratory species, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2042/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Daphnia magna</a> and <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/483833-Ceriodaphnia-dubia" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ceriodaphnia dubia</a>, using three <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166445X24003485" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">polyquaterniums</a> of different designs. 



The team found toxicity thresholds as low as 0.05 mg per liter for the most highly charged polymer, while the same molecule with a lower charge was 400‑fold less toxic.



The pattern was consistent regardless of molecular weight. That result shifts regulatory focus from size to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/charge-density" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">charge density</a>, a parameter rarely documented on shampoo labels.



Organic matter in natural water, such as dissolved humic acids, partially blunts the polymers’ stickiness. Yet even moderate concentrations still impaired reproduction and growth during 21‑day chronic tests with both daphnia species.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-shampoo-chemicals-move-to-animals">How shampoo chemicals move to animals</h2>



Wastewater plants intentionally add the same <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.macromol.3c01223" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cationic polymers</a> as a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/flocculant" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">flocculant</a> to clump particles together for easier removal. Ironically, what helps strip other pollutants out of sewage can persist in the resulting sludge or treated effluent.



If facilities discharge more than the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-impacting-marine-life-more-than-we-realized/">ecosystem</a> can buffer, sensitive invertebrates pay the price. Because daphnia sit near the base of the food web, their decline can ripple upward and reduce fish recruitment.



Laboratory work measured polymer levels that killed half a daphnia population within 48 hours at phone‑screen brightness‑level concentrations. Field monitoring remains limited, so nobody knows how often small streams approach those doses.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-call-for-smarter-safety-tests">Call for smarter safety tests</h2>



European agencies already demand hazard labels for chemicals that penetrate cells, but large polymers still slip through many guidelines. 



The European Commission is reviewing <a href="https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/chemicals/chemicals-legislation_en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">polymer assessment rules</a> under its CLP and <a href="https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/chemicals/reach-regulation_en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">REACH regulations</a>, with updates expected this year.



The researchers argue that future protocols must mimic real‑world water containing organic carbon, rather than the ultra‑clean test media used today. 



They also recommend including movement and feeding endpoints, not just mortality, when assessing ecological risk.



Softening agents may never fully disappear from consumer goods. However, incremental tweaks, lower charge density, biodegradable side chains, or safer alternatives like amino‑based conditioners could cut harm dramatically. 



Manufacturers have incentives to act before formal limits arrive, because production lines adapt faster than legislation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reducing-shampoo-s-harm-to-animals">Reducing shampoo’s harm to animals</h2>



Reading an ingredient list will often reveal polyquaterniums by number, for example polyquaternium‑10 or ‑7. Lower single‑digit numbers usually carry higher charge density, although the label alone cannot quantify risk.



Choosing rinse‑off products certified for low aquatic toxicity is one stopgap, though Sanderson notes that even ecolabel formulations sometimes rely on the same chemistry. 



Reducing dosage helps too; a quarter‑sized blob of shampoo cleans most medium‑length hair, and conditioner is unnecessary every wash for many people.



Small behavior shifts add up because each bottle skipped prevents thousands of gallons of rinse water from picking up extra polymers over its retail life. 



Until wastewater infrastructure and regulations catch up, prevention at the source remains the surest shield for freshwater communities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-toward-a-balanced-bathroom-shelf">Toward a balanced bathroom shelf</h2>



The story of sticky hair conditioners underscores a broader lesson in polymer safety. Size alone cannot protect wildlife if surface charge lets molecules hijack essential behaviors like swimming and feeding. 



Daphnia, though invisible from a shower stall, signal the health of entire lakes and streams. When their numbers fall, algae blooms can surge, water clarity drops, and fish lose a key snack.



Scientists now have lab tools to screen thousands of conditioning agents quickly, ranking them by how strongly they glue onto living surfaces. 



Policy makers can use that knowledge to set practical discharge limits, while industry chemists re‑engineer formulas for performance without collateral damage.



Every shampoo rinse cycle connects personal routine to planetary processes, affecting animals too. Balancing clean hair with clean water and protecting animals is no longer guesswork; the data are in view, and the solutions are within reach.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166445X24003485" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aquatic Toxicology</a>.



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Chemicals in shampoos and soaps are infiltrating rivers and killing aquatic life

Shower water carries more than suds. Every shampoo rinse sends long‑chain chemicals from our bathrooms into rivers where they can cling to the bodies of small aquatic animals. A research team led by Hans Sanderson of Aarhus University tracked what those ingredients do once they leave the drain, focusing on a class called polyquaternium conditioners that make hair feel smooth. How shampoos tame frizz Hair carries a natural negative charge, and damaged strands hold even more. Manufacturers add positively charged polymers so those long molecules wrap around...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford University</a> are reporting that technology capable of removing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/goodyear-eco-friendly-tires/">carbon dioxide</a> from the atmosphere already exists in the United States. After analyzing the feasibility of various carbon capture and storage (CCS) techniques, the experts found options that are not only commercially viable but could also generate a profit.

Climate scientists agree that developing ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, or negative emissions technology, is needed to help slow climate change. However, the feasibility of such carbon removal strategies has been widely debated.

“There's really no scenario that meets the world's climate goals without negative emissions,” said study co-author Katharine Mach. “But most technologies for carbon removal are immature, largely unavailable or expensive.”


One of the most popular proposed CCS strategies is bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration (BECCS), which involves growing plants to absorb CO2, burning the plant material to produce energy, and then capturing the resulting CO2 emissions for underground storage.

BECCS is not as simple as it seems, however, due primarily to the fact that these technologies have not been fully developed. Implementation of the process is further complicated by the fact that many regions do not have geological features that are suitable for carbon dioxide storage. Scientists also have concerns about how BECCS may impact ecosystems and compete with plants grown for food production.

But now, the Stanford researchers have found one type of BECCS technology that could work right away for ethanol producers in the United States, and the method could even become profitable.

“We found that between tax credits for CCS and upcoming financial incentives from low-carbon fuel standards, CCS is an untapped financial opportunity for ethanol producers across the U.S.,” said lead author Daniel Sanchez.

As the largest producer of ethanol in the world, the United States produced 15.8 billion gallons in 2017 alone. Ethanol is made by fermenting biomass such as corn. This process results in a CO2 by-product that is easier and cheaper to capture and store underground than other emitted sources of CO2.

“Negative emissions at biorefineries is commercially ready and affordable,” said Mach. “It offers a compelling way to build the real-world experience we need to develop future BECCS technologies.”

According to the researchers, 60 percent of all CO2 emitted annually through the production of ethanol could be captured at under $25 per metric ton. They explained that, if credits for captured CO2 were set at $60 per metric ton, this would be incentive for the storage of 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide that would otherwise go straight into the atmosphere.

“This is an opportunity not only for biofuel producers to make profits, but also for CCS technology to be more widely piloted and developed,” said Sanchez. “This is an essential first step if we're going to deploy carbon removal at levels necessary to keep dangerous climate change in check.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Carbon capture and storage could be profitable business in the US

Researchers at Stanford University are reporting that technology capable of...

Under the Paris Accord, most countries in the world have banded together in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stop global temperatures from climbing more than 2 degrees Celsius.

A new study has found that for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pollution-sources-china-risen/">China</a>, the worst offender in terms of CO2 emissions, the economic and health benefits of following through with the Paris Accord goals would offset the total cost of any climate policy implemented.

Researchers from the <a href="http://web.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> (MIT) conducted the research, which was published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

The results show that if China lowers emissions, it would significantly reduce the number of deaths related to air pollution and create $339 billion in savings by 2030, four times the cost of any new climate change measures. 

“The country could actually come out net positive, just based on the health co-benefits associated with air quality improvements, relative to the cost of a climate policy,” said Noelle Eckley Selin, the study’s co-author. “This is a motivating factor for countries to engage in global climate policy.”

The majority of China’s energy is coal-powered, which means that the country emits more greenhouse gases than most other nations in the world.

High levels of air pollution have caused a major public health problem with many facing an increased risk of respiratory issues and cardiovascular disease.

“Air pollution is an immediate problem that is directly linked to many of the economic, energy-related activities that are also responsible for greenhouse gases,” said Valerie Karplus, leader of the research. “We wanted to understand to what extent you could address air quality by targeting carbon dioxide through a representative climate policy, carbon pricing.”

For the study, the researchers created a new framework that combined an energy-economic model, the China Regional Energy Model (C-REM), with an atmospheric chemistry model called GEOS-Chem.

The team was able to model the economic and health benefits of new energy systems at the provincial level with C-Rem and tested four different scenarios to see how policy changes would impact air pollution, economic activity, and energy use.

There was a business-as-usual scenario where no changes were put in place and the remaining three policies reduced emissions by three, four, and five percent per year through 2030.

After testing the different scenarios with the modeling framework, the researchers found that a business-as-usual scenario would result in more than 2.3 million premature, pollution-related deaths by 2030. 

The other three scenarios would save up to 160,000 premature deaths. 

The researchers then took these results and quantified them into a monetary value and found that a 3, 4, or 5 percent per year policy would create savings of $138.4 billion, $339.6 billion, and $534.8 billion, respectively.

The life-saving health benefits would create savings that more than outweigh any costs of implementing climate policies for China.

“This is really a sustainability story,” said Selin. “We have all these policy goals for a transition toward a more sustainable society. Mitigating air pollution, a leading cause of death, is one of them, and avoiding dangerous climate change is another. Thinking about how we might inform policy to address these objectives simultaneously when they actually interact economically and atmospherically, is important to sort out from a science perspective.” 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Economic benefits would outweigh climate policy cost for China

Under the Paris Accord, most countries in the world have...

If global temperatures continue to rise, Europe could soon see larger drought regions, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.ufz.de/">Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Studies</a>.

The team of scientists from Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and the United States used a modeling program to explore what effects climate change might have on Europe if global temperatures rise more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. That limit is the goal of the landmark Paris Agreement, but scientists are studying what might happen if the agreement fails in its goals.

Using modeling software, the team of researchers looked at how an average global temperature rise of 3 degrees Celsius would affect drought conditions in Europe.

"In the event of a three-degree warming [in Southern Europe], we assume there will be 5.6 drought months per year; up to now, the number has been 2.1 months. For some parts of the Iberian Peninsula, we project that the drought could even last more than seven months," Dr. Luis Samaniego, one of the study’s two lead authors, said in a press release. 

Such a rise in temperatures would expand European drought regions from 13 percent to 20 percent of the continent’s total area, compared to drought activity from 1971 to 2000, the researchers said. More than 400 million people could be affected, they said.

Some regions will be affected more than others, the model showed. The Mediterranean could see drought regions expand from 28 to 49 percent, the scientists said. The loss of water content in the soil could be similar to the 2003 heat wave that ravaged France and central Europe.

But other regions won’t have it as bad. 

"In the Atlantic, Continental and Alpine regions, the drought areas will enlarge by less than 10 percent of the total area," said mathematician Dr. Stephan Thober, the study’s other lead author.

In Scandinavia and the Baltic States, drought regions could even shrink by as much as 3 percent.

If the Paris Agreement countries reach their goal of a global temperature rise of no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, the potential for drought would still go up from the present day, but the risk would be much lower, the researchers said.

The study has been published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0138-5">Nature Climate Change</a>. Funding was provided by the <a href="https://www.bmbf.de/en/index.html">German Ministry for Education and Research</a>.

—

By Kyla Cathey,<a href="http://www.earth.com"> Earth.com</a> staff writer

European drought regions would grow under climate change

If global temperatures continue to rise, Europe could soon see...

Every year, a conference is held with over 14,000 multidisciplinary scientists sharing the newest concepts and research findings relevant to clinical advances. This year's meeting, <a href="http://experimentalbiology.org/2018/Home.aspx">Experimental Biology 2018</a> (EB 2018) will include four innovative studies focused on understanding contamination and improving the environment.

Stephanie Chaousis from <a href="https://www.griffith.edu.au/">Griffith University</a> in Australia will be introducing a technique that may lead to the discovery of biomarkers for detecting contamination exposure in wildlife without the need for invasive sampling.

The new method, which uses cultured cells from animals, was demonstrated in an experiment with green sea turtles. The researchers cultured skin cells and exposed them to two contaminants that commonly accumulate in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-turtles-flippers-hands/">sea turtles</a>. Using mass spectrometry, the experts identified many proteins that changed expression levels after exposure.

Héctor Rivera from the <a href="http://www.upr.edu/">University of Puerto Rico</a> will be reporting on more sustainable ways to produce biofuel from cooking oil and grease waste. While the enzyme lipase has been found to speed up the conversion process, the enzyme's activity levels are not high enough for industrial-scale biodiesel production.

Three new nanoparticle formulas, which were developed by the researchers using lipase from the fungus Candida rugosa, were all shown to facilitate faster biodiesel production compared to traditional lipase formulations. 

Experts from <a href="https://www.nu.edu/">National University</a> and the <a href="https://scripps.ucsd.edu/">Scripps Institute of Oceanography</a> in California set out to identify the harmful bacteria found on ocean plastic. The team submerged three common types of plastics in waters off the coast of Southern California and sequenced the microbial DNA at four intervals throughout the study. 

The researchers found that more than 40 percent of the DNA sequences belonged to unknown organisms. Furthermore, all of the plastic materials contained different types of bacteria which were also different from those found in the surrounding seawater. Early testing on the plastics revealed bacteria that can cause disease in humans. The research will be presented at the meeting by Ana Maria Barral.

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> have been investigating the prenatal effects of marine toxin exposure. Domoic acid is a naturally occurring toxin produced by marine algae that can cause fatal central nervous system toxicity in people who consume highly-contaminated shellfish. The effects of long-term exposure to low levels of domoic acid, however, are not known.

The researchers focused a study on 20 pregnant monkeys. After the pregnant females were administered low doses of the neurotoxin over the course of at least two months, the experts found that the fetuses experienced nearly the same domoic acid exposure as the mothers.

Some of the exposed monkeys showed subtle signs of neurological effects, such as tremors. The study authors believe that the government should lower the tolerable daily intake levels of domoic acid until more is known about the human health risks associated with long-term, low-level exposure. The research will be presented by Sara Shum at EB 2018.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Four big breakthroughs presented to improve the environment

Every year, a conference is held with over 14,000 multidisciplinary...

Earth Day is a good time to stop and think about everything the world gives to us – and how we can give a little back. Working for the good of the environment may seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t need to be. There are plenty of little ways to help the planet. Here are six easy steps you can try today, plus a bonus challenge:
<h3>1. Buy a water bottle.</h3>
Instead of buying water by the bottle, buy a metal or BPA-free plastic water bottle intended to be used over and over again.

People go through about 480 billion disposable plastic water bottles each year; Americans alone throw out a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-swimming-waste-plastic/">staggering 35 billion bottles</a> each year. Many of these bottles end up among the plastic waste that forms the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Plastic doesn’t biodegrade, but it does break down in the sun, looking enough like food that fish eat it. Then, seabirds and even young whales <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/young-sperm-whale-dead-trash/">eat the plastic-clogged fish</a>, causing health problems.

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-bottle-threatens-environment/">Less than half of disposable bottles are recycled</a>, scientists found. Even worse, a high number of those single-use plastic bottles are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bottled-water-contaminated-microplastics/">contaminated with microplastics</a>.

Buying a reusable water bottle is as simple as going to a supermarket or big-box store. Most have them on the shelves – along with water filtering pitchers and systems, for those who live in an area where tap water needs some extra cleaning.
<h3>2. Volunteer.</h3>
Whether trash clean-up days, community gardening groups, water monitoring teams or other eco-minded groups, most places have plenty of opportunities for volunteers to help the planet.

<a href="https://www.volunteermatch.org/">VolunteerMatch</a> is a great place to find environmental volunteering jobs that need doing, along with dozens of other categories. So is the <a href="https://oceanconservancy.org/trash-free-seas/international-coastal-cleanup/">International Coastal Cleanup</a> – don’t be fooled by the name. There are plenty of inland cleanups along lakes and rivers. 

Can’t find an opportunity near you? Look around and see what needs doing, whether it’s picking up trash or beautifying empty lots with new plants. Then, get to work. Be sure to contact any affected property owners before planting anything, though!
<h3>3. Drive less.</h3>
A study by <a href="https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/">Lund University</a> last summer found that going without a car can be a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/effective-steps-battle-climate-change/">more effective way</a> for individuals to fight climate change than recycling or using more efficient lightbulbs.

If you have a daily commute that public transportation can’t cover or you live in a rural area, going car-free might not be possible.

However, you can still work to reduce your time on the road as much as possible. Run as many errands as possible in one trip. Consider carpooling if you live near co-workers, or discuss working from home one day a week with your employer. Every little bit helps.
<h3>4. Eat less meat.</h3>
The same Lund University study showed that a plant-based diet is one of the most effective ways an individual can fight climate change. Want to give it a try? There are dozens of good resources out there. <a href="https://www.forksoverknives.com/plant-based-primer-beginners-guide-starting-plant-based-diet/">Forks Over Knives</a> offers a great primer for beginners.

If you’re not ready to take the plunge and switch to a completely meat-free diet, though, if everyone adopted <a href="http://www.meatlessmonday.com/articles/cop21-meatless-monday-less-meat-less-heat/">Meatless Mondays</a>, it could help the planet by reducing greenhouse gas emissions as much as 1.3 gigatons by 2050.

And that’s not even taking into account the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3662288/">growing body of literature</a> suggesting plant-based diets are healthier.
<h3>5. Tell businesses what they’re doing right, and how they can improve.</h3>
As nice as it would be to believe we can save the world by picking up some trash and changing a lightbulb, there’s a much bigger picture out there. What businesses choose to do – or choose to ignore – can have a much bigger impact than even a committed group of people choosing to change their lifestyles.

That’s no reason to give up! It just means it’s time to reach out to businesses and ask them to help the planet when they can, too.

For example, do you buy from a grocery store that carries only paper bags, or an online retailer that uses as little packaging as possible? Let them know you appreciate it. Make an effort to buy <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eco-friendly-office-supplies/">eco-friendly office supplies</a> or shampoo in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/beach-plastic-shampoo-bottles/">bottles made from recycled plastic</a>. 

And when businesses can do better, let them know. Ask your favorite restaurant to switch to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/village-scotland-plastic-straws/">paper straws</a>, and encourage your local sports venues to aim for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/college-sporting-venues-zero-waste/">zero waste</a>. 
<h3>6. Write to your elected officials.</h3>
Like with No. 5, you can get more done by reaching out to people with power than trying to make a few small changes yourself. Ask your elected officials to offer incentives to businesses that switch to greener products, or to remove regulations that keep them from doing so. Encourage tax breaks for homeowners who add solar panels or rain collection systems to their homes.

You can also encourage your city and county officials to adopt greener practices on government-owned properties, such as switching offices to solar energy systems, installing car charging stations and adopting landscaping practices that use less water or prevent pesticide runoff.
<h3>Bonus: Want to take on a bigger task to help the planet?</h3>
Here’s a challenge that can be done a little at a time or all at once, depending on how much work you’re up for: Replace your landscaping with native plants.

Native plants tend to need less work and save water, since they’re already adapted for the location where they’re being planted. Better yet, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/prepare-bees-pollinator-garden/">local pollinators tend to do better with native plants</a> as food sources than with those imported from other areas. Some even rely on specific plants for breeding or laying eggs.

You don’t have to switch all at once, and there’s no need to get rid of your favorite flowers. However, replacing a few water-hungry, poorly adapted shrubs or a lawn for natives can add a small but meaningful boost to the local ecosystem.

—

By Kyla Cathey,<a href="http://www.earth.com"> Earth.com</a> staff writer

Want to help the planet this Earth Day? Here's how

Earth Day is a good time to stop and think...

Earth Day was first envisioned in its current form during the social struggles of America in 1970.  Separately, John McConnell, an activist living in San Francisco, and Gaylord Nelson, a Senator from Wisconsin, turned to Americans for a day of grassroots activism promoting and celebrating Earth’s natural environment.  Gaylord Nelson chose April 22 as his first Earth Day, the date springing from earlier celebrations of Arbor Day. 

Arbor Day was originally promoted in the dusty, windblown state of Nebraska, most likely as a common sense practical way of making life on the prairie more bearable.  Trees of course hold down soil important for agriculture, provide shade and are used for basic building materials. As a journalist who moved to Nebraska with his family in 1854, Julius Sterling Morton encouraged pioneers to plant trees in his writings.  

Soon becoming the Secretary of Nebraska Territory, Morton’s influence grew and in 1872, he first proposed a holiday dedicated to planting trees, the first Arbor Day.  Prizes were offered for the counties and individuals that planted the most trees on that first Arbor Day, leading to an estimated one million trees planted in Nebraska on that first day.  As a new state, Arbor Day was made an official holiday in 1874 set on April 10, eventually the day was changed to be celebrated on Morton’s birthday April 22. Gaylord Nelson, a fellow inhabitant of the midwest in Julius Sterling Morton’s Nebraska, was happy to make his first Earth Day on April 22.  

John McConnell, the peace activist turned environmentalist of San Francisco, first chose another spring day, the Spring Equinox, for his Earth Day celebration in 1970.  Equinox marks the changing seasons as the day in spring when the day and night are equal in length. In choosing the spring Equinox, McConnell seemed to choose a day the Earth itself set, a natural holiday bearing little connection to the human calendar. 

McConnell wasn’t the first to notice the Equinox and celebrate it.  In choosing the Equinox, McConnell invokes in the imagination ancient ceremonies, midnight dances in glades or amidst sacred oak groves.

Easter also has connections to the Equinox.  The Bible says that Jesus’ death and resurrection occurred around the Jewish Passover, a holiday set at the first full moon after Equinox.  The name Easter has an origin stranger and more pagan than the holiday’s association with Passover. It comes from an old Germanic goddess of fertility and spring, and when you look closely at the non-Christian symbolism, it becomes obvious it’s not all about Jesus.  Flowers, rabbits and eggs are all great symbols for spring, fertility and rebirth of a different type than biblical resurrection. The church was very adept at doing appropriated earlier pagan celebrations, which now remain mostly in the superficial Easter trappings of candy and Easter Egg hunts.  

There are other less well known celebrations of the Equinox.  In the ancient Maya City of Chichen Itza, what many see as the intentional shadow of a feathered serpent climbs down the stairs of the towering 79-foot tall Pyramid of Kukulkán during the spring and fall equinoxes.  The central tower of the storied ruins of Ankor Wat in Cambodia was built so that it aligns directly with the rising sun on the Spring Equinox. Hovenweep Castle in the western United States and the more famous Stonehenge both seem to accord significance to equinox.  

The date in spring is a good time to celebrate as well.  Even if you’re not celebrating the spring weather by dancing around a May Pole dedicated to a Roman goddess of flowers or attending midnight feasts, the weather is hard to resist.  

Recently I attended a celebration of Easter consisting of a Native American vigil starting on Saturday and continuing all night ‘til Easter morning.  The ceremony was multi-faceted and like no other ceremony I’d ever attended or even knew of. The church was an open courtyard surrounded by a few open-air Ramadas.  One Ramada was obviously Christian, with an altar littered with icons of the Orthodox Catholic variety. In front of the Christian Ramada, a Maypole dance wove intricate ribbons around a pole, a dance and ceremony undoubtedly pagan, probably originating in a Roman celebration of a flower goddess.  A mesquite fire burned in front of another Ramada where dancers enacted a deer dance. The main dancer wore a deer head tied on top of his own, blindfolding him in a way that signifies the man as a mere conduit of the deer which sees instead of the human medium. Music of rattles, drums, harps fill the Ramada.  Rattles made of cocoons filled with gravel adorn the dancer’s legs and hoof rattles are tied around his waist. To my European eyes, the dance is reminiscent of celebrations of the horned nature god, sometimes called Pan. 

The first celebrations of Earth Day were the beginnings of an environmental awakening for American college students in particular.  The date of April 22nd chosen by Senator Nelson had other implications beyond nature, as it was a day between spring break and final exams.  In short, the date for the first Earth Day was set to encourage as much college student involvement as possible. The idea was to harness some of the energy from the anti-war movement for the betterment of the environment.  

Some of the first forms of activism were simply teach-ins at college campuses; seminars simply teaching the perilous environmental degradation continuing to plague us today.  The seeds these seminars planted bore real political fruit. Only eight years before the first earth day, Rachael Carson’s Silent Spring was published, and Ed Abbey’s Desert Solitaire was published two years before in 1968.  The American Consciousness was being re-awoken to the splendor of nature and the mess often made of it. 

The first Earth Day kicked off what became known as a decade of environmental legislation.  At the end of the decade after the first Earth Day, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was formed and the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Act were passed.  The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was actually signed into law on January 1, 1970, by Nixon, foreshadowing the first Earth Day that would come that spring. NEPA basically ordered government agencies to consider environmental impact; though the law is vague and prescribes no real percussion.  These environmental laws set the stage for every environmental lawsuit taken up in America since and created the whole concept of Environmental Law. 

This year Earth Day Celebrants are planning on taking on a problem as ambitious as water and air pollution: <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-pollution-oceans-triple/">plastic pollution</a>.  The theme for Earth Day 2018 is “End Plastic Pollution.” It’s ambitious, but Earth Day helped implement the basis for environmental policy in the United States, legislation that has helped protect air, water and other organisms.

Ending plastic pollution is very important, too.  According to <a href="http://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/">plasticpollutioncoalition.org</a>, by 2050 our oceans will contain more plastic than fish by weight.  Disposable plastic is ubiquitous, from bottled water to plastic wrap and bags at the grocery store; the stuff is everywhere.  Plastic rings from six-packs of beer and soda choke turtles and birds, chemicals leeched from plastic slowly poison human blood streams; insidiously joining even mother’s milk.  According to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/">Britannica</a>, 50% of disposable plastic isn’t recycled, it isn’t even sent to landfills, it’s simply tossed into the environment, becoming so much litter.       

If you want to celebrate the Earth and if you want to show the powers that be that the environment and ending plastic pollution is important to you, anyone can visit <a href="https://www.earthday.org/">earthday.org</a> to learn about celebrations and activism in your area and how to stage your own public event.         

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

How April 22nd became Earth Day

Earth Day was first envisioned in its current form during...

A new study by the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">US Geological Survey</a> (USGS) has revealed the shocking potential of an earthquake generated by the Hayward fault, a 52-mile fault that stretches throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, which is home to millions of people. 

The researchers simulated the impact of a hypothetical <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-york-city-earthquake/">earthquake</a> with a magnitude of 7.0 occurring along the fault line. They concluded that an earthquake of this strength would kill hundreds of people, injure thousands, and leave up to 25,000 people trapped in collapsed buildings.

According to the experts, property damage would exceed $82 billion, including the total destruction of up to 152,000 homes and the displacement of over 400,000 people. The earthquake would be capable of triggering hundreds of gas or electric-related fires, and municipal water systems would be down for as many as six months.


Violent ground shaking would rumble across the entire Bay Area. This ground motion could liquefy saturated sandy soils in a process known as liquefaction. Furthermore, destructive aftershocks could continue for months.

The USGS conducted the study, called “The HayWired Earthquake Scenario,” to better prepare the public for a major earthquake.

While it may seem unlikely that an earthquake of this magnitude will strike, the researchers pointed out that the Hayward fault has produced strong earthquakes every 100-220 years for the last 1,900 years. 

The most recent major earthquakes along the Hayward fault occurred approximately 150 years apart, which is the exact number of years since the last massive rupture took place in 1868.

USGS earthquake geologist David Schwartz told the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/">Los Angeles Times</a>: “The fault is what we sort of call a tectonic time bomb. It’s just waiting to go off.”

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

San Francisco area fault could produce devastating earthquake

A new study by the US Geological Survey (USGS) has...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/obama-protect-streams-forests-coal-mining/">Coal mining</a> in the United States is an environmentally destructive and politically contentious topic. It’s currently regulated by two federal statutes; the 1972 Clean Water Act, which regulates the discharge of dredged or fill material and other pollutants, and the 1977 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, which set operational standards to reduce the impacts of both surface and underground mines. But it’s been clear in recent years that these policies are not enough to eliminate the negative impacts of coal mining.

A recent study published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natsustain/">Nature Sustainability</a> has found that coal mining in the U.S. has significantly reduced the abundance and variety of fish, invertebrates, salamanders, and other aquatic life that lives in streams. This impact on stream biodiversity could also extend to humans and harm everything from recreational fishing and hunting to public health outcomes.

It’s long been known that coal mining negatively affects water quality, but this research is the first to provide a quantitative analysis of the impact on different aquatic species affected by various coal mining efforts. To do this, the researchers analyzed data on the richness and abundance of species in streams impacted by coal mining, as well as streams that were unaffected. 

The results showed that streams affected by coal mining were 32 percent lower in taxonomic richness and 53 percent lower in total abundance than unmined streams, on average. And this wasn’t a short-term effect. Even after mining companies attempted to reclaim mined lands and bring them back to health, streams in these areas still had lower richness and abundance of species than unmined streams. “Our investigation demonstrates that current US regulations are insufficient to fully protect stream biodiversity,” the authors say. 

In this study, the researchers also identified a number of watersheds that will be affected the most over the next two decades. These watersheds are mainly found in the central and southern Appalachians and on the Colorado Plateau. The authors also state that the consequences of coal mining go beyond loss of aquatic species. Coal mining can affect the health of entire communities, and is linked to increased human mortality from lung cancer, chronic health problems, and kidney disease.

The authors make multiple recommendations for combating these issues. These include reinstating the Stream Protection Rule originally implemented in 2016 and repealed in 2017, as well as strengthening current regulations to reduce the impact of coal mining on stream biodiversity. The study’s lead author, Xingli Giam of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, explains, “Our article will be interesting to policymakers as well as the broad public as trade-offs between fossil fuel development and environmental conservation are currently being actively debated in the political arena.”

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By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Coal mining negatively impacts aquatic life in U.S. streams

Coal mining in the United States is an environmentally destructive...

According to the <a href="http://www.lung.org/">American Lung Association</a>, at least 41 percent of residents in the United States are exposed to harmful smog and air pollution. The organization's latest report, <a href="http://www.lung.org/local-content/california/our-initiatives/state-of-the-air/2018/state-of-the-air-2018.html">The State of the Air 2018</a>, has revealed that 4 out of 10 Americans live in counties with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-respiratory-infections/">unhealthy levels</a> of ozone or particulate matter.

The research, which was focused on air pollution in the United States from 2014 to 2016, found a spike in the number of days with high levels of ground-level ozone, or smog. The experts said this pollution can be primarily attributed to rising temperatures, and 2016 was the country's second hottest year on record.

Janice Nolen is the Assistant Vice President of National Policy for the American Lung Association and the author of the annual report. She explained that the findings of this research provide further evidence that “a changing climate is making it harder to protect human health.” 

“With record-setting heat in 2016, high ozone days zoomed, putting millions more people at risk and adding challenges to the work cities are doing across the nation to clean up,” wrote Nolen.

Overall, year-round particle pollution was found to be reduced with fewer episodes of high particle days.

“The best progress came in the continued reduction of year-round particle pollution, thanks to cleaner power plants and increased use of cleaner vehicles and engines,” Nolen stated. She said that this progress must continue in order to further reduce the risk of asthma, lung cancer, and premature death.

Most of the cities with the highest year-round levels of ozone and particle pollution are in California including Visalia-Porterville-Hanford, Bakersfield, Los Angeles-Long Beach, and Fresno-Madera. 

While Los Angeles was found to have the worst ozone pollution in the United States, the worst year-round particle pollution was discovered for the first time in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Cities which were observed to have the cleanest air in the United States include Bellingham, Washington; Burlington, Vermont; Casper, Wyoming; and Wilmington, North Carolina.

Nolen stressed the importance of upholding The Clean Air Act, legislation that is being weakened by the Trump administration.

“This year's report provides continued evidence that the United States must continue to fight climate change and support and enforce the Clean Air Act to protect the nation from unhealthy air,” said Nolen.

“This law has driven improvements in air quality for 48 years, improvements that the State of the Air 2018 continues to document. The nation must ensure that the Clean Air Act's tools remain in place, funded and followed.”

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Almost half of Americans breathe unsafe levels of air pollution

According to the American Lung Association, at least 41 percent...

Warming temperatures are causing a dangerous chain reaction in the Antarctic that is further driving ice melt, sea level rise, and climate change. 

The process increasing ocean temperatures in the Antarctic was only recently identified by researchers from the <a href="http://www.imas.utas.edu.au/">Institute for Marine Marine and Antarctic Studies</a> (IMAS) at the University of Tasmania. 

During a winter expedition to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarcticas-ice-sheet-shifting/">Antarctic</a>, a research team led by Alessandro Silvano, a Ph.D. student at IMAS, discovered that glacial meltwater is accelerating climate change and ice melt. 

When glacial meltwater ends up in the ocean, the fresh glacial melt stays on the surface. 

The saltier water in the lower depths can’t mix with the cooler surface water so the meltwater effectively works as an insulator. 

“This process is similar to what happens when you put oil and water in a container, with the oil floating on top because it's lighter and less dense,” said Silvano. 

The process is creating a cyclical chain reaction that just further drives the effects of climate change. As temperatures increase, glaciers continue to melt, the meltwater stays on the surface, and ocean waters below get warmer, causing more meltage. 

"We found that in this way increased glacial meltwater can cause a positive feedback, driving further melt of ice shelves and hence an increase in sea level rise,” said Silvano. “Our study shows that this feedback process is not only possible but is in fact already underway, and may drive further acceleration of the rate of sea level rise in the future.”

The increase in glacial meltwater in the Antarctic is also slowing down ocean currents which reduces the ocean’s carbon and heat storage abilities. 

Warmer water below the ocean’s surface may also help explain the rapid sea-level rise that's occurred throughout the centuries. 

“Our results suggest that a further increase in the supply of glacial meltwater to the waters around the Antarctic shelf may trigger a transition from a cold regime to a warm regime, characterised by high rates of melting from the base of ice shelves and reduced formation of cold bottom waters that support ocean uptake of atmospheric heat and carbon dioxide,” said Silvano. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Alessandro Silvano

Antarctic glacial meltwater driving ice melt, sea level rise

Warming temperatures are causing a dangerous chain reaction in the...

Extreme drought conditions and high winds are fueling the rapid spread of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfires-southern-california/">wildfires</a> in western Oklahoma. Two people have lost their lives and dozens of homes have been destroyed as the fires continue to grow.

The largest of the wildfires, the Rhea Fire, has now burned close to 300,000 acres and is only around 10 percent contained. Across several communities in Dewey County, 50 homes and hundreds of buildings have been consumed by the massive fire.

An official from Woods County, Oklahoma, told the <a href="https://www.ap.org/en-us/">Associated Press</a> that the number of cattle killed in the state is at least in the hundreds. Pastures have been demolished by the fires, creating an urgent need for hay to feed the surviving cattle.

The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Fire Warning for parts of western Oklahoma on Wednesday, and a state of emergency was declared for 52 counties.

Shawna Hartman, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Forestry Service, told <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/news">BuzzFeed News</a> that the weather conditions have now reached “historic” levels after no rain has fallen in the region for 150 days. 

BuzzFeed is also reporting that 18 percent of Oklahoma is experiencing exceptional drought, which is the most severe classification of drought, and these areas have been hit the hardest by the wildfires. Dry vegetation is facilitating the rapid spread of fire along with low humidity and high winds. 

Fire danger warnings are in place for parts of Kansas, New Mexico, Texas, and Colorado as well, where the current weather conditions are conducive to fires starting and spreading very quickly.

Rain is in the forecast for western Oklahoma beginning Friday, and may provide some much-needed relief for hundreds of firefighters and members of the National Guard who are tirelessly battling the fires.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/pierre_markuse/26623971797/in/album-72157665823633997/">Pierre Markuse/ Flickr</a>/ESA Copernicus Sentinel-2A

Explosive wildfires continue to rage across western Oklahoma

Extreme drought conditions and high winds are fueling the rapid...

These days, it seems like we’re getting only bad news about the state of coral in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coral-bleaching-fish-diversity/">Great Barrier Reef</a>. Between overfishing, climate change, and the resulting ocean acidification, it’s hard to feel optimistic about the future of this unique and diverse ecosystem. But a new study reported in <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/">PLOS Genetics</a> may finally have some good news.

Researcher Mikhail Matz from the <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/">University of Texas at Austin</a> and his colleagues developed a model to estimate the ability of a specific coral species to evolve to warming ocean conditions by redistributing existing heat-tolerance genes. The coral species – Acropora millepora – is commonly found in the Great Barrier Reef. This model was programmed to take into account the coral’s present-day genetic diversity and how far its larvae migrate before settling down.

The results of the model predict that the coral will become more sensitive to temperature swings, which will result in occasional die-offs. But ultimately, coral populations will be able to adapt to temperatures throughout the reef and could persist for at least another 100 years. However, it is uncertain whether or not corals will be able to adapt any further, and depends on a number of unknown parameters of coral genetics. 

The study shows that, while recent coral bleaching events are certainly worrisome, they do not necessarily indicate that there is an imminent coral die-off on the horizon. These findings can also help inform future reef management strategies, leading to interventions that reshuffle coral genetic diversity throughout the reefs, which could enhance the coral’s chances of survival as climate change progresses.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit Mikhail V. Matz and colleagues

Finally some optimistic news for coral in Earth’s warming oceans

These days, it seems like we’re getting only bad news...

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing it with probiotics and prebiotics, aiming to create a treat that satisfies cravings while supporting gut health. 



The challenge lies in maintaining chocolate's beloved texture and flavor while adding health benefits.



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Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



Prebiotics act as food for these microbes, helping them thrive. Together, they form "synbiotics," a powerful health combination.



Researchers Smriti Gaur and Shubhi Singh from India's Jaypee Institute of Information Technology took an innovative approach, using natural prebiotics like corn and honey instead of complex processing methods. 



They created five chocolate varieties: a control and four synbiotic versions containing different combinations of prebiotics, probiotics (Lactobacillus strains), and flavor enhancers (cinnamon or orange).



Laboratory simulations of human digestion showed the probiotics remained viable for over five hours, suggesting they could survive long enough to benefit gut health.



Taste tests were positive, with researchers particularly enjoying the orange-flavored variety, describing it as having "vibrant citrus notes" complementing the "rich cocoa" with a "luxurious" texture.



This research represents just the beginning. With further refinement of strains, textures, and flavors, chocolate could evolve beyond mere indulgence to become a functional food that nourishes while it delights.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Food Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Designing crops that can beat the heat

[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Carl...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes the first comprehensive estimate of carbon density in the Saharan, Sahel, and Sudanian zones of Africa. In an effort to measure the amount of carbon stored across these drylands, a team of scientists used high-resolution satellite images and artificial intelligence to map nearly 10 billion individual trees. 



"The high spatial resolution (50 cm) combined with AI and field measurements used in this study is key to improving tree inventories in drylands," said Pierre Hiernaux, a French researcher working for NASA. "The ever-increasing availability of very high-resolution satellite imagery will make it possible to assess carbon pools and their dynamics at the individual tree level on a global scale."



"This study is exceptional because it is pioneering a type of approach that will revolutionize the monitoring of trees and forests on a global scale: in the short term, it will be possible to map the world's trees from the centre of the Amazon to our schoolyards," said <a href="https://www.inrae.fr/en">INRAE</a> researcher Jean-Pierre Wigneron.



"Many fields of application will become much more efficient and accurate, such as tracking carbon stocks, biodiversity, monitoring logging and protection against illegal forest degradation, in near real time.”



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features northwest Lesotho in South Africa.



According to ESA, Lesotho is the only nation in the world that lies completely above 1,000 m in elevation. The country is famous for its tall mountains and narrow valleys, and is known as Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky."



Out of a population of around two million people, about 80 percent live in rural areas. More than 75 percent of these people are engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-have-a-global-impact-on-agriculture/">agriculture</a>, including rainfed cereal production and animal grazing.&nbsp;



ESA reports that the country’s agricultural system faces a growing number of issues, with climate-related vulnerabilities such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. 



Diamonds are amongst the minerals found in the mountains. Indeed, Lesotho can truly be called the Kingdom in the Sky. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable, and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: 'Muso oa Lesotho) is an enclaved country in southern Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around 2 million.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"] Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> features a visual dataset of.methane emissions from wetlands across the globe. Atmospheric methane levels have reached record highs in recent years, and wetlands are a major source of these emissions.&nbsp;



"Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. On a molecule by molecule basis, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the main driver of warming," says NASA.



"Though human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, collectively contribute the majority of methane to the atmosphere, about a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands."&nbsp;



According to NASA, understanding methane emissions from wetlands and other natural sources is critically important for scientists and policymakers who are working to combat climate change by reducing emissions from human activities.



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> reveals the evolution of the Columbia Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Columbia is among the fastest shrinking glaciers in the world, and the video documents its rapid retreat over the years.&nbsp;



Columbia Glacier is a large, multi-branched calving glacier that flows out of the Chugach Mountains to the Prince William Sound.&nbsp;



According to USGS, Columbia had a long history of stability prior to 1980, with a length 41 miles, and small, short-lived advances or retreats.



In the years since 1980, however, satellite images have captured Columbia’s alarming retreat. By using false-color images, scientists can distinguish between snow and ice, open water, vegetation, and rocky debris on the glacier’s surface.



The series of false-color images featured in today's video were acquired over the span of 35 years. You can see that by 2021, the glacier’s main branch had retreated about 15 miles from its initial position.



The Columbia Glacier has also lost more than 50 percent of its volume, mostly due to calving. <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/nasa-reveals-3d-visual-of-an-atmospheric-river/">NASA</a> reports that while climate change likely started the retreat, mechanical processes kept the disintegration going.



The NASA images are provided by Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Joshua Stevens, and Lauren Dauphin using data from Landsat satellites, from the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite. The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. 



Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other.



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/&nbsp; NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes how record-breaking heat expressed itself around the world in 2022.



Scientists have determined that 2022 was the 5th warmest year since 1880. Furthermore, the last nine consecutive years have been the warmest on record.



From devastating floods and wildfires to natural disasters like Hurricane Ian, 2022 showed us yet again how a warming climate affects people across the globe.&nbsp;



"As we look back at 20:22 and years past, we see that each year we better understand the challenges we face and how important it is to meet them," says NASA.



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science explores how changes in water temperatures have affected tiger shark habitats and movements in the North Atlantic Ocean. The study reveals that rising temperatures have caused the sharks to shift toward the poles over the past 40 years.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



The researchers analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.



The experts found that during the last decade of record heat, for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. They also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



“Given their role as apex predators, these changes to tiger shark movements may alter predator-prey interactions, leading to ecological imbalances, and more frequent encounters with humans,” concluded Professor Hammerschlag.



Video Credit: University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

Today’s Video of the Day from the University of Miami...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> is focused on the melt ponds that emerge during the spring and summer on the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere.



"Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets and are visible as turquoise-blue pools of water in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image," says ESA.



"When snow and ice melts atop glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface. These melt ponds can speed up the melting of the surrounding ice since they greatly reduce the ice’s ability to reflect sunlight."



"This can create a positive feedback where an increasing number of melt ponds absorb more heat which causes ice cover to melt even faster."



According to ESA, Greenland has been hit with a late-season heatwave that began in early September. This caused the type of melt event that usually occurs in the middle of summer.



"In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists found that major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now ‘inevitable’ even if the burning of fossil fuels were to halt overnight," says ESA. "Using satellite observations of Greenland ice loss and ice cap from 2000 to 2019, the team found the losses will lead to a minimum rise of 27 cm regardless of climate change."



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes how Earth is unique in our solar system for its ability to sustain liquid water on its surface. But now, the water cycle is shifting as the climate warms, and scientists must find ways to predict how these changes will affect water availability.



Overall, 96 percent of Earth's water is saltwater, and nearly all of freshwater is found in ice and groundwater. These sources of water are linked as it passes through solid, liquid and gas phases.



In a warmer climate, the water cycle will be transformed. It will be easier for water to evaporate and form clouds, and storms will become more frequent and intense. Some regions will get too much water, while others will be left without enough water. In addition, soil moisture will be lost - which threatens food security.



Scientists are using satellite data from over the last 40 years to track changes that are happening in the water cycle. This will ultimately help us prepare for extreme events and better manage our water resources, according to ESA.



Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> features images of Saturn from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The photographs capture the start of the mysterious "spoke season" on Saturn - when unexplained features appear on its rings. 



According to NASA, both the cause of the spokes and their seasonal variability have yet to be fully explained by planetary scientists.



"Like Earth, Saturn is tilted on its axis and therefore has four seasons, though because of Saturn's much larger orbit, each season lasts approximately seven Earth years. Equinox occurs when the rings are tilted edge-on to the Sun," explains NASA.



"The spokes disappear when it is near summer or winter solstice on Saturn. (When the Sun appears to reach either its highest or lowest latitude in the northern or southern hemisphere of a planet.) As the autumnal equinox of Saturn's northern hemisphere on May 6, 2025, draws near, the spokes are expected to become increasingly prominent and observable."



Experts believe that the spokes may be a product of the planet's variable magnetic field. When magnetic fields interact with solar wind, an electrically charged environment is created. This phenomenon is visible on Earth as the northern lights.&nbsp;



"Scientists think that the smallest, dust-sized icy ring particles can become charged as well, which temporarily levitates those particles above the rest of the larger icy particles and boulders in the rings," says NASA.



The spokes were first observed in the early 1980s by NASA's Voyager mission. Depending on the angle of the rings, the spokes can appear dark or light.



"Thanks to Hubble's OPAL program, which is building an archive of data on the outer solar system planets, we will have longer dedicated time to study Saturn’s spokes this season than ever before," said NASA senior planetary scientist Amy Simon, head of the Hubble Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program.



"Despite years of excellent observations by the Cassini mission, the precise beginning and duration of the spoke season is still unpredictable, rather like predicting the first storm during hurricane season."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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Closeup,Of,Fresh,Green,The,Napier,Bush,Grass,As,Animal

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="http://www.ntu.edu.sg/">NTU Singapore</a> reveals that some plants can remove toxic heavy metals from soil.&nbsp;



The researchers analyzed samples of various tropical plant species to test for levels of heavy metals and metalloids. The study showed that there are existing plants with high levels of these contaminants, which means that these species are great candidates for drawing pollutants out of the soil.&nbsp;



Among the plants examined in the study, 12 species had accumulated several types of heavy metals and metalloids. These plants are widely available, including species that are native to Singapore.



“In a small nation like Singapore, land may be repurposed to support new development plans, so it is important that we have a green and sustainable way to remediate land that is contaminated," said Professor Lam Yeng Ming.



"We set out to uncover how to better make use of tropical plants to do phytoremediation and through advanced characterization techniques, we showed how some of these tropical plant species can be an environmentally friendly and literally a 'green' way to remove contaminants in soil."&nbsp;



"Phytoremediation also has benefits of cost effectiveness, simplicity of management, aesthetic advantages, and long-term applicability and sustainability. The strategy prevents erosion and metal leaching by stabilizing or accumulating heavy metals, so that helps reduce the risk of contaminant spread.”



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

[sendtonews key="6SdlLLbt0t-1988946-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NTU...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes why herbicides are not as effective in killing weeds anymore. In the 20th century, chemical companies developed thousands of herbicides. The most commonly used herbicide was glyphosate, which was introduced in 1974.



Over the past few decades, dozens of species of weeds have evolved resistance to glyphosate. Depending on the site of action, the part of the plant that an herbicide interacts with, weeds may even be resistant to herbicides that have not been developed yet.&nbsp;



With increasing resistance to glyphosate and other herbicides, weeds are - once again - becoming a major concern for farmers.&nbsp;



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/">NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a> (JPL) describes a dust storm on Mars that was nearly twice the size of the United States. As the storm covered the southern hemisphere of the planet, some of NASA’s explorers had to delay their normal activities.



NASA’s Insight lander put itself in a "safe mode" for 11 days to conserve battery power because solar power was disrupted by the dust. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter postponed flights until conditions improved.



"A fleet of NASA orbiters monitor Martian dust storms like this one and serve as lifelines to Earth by relaying data from the rovers and lander on the ground back to the team. This includes the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MAVEN, and Odyssey," reports JPL.



"Dust storms like this recent one start close to the ground and are spread by wind as they rise – warming the cold Martian atmosphere."



The images in the video were captured by NASA’s Curiosity as the dust rolled in. A fleet of orbiters monitored the dust storm from above, relaying data from Mars’ explorers back to scientists on Earth.



Video &amp; Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="http://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. This strait provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean.



Qeshm is separated from the Iranian coast by the Clarence Strait, also known as Khuran.&nbsp;The Hara Forest Protected Area is a network of shallow waterways and forest located between the island and the mainland. This protected region is home to sea turtles, snakes, and more than 150 species of migrating birds.



Qeshm is famous for its wide range of&nbsp;ecotourist&nbsp;attractions, such as the&nbsp;Hara marine forests. According to environmentalists, about 1.5 percent of the world birds and 25 percent of Iran's native <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/female-hummingbirds-avoid-sexual-harassment-by-looking-like-males/">birds</a> annually migrate to the forests, which are the first national geo park in Iran.



Tourists are also drawn to the island to see an age-old Portuguese&nbsp;fort, historic mosques, the&nbsp;Seyyed Mozaffar&nbsp;and&nbsp;Bibi Maryam&nbsp;shrines, and the "Valley of Stars."



The average temperature on the island is 81 degress and the region is often hot and humid. From June to August, the island is described as being oppressively hot. The ideal time to visit is during the winter season. 



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique.&nbsp;



"Inhambane Bay is a deep inlet into which the small Mutamba River flows," says ESA. "On one side of the bay lies the historical city of Inhambane, capital of the Inhambane Province, while the sister city of Maxixe, the economic capital of Inhambane, sits across from it. The province is the second largest grower of cashews, after Nampula, and it also produces coconut and citrus fruits."



The beaches of Barra and Tofo are popular with tourists. There are also coral reefs along the long coastline of Inhambane, making it an ideal destination for scuba diving and snorkeling.



"Mozambique’s extensive coastline heightens the country’s vulnerability to tropical cyclones that develop in the Indian Ocean as well as storm surge flooding," says ESA.



"More than half of the population lives in low lying coastal areas, putting communities at risk. Inhambane Bay was dangerously close to where Cyclone Idai made landfall in 2019 causing widespread destruction to the country."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency </a>&nbsp;features the Kangerlussuaq Glacier, one of the largest tidewater outlet glaciers in Greenland. The glacier is located on the east coast of the Greenland ice sheet.



As human-induced climate change continues to drive up temperatures, global ice loss is accelerating at an alarming rate. ESA reports that, over the past decade alone, 3.5 trillion tons of ice have melted from the Greenland ice sheet. This is enough to cover the UK with meltwater 15 meters deep.



Based on satellite imagery, researchers determined that Kangerlussuaq entered a new phase of rapid retreat and acceleration in 2017. In their study, published in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2019.00123/full">Frontiers in Earth Science</a>,&nbsp; the experts report that the glacier's ice front is now at its most retreated position since the early 20th century.



"Given Kangerlussuaq’s previous impacts on both the magnitude and pattern of ice sheet wide mass loss, we predict that its new phase of retreat, acceleration and thinning will markedly enhance the south-east region’s contribution to increasing discharge from the ice sheet," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"More broadly, accurate forecasting of the ice sheet’s contribution to sea level rise will require a deeper understanding of, and responses to, these non-linear ice dynamic processes."



Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes the complex relationship between ocean and climate. ESA's Climate Change Initiative will help us understand how oceans influence the climate and how climate change is impacting the oceans.&nbsp;



"Earth’s oceans are huge heat stores, soaking up 93% of the excess heat from human activity over the past 70 years. Ocean currents redistribute heat around the planet, from the Equator to the poles. Where this ocean heat goes influences weather patterns and regional climate," explains ESA.



"As well as absorbing heat, oceans are a natural carbon sink, absorbing a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions from human activity. This has led to the acidification of ocean water, threating marine life."



The amount of heat and carbon dioxide soaked up by the ocean depends on specific variables, including phytoplankton, temperatures, waves, salinity, and ice cover. Satellites can be used to measure these variables from space.



"From their unique vantage point, satellites provide key information for understanding the complexities of our planet and monitoring environmental issues," says ESA.



Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Ocean heat influences regional climate

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes the importance of monitoring the shape of the sea surface, which is constantly changing. These observations have many applications, such as ship routing, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-modem-ocean-is-a-tough-place-for-whales-to-survive/">ocean</a> current forecasting, and debris tracking.



"A project supported by the Discovery element of ESA’s Basic Activities recently investigated a new technique to measure sea surface topography very precisely," reports ESA.



"The technique involves looking at satellite navigation (GNSS) signals that have been reflected off of the sea surface at very low angles. At these so-called grazing angles, waves and surface roughness have very little impact on the reflection process; the sea surface acts as a very smooth mirror."



Estel Cardellach is the principal investigator at the Institute for Space Studies of Catalonia, who first submitted the idea for the project.



“In a mirror-like reflection the phase of the signal can be tracked – it is continuous," said Cardellach. "Different surface heights result in different phase measurements. It gives a very precise measurement of the surface altitude at a few centimetres’ precision.”



The researchers developed a GNSS receiver and set up an experiment in the Balaeric Islands to collect signals from the receiver that were reflected off the sea surface. Ultimately, these signals will provide improved measurements of the shape of the sea surface.



Image/ Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Monitoring the dynamic shape of the sea surface

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