A massive new analysis suggests Americans don’t just differ in what they earn or how long they live - they also differ in how they experience wellness. 



Drawing on more than 325,000 survey responses collected over eight years, researchers found clear regional differences in wellness.



People in the Northeastern and Midwestern regions tend to score higher on “traditional” wellness, which includes <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fitness-focused-medicine-physical-activity-reduces-chronic-disease-risk/">physical health,</a> finances, and social support.



Many Southern regions, by contrast, rank higher on “existential” wellness, such as purpose, meaning, and a strong sense of community identity. The pattern lines up with centuries-old settlement histories that still shape local norms today.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-measuring-wellness-two-ways">Measuring wellness two ways</h2>



The team worked with data from the <a href="https://news.gallup.com/topic/well-being-index.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index</a> spanning 2009–2016 and grouped responses into two broader composites.



“Traditional” wellness bundles tangible aspects of life - physical and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mental-health-crisis-half-of-the-worlds-population-will-be-affected-by-age-75/">mental health</a>, financial security, and day-to-day social support. 



“Existential” wellness captures the less tangible side - purpose, personal growth, community belonging, and living in line with one’s values.



Separating the two helps explain why some places thrive on paper (jobs, hospitals, income) yet still report a thinner sense of meaning - or the reverse.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-old-map-explains-modern-feelings"><a></a>An old map explains modern feelings</h2>



To test whether regional culture matters in wellness, the researchers turned to the American Nations Model. 



This framework divides the U.S. into historical “nations” based on who settled there first. Think Yankeedom, the Deep South, Greater Appalachia, El Norte, and others.



Each region inherited durable folkways about trust, autonomy, community, and authority. Even after accounting for education and income, these cultural footprints predicted distinctive wellness profiles where people live.



The headline split was clear. Northeastern and Midwestern regions, including Yankeedom, leaned higher on traditional wellness. 



Several Southern and frontier-legacy regions - such as the Deep South, Greater Appalachia, El Norte, and parts of the Far West - leaned higher on existential wellness.



In other words, the balance of “health and money” versus “purpose and belonging” shifts in systematic ways across the cultural map.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wellness-differences-stand-out">Wellness differences stand out</h2>



Statistically, the contrasts weren’t subtle. In within-region comparisons, traditional wellness significantly exceeded existential wellness in Yankeedom.



Existential wellness was higher in the Deep South and especially Greater Appalachia - the largest reversal in the set.



Several other regions showed smaller or no gaps, demonstrating that not every place fits a single mold.



These effects held in mixed-effects models that controlled for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-education-matters-for-healthy-aging-and-longevity/">education</a> and income and accounted for clustering within metropolitan areas.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/existential-wellness_american-nations-settlements_PLOS-One_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/existential-wellness_american-nations-settlements_PLOS-One_1s.webp" alt="Wellbeing across the American Nations: First Settler Effects influence traditional and existential wellness. Credit: David R. Samson, Nathan Oesch, Colin Woodard" class="wp-image-1985865"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Wellbeing across the American Nations: First Settler Effects influence traditional and existential wellness. Click image to enlarge. Credit: David R. Samson, Nathan Oesch, Colin Woodard</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-culture-race-and-wellness">Culture, race, and wellness</h2>



The study also looked at Black and Hispanic residents across regions. Patterns generally echoed the broader map. 



Black and Hispanic respondents tended to show higher traditional wellness in Northeastern and Midwestern regions. They also reported higher existential wellness in Southern regions.



Notably, Black respondents showed consistently lower traditional wellness than white respondents across regions. In the Northeast and Midwest, they also fared worse on existential wellness. 



Together, these patterns suggest that material constraints and structural disparities remain powerful drivers.



At the same time, the relatively stronger existential scores in many Southern contexts may reflect the buffering role of community networks and cultural identity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cultural-roots-of-wellness">Cultural roots of wellness</h2>



Culture shapes where institutions flourish (hospitals, schools, civic groups), how people relate to one another (trust, norms of reciprocity), and what counts as a good life (autonomy vs. solidarity, achievement vs. belonging).



Those long-running preferences influence migration, policy choices, and investments that, over time, help set the table for different “flavors” of well-being.



The authors found the pattern persisted even after adjusting for education and income, and they reported model checks to reduce issues like multicollinearity among predictors.



That suggests the American Nations framework isn’t just a clever historical story - it adds real explanatory power to why wellness feels different in different parts of the country.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wellness-policy-must-fit-culture">Wellness policy must fit culture</h2>



If you want to boost <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/simply-looking-at-art-can-improve-your-well-being/">well-being</a>, focusing only on income or clinics may miss what makes people feel whole in a given place.



In regions that already score high on traditional metrics, investing in community identity, public spaces, and opportunities for contribution might move the needle on meaning and purpose.



In places rich in existential wellness but poorer on traditional metrics, policies that improve access to preventive care, stable work, and safety nets could pay outsized dividends.



Put simply, the study argues that wellness strategies work best when they respect the cultural ecologies where people live - strengthening what’s already strong while shoring up what’s thin.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-limits-and-a-next-step"><a></a>Limits - and a next step</h2>



This is an observational study using self-reported survey data; it can’t prove cause and effect. The American Nations borders blur in real life, people move, and city-level differences within regions can be large.



Still, with more than 325,000 respondents across 110 metro areas and eight years of data, the signal is hard to ignore. 



The authors call for digging into mechanisms: Which specific institutions or community practices best translate cultural inheritance into day-to-day well-being? 



And which levers - health infrastructure, schooling, neighborhood design, civic organizations - offer the highest return in each region?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-place-and-culture-shape-wellness">Place and culture shape wellness</h2>



Where you live doesn’t just shape your paycheck and your hospital bill. It also shapes how you experience a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/creativity-improves-life-satisfaction-and-overall-well-being/">good life</a> - whether that’s feeling financially secure and physically well, or feeling rooted in purpose and community.



The United States’ oldest settlement patterns still echo in those experiences today. 



They remind policymakers that the most effective pathways to human flourishing may look different from Boston to Birmingham to El Paso.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0327972" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLOS One</a>.



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Wellness in America depends on culture and where you live

A massive new analysis suggests Americans don’t just differ in what they earn or how long they live - they also differ in how they experience wellness. Drawing on more than 325,000 survey responses collected over eight years, researchers found clear regional differences in wellness. People in the Northeastern and Midwestern regions tend to score higher on “traditional” wellness, which includes physical health, finances, and social support. Many Southern regions, by contrast, rank higher on “existential” wellness, such as purpose, meaning, and a strong sense of community...

In yet another <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/epa-freeze-fuel-efficiency-standards/">rollback of Obama-era policies</a> by the Trump administration, the <a href="https://www.usda.gov/">US Department of Agriculture</a> recently announced plans to relax nutrition standards put in place under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. 

Michelle Obama advocated for the 2010 legislation in an effort to battle childhood obesity, but also stirred up controversy and unappetizing photos of new school lunches. However, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/11/24/students-are-blaming-michelle-obama-for-their-gross-school-lunches/?utm_term=.54900778492a">studies showed</a> that children were eating healthier meals after the legislation was passed.

Now, any progress in school lunch nutrition made in the past eight years could be unraveled thanks to the new changes that will allow schools to serve flavored milk, more refined grains, and foods higher in sodium. 

The changes will go in effect in July and apply to school meals that qualify for federal reimbursement, according to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/08/us/trump-school-lunch-usda.html">New York Times</a>. 

Sonny Perdue, the Agriculture Secretary and the man behind the new plans, says that relaxed standards will make school lunches more appetizing and appealing to children. 

“If kids are not eating what is being served, they are not benefiting, and food is being wasted,” Perdue said in a statement.

On top of making lunches more appealing, the lowered standards will also be easier for schools to comply with and put less of a burden on the oil and coal industries, according to the Trump Administration. 

According to the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6475471/Schools-bring-junk-food-Trump-administration-eases-Michelle-Obamas-rules.html">Daily Mail</a>, the issue of compliance was questioned by the <a href="https://cspinet.org/">Center for Science in the Public Interest</a> because most schools that offer meals that qualify for federal reimbursement already complied with the regulations. 

Grains, sodium levels, and flavored milk will see some of the biggest changes under the new regulations. 

Under the Healthy Act, flavored milk was only allowed twice per week and all milk was nonfat and one percent.Now, schools can serve low-fat milk and chocolate milk every day. 

One of the main arguments for bringing chocolate and whole milk back is that under the previous regulations, children weren’t drinking enough milk. 

However, Miguel Villarreal the director of food and nutritional services for the Novato Unified School District in Northern California, told the New York Times that it just took a little adjustment for children to get used to non-flavored, low-fat milk. Often flavored milk is high in sugar and so is an unhealthy choice. 

The new regulations have garnered mixed and divided reactions, but the relaxed plans seem counterintuitive to well-established nutritional standards and dietary recommendations, particularly for children who are beginning to form lifelong food habits and preferences. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by Earth.com

Trump admin to roll back school lunch nutrition standards

In yet another rollback of Obama-era policies by the Trump...

Researchers have found that problem solving activities do not offset mental decline. On the other hand, exercising intellectual skills on a regular basis over the course of a lifetime does provide a “higher cognitive point” from which the mind will decline.  

A collection of past studies has suggested that mental ability can be maintained by exercising the mind with intellectually stimulating games such as Sudoku and crossword puzzles. 

These studies also found that reading from an early age and playing board games or musical instruments are all associated with a reduced risk of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/air-noise-pollution-dementia/">dementia</a>. However, there is a lack of historical mental ability data to support such conclusions.

A team of researchers led by Roger Staff at the <a href="https://www.abdn.ac.uk/">University of Aberdeen</a> set out to investigate the connection between intellectual engagement and mental ability in later life. The experts used data from the Scottish Council for Research in Education (SCRE), including population-based records of the Scottish Mental Surveys of 1947.

Nearly 500 participants, who were all born in 1936, had taken part in a group intelligence test at the age of 11. By the beginning of the study, they were around 64 years old.

Researchers followed up with the individuals to test for memory and mental processing speed up to 5 times over a 15 year period. The participants were also evaluated with verbal memory tests and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST), which involves matching symbols with digits.

Using a version of the Typical Intellectual Engagement (TIE) questionnaire, the team analyzed existing levels of interest in reading and problem solving, as well as intellectual curiosity.

The study revealed that engagement in intellectually stimulating activities influenced cognitive ability in old age. A particularly strong link was found between regular mind stimulation throughout life and improved cognitive performance. However, there was no connection identified between intellectual activities and the rate of mental decline with age.

Dr. Staff explained that while those who regularly engage in problem solving puzzles could potentially enhance their mental ability, this “does not protect an individual from decline but imparts a higher starting point from which decline is observed.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.bmj.com/">The BMJ</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Brain games improve cognitive ability but don’t offset decline

Researchers have found that problem solving activities do not offset...

A new study published by the <a href="https://www.escardio.org/">European Society of Cardiology</a> has revealed that women with heart attack symptoms often wait longer than men to get help. In light of this new evidence, the researchers are urging women to call for an ambulance as quickly as possible. 

Among both men and women, ischaemic heart disease is the leading cause of death. Women are an average of 8-10 years older than men when they have a <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/yo-yo-weight-heart-attack-risk/">heart attack</a>, and usually experience different symptoms.

Study co-author Dr. Matthias Meyer is a cardiologist at Triemli Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland. He explained that women may wait longer for help because of the misconception that men are usually the victims of heart attacks, and also because pain in the chest and left arm are the best known symptoms. 

“Women and men have a similar amount of pain during a heart attack, but the location may be different,” said Dr. Meyer. “People with pain in the chest and left arm are more likely to think it's a heart attack, and these are usual symptoms for men. Women often have back, shoulder, or stomach pain.”

In the last 10-15 years, many new strategies have been used to shorten the delay between symptoms and treatment. The current study investigated whether these delays have been reduced among women and men.

The study involved 4,360 patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) who were treated at Triemli Hospital between 2000 and 2016. 

The analysis was focused on patient delay - the time from the onset of symptoms to contact with a hospital, emergency medical service, or general practitioner - and system delay. Over the course of 16 years, system delay reductions were found to be the same among both men and women. 

“We found no gender difference in the timely delivery of care by health professionals, with both men and women receiving a stent more quickly after contacting the medical services than they did in the past,” said Dr. Meyer.

Patient delay was found to decrease in men over the 16-year period, but there was no improvement in patient delay among women. In addition, women were found to wait approximately 37 minutes longer than men before calling for help. 

“Women having a heart attack seem to be less likely than men to attribute their symptoms to a condition that requires urgent treatment,” said Dr Meyer.

While in-hospital mortality was significantly higher in women than men during the study period, patient delays were not to blame.

“As expected, the acute complications of a heart attack drive in-hospital mortality rather than delays. But we do know from previous studies that delays predict long-term mortality,” said Dr. Meyer.

“Every minute counts when you have a heart attack. Look out for moderate to severe discomfort including pain in the chest, throat, neck, back, stomach or shoulders that lasts for more than 15 minutes. It is often accompanied by nausea, cold sweat, weakness, shortness of breath, or fear.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/loi/acc">European Heart Journal: Acute Cardiovascular Care</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Women wait longer than men to get help during a heart attack

A new study published by the European Society of Cardiology...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx">University of Birmingham</a> and <a href="https://www.lboro.ac.uk/">Loughborough University</a>, published in <a href="https://www.bmj.com/">The BMJ</a> on December 10th, proves that it’s possible to curb weight gain during the holiday season. In fact, by following 10 simple tips, one can stay svelte through the season, even while eating all the gloriously good food on the Christmas table.

Researchers from the two universities ran the “Winter Weight Watch Study” in which 272 volunteers were either placed in an “intervention” group or a “comparison” group. Participants in the intervention group were asked to weigh themselves at least twice per week and record their weight. They were also given a weight management tip sheet and a chart that showed how much exercise is needed to burn off calories found in popular holiday dishes.

The comparison group was not asked to track their weight and was simply given a mildly informative pamphlet about the value of leading a healthy lifestyle.

[caption id="attachment_1863675" align="aligncenter" width="599"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/prevent-holiday-weight-gain.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1863675" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/prevent-holiday-weight-gain.jpg" alt="" width="599" height="841" /></a> Image Credit: University of Birmingham[/caption]

After the holidays ended, researchers found that those in the comparison group, on average, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/brain-switch-control-weight/">gained weight</a> during the season, however, those in the intervention group did not. Furthermore, researchers found that participants in the intervention group were able to better restrain their drinking and eating habits.

“Christmas is likely to tax even the most experienced weight controller,” said first author Frances Mason, of the <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/applied-health/index.aspx">University of Birmingham's Institute of Applied Health Research</a>. “Low intensity interventions such as the one used in our Winter Weight Watch Study should be considered by health policy makers to prevent weight gain in the population during high-risk periods such as holidays.”

Tips those in the intervention group received included keep to your meal routine, be cautious with portions, snack healthily between meals, and stand for at least 10 minutes of each hour.

“On average people gain a small amount of weight of up to 1kg each year and holidays such as Christmas are responsible for most of this annual weight gain,” senior author Professor Amanda Daley, with the <a href="https://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/ssehs/">School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences at Loughborough University,</a> said. "Weight gained during holiday periods often is not subsequently lost and, although these gains are small, over 10 years they would lead to a significant increase in body weight. 

“Our research has shown that a brief intervention over the Christmas period can help to prevent these small weight gains that accumulate and drive the obesity epidemic,” she concluded.

With these easy-to-follow tips, the hope is that the fear and stress surrounding holiday weight gain will be eradicated and the health of the general public will benefit the rest of the year.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Research reveals key tips to prevent holiday weight gain

A new study from the University of Birmingham and Loughborough...

A new study from <a href="https://www.nyu.edu/">New York University</a> (NYU) has revealed that there is a clear bias against girls and women when it comes to intellectual ability. The discovery of this widespread prejudice, which is even held by females themselves, reinforces the fact that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/gender-bias-lawyers-courtroom/">gender bias</a> is an ongoing issue.

Study senior author Andrei Cimpian is an associate professor in the NYU Department of Psychology.

“Despite their achievements in the classroom and the workplace, our experiments suggest that women and girls may still encounter bias in circumstances where brilliance is viewed as the key to success,” said Professor Cimpian.

Study first author Lin Bian added, “Although it is intuitive to think of gender bias as an adult phenomenon, the gender imbalances currently seen in many academic and professional fields may actually be due in part to processes that unfold early in development.”

According to national statistics, the intellectual achievements of girls and women in the United States match those of boys and men. Regardless, a series of experiments produced evidence that men and women are not given the same opportunities to pursue intellectually challenging work.


In the first two experiments, more than 1,150 participants were asked to refer individuals for a job. It was implied to half of the participants that the job required high-level intellectual ability, but this was not implied to the other half.

The study revealed that participants were less likely to nominate a female candidate for a job described as requiring brilliance. Overall, the odds of a female candidate being referred were 25.3 percent lower when the job description mentioned intellectual ability. Comparable levels of gender bias were found in both men and women. 

The third experiment involved nearly 200 children between the ages of five and seven who were taught how to play a new game. Half of the children were told that the game was for “really, really smart” children. When it was time to select teammates, girls were chosen for the “smart” game much less often than boys.


“Our studies add to our current understanding of the processes that lead to women's underrepresentation in ‘genius fields’ - that is, fields such as physics and philosophy, in which success is generally seen as depending on high-level intellectual ability,” said Professor Cimpian. 

“Moreover, while gender bias may be becoming less common in employers' and supervisors' 'public' behavior, such as hiring or promotion decisions, in part because the possibility of bias is often explicitly discussed in these contexts, young women's path to a successful career goes through many contexts in which people may be less guarded and - our evidence suggests - may still behave in biased ways.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/amp/">American Psychologist</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Study: Widespread bias against women when it comes to intelligence

A new study from New York University (NYU) has revealed...

According to new evidence found by researchers at <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/">Queen Mary University of London</a> and <a href="https://www.gold.ac.uk/">Goldsmiths, University of London</a>, brainwaves suppress obvious ideas and habitual thinking in order to help us think creatively. 

These brainwaves, called alpha oscillations, increase within the right temporal area of the brain when individuals need to think outside the box during creative exercises.

In their study, published December 10th in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA</a>, the researchers used transcranial alternating current brain stimulation (tACS) to show the connection between stimulating the right temporal area in the brain, therefore enhancing the alpha frequency, and the ability to suppress obvious ideas during convergent thinking (finding a single creative solution) and divergent thinking (brainstorming multiple creative ideas).

They ran experiments to see how exactly the alpha brainwaves function when tasked with a creative situation like finding words linked to a starter concept.

"If we need to generate alternative uses of a glass, first we must inhibit our past experience which leads us to think of a glass as a container. Our study's novelty is to demonstrate that right temporal alpha oscillations is a key neural mechanism for overriding these obvious associations,” said lead researcher Dr. Caroline Di Bernardi Luft, from Queen Mary University of London. 

"Two roads diverged in a wood, I took the one less travelled by. And that has made all the difference,' wrote Robert Frost in his famous poem,” said co-author, Goldsmiths, University of London's Professor Joydeep Bhattacharya. “Taking a less travelled route is needed for thinking creatively, and our findings provide some evidence on how this is done in our brain."

With this new evidence, the researchers hope to continue to piece together how the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sounds-incite-fear-brain/">brain</a> works creatively and if it can be stimulated to produce creative thoughts whenever necessary.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Our brains suppress the obvious to help us think creatively

According to new evidence found by researchers at Queen Mary...

Every day we are bombarded by different sights, sounds, and smells that our brains quickly filter through and interpret to help us make sense of our surroundings. 

Smells have a tendency to stick out as our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-create-mental-image/">noses sniff out</a> the new, familiar, good and bad odors that surround us on a day to basis. 

Surprisingly, while you may be attracted to a particular smell such as vanilla or lavender, your nose is much better at picking up a mixture of scents and odorants rather than one pure ingredient. 

This was the major takeaway of a new study conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.sussex.ac.uk/">University of Sussex</a> and published in the journal PLOS Computational Biology.

The researchers found that animals can more easily detect a complex mix or “soup” of odorants rather than a single compound. Mixed odorants are also better identified over a broader range of smells. 

Having a better understanding of how animals and humans smell and interpret scents could help with creating artificial technology that has the same detecting capabilities of highly trained sniffer dogs. 

Such technology could safely detect explosives without putting unnecessary lives at risk, and it could improve food safety by sniffing out any spoilage. 

“Our study was looking at how olfactory receptors and brain structures cope with mixtures and single odorants,” said Thomas Nowotny, a leader of the study. “At first, we thought that mixtures would mean complications, but it turned out there was no extra complications, and in fact, it's usually easier to smell mixtures than single odorants, and the sensing is also slightly faster. This wasn't what we expected, but this is what came out from our mathematical investigation.”

The researchers created a mathematical model of odor transduction which is when receptor cells in the nasal cavity detect and transmit information about odors to the brain. 

The team used data from the olfactory system of fruit flies and honeybees to help support their mathematical model’s predictions.

There is a growing field of research around scents and how we interpret and experience odors, but this study shows the importance of focusing on mixtures of smells as they experienced in the real world rather than single compounds. 

“If you were to go into a perfumery with pure compounds, it is known that humans are notoriously quite bad at distinguishing the separate compounds in a simple mix,” said Nowotny. “This suggests that maybe our olfactory systems are not made to do this type of analytic smelling of pure compounds. Everything we take in from our environment is mixed smells, so it makes evolutionary sense that our olfactory systems would be better at those type of smells.”
--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer 

Image Credit: University of Sussex/Stuart Robinson

Why we smell mixtures of scents instead of one specific ingredient

Every day we are bombarded by different sights, sounds, and...

In 1964, what later became known as the Great Alaskan Earthquake of 1964 tore into the northernmost US state.  The earthquake only lasted about 4 minutes but was the second longest recorded earthquake in the world, after one recorded in Chile in 1960, according to the <a href="https://earthquake.alaska.edu/earthquakes/notable/1964-m92-great-alaskan-earthquake">Alaska Earthquake Center</a>.  

In that brief 4 minutes, the Great Alaskan Earthquake reached a magnitude of 9.2, according to <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/great-alaska-earthquake">NOAA</a>.  The earthquake triggered a tsunami that hit the coast of Alaska with waves measured up to fifty feet high in places.  All told, 139 people died and 124 of those people were killed by the tsunami. The number of lives lost would likely have been even more if the earthquake had hit a part of the US with a greater population density.  

<a href="https://www.history.com/topics/natural-disasters-and-environment/1964-alaska-earthquake">History.com</a> reports that witnesses remembered hearing crunching, grinding noises as asphalt rose and fell like ocean waves.  Sewer and gas lines were broken, electricity was interrupted. Landslides were triggered, in one area taking 75 homes with the moving earth.  Residual water movement was reported as far away as Australia. It was said that the tip of the Space Needle in Seattle Washington wobbled from the earthquake.      

The coast of Alaska was forever changed.  I’ve seen places where sharp cliffs were created on Alaskan offshore islands showing the displacement of where the coast is now compared to where it was.  On Middleton Island, a ship that was once sunk just offshore now lies on its side on a patch of dry nest where its rotting remains house hundreds of nesting seabirds in its cavernous hold.  Some coastal forests were dropped below the sea and drowned in the ocean waters. 

It was the danger of future earthquakes like the 1964 earthquake in Alaska that drove the creation of FEMA’s <a href="https://www.fema.gov/national-earthquake-hazards-reduction-program">National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program</a> (NEHRP) and a stricter building code in Alaska.  Alaska itself is especially prone to quakes, averaging 40,000 earthquakes a year, with bigger quakes than the rest of the US combined.  NEHRP was established by Congress in 1974, directing that four national agencies coordinate their work on earthquakes to be complimentary. 

Research carried out by the <a href="https://www.nist.gov/">National Institute of Standards and Technology</a> (NIST), the <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a> (NSF) and the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">U.S. Geological Survey</a> (USGS) would be used by other agencies to reduce earthquake hazards.  Implementation and development of earthquake programs would be shared by some of these agencies as well as FEMA.  Congress also allowed federal funding specifically for the reduction of earthquake hazards. It seems that despite such a bill being passed, we’re often doomed to repeat history; it’s just blind luck when the repetition isn’t as bad.

At 8:29 am, on November 30, 2018, another earthquake hit Alaska seven miles north of Anchorage.  This earthquake was only a magnitude 7 quake. Gas and water lines were broken, roads were torn apart but no fatalities were reported.  <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/05/us/alaska-earthquake-road-repair-trnd/index.html">CNN</a> reports that inspectors have been looking at 243 bridges in the area but have yet to find structural damage to any.  The <a href="https://earthquake.alaska.edu/earthquakes/recent_list">Alaskan Earthquake Center</a>, out of the <a href="https://www.uaf.edu/">University of Fairbanks</a>, has a long list of recent earthquakes over the last few days.  Most of the quakes are minor, being in the 1-2 range but a few have reached magnitudes of 3 or 4, including a 4.8 magnitude quake 9 miles from Anchorage.  The timing of these earthquakes happens to come just after a bill to re-authorize NEHRP was passed from Congress to President Trump to be signed into law on the 29th of November.

The <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1768">bill S.1768</a> was sponsored by Democrat Dianne Feinstein from California but also Republican senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.  The bill authorizes Congress to spend millions on earthquake programs, including funding for a USGS alert system. The last authorization for NEHRP expired in 2009 and funding has come in bits and pieces as short term bills have funded earthquake programs.  A fortunate inclusion in the bill is funding for tsunami preparedness, which bolsters Alaska, where a tsunami is likely to be more dangerous than an earthquake itself. The small amount of damage from the November 30 earthquake and smaller following quakes is due partly to the lack of a tsunami but also to preparedness.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) has already rolled out a prototype for its earthquake alert system.  <a href="https://www.shakealert.org/implementation/shakealert-phase-1/">Shake Alert</a>, started phase 1 of its operation this fall.  The system currently serves California, Oregon and Washington.  Commercial and institutional uses already can use the system in a small way.  The early warning system relies on traditional seismometers to measure small seismic activity across the west coast and create a warning.  The next phase of the system should alert people to level 5 seismic activity. The USGS is already partnering with cell phone carriers and other mass alert systems to reach as many people as possible with early earthquake warnings.  So far, the system leaves out Alaska and the state already so far apart from the rest of the US must fend for itself. 

<a href="https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2018/12/01/experts-alaska-quake-damage-could-have-been-much-worse/">Anchorage Daily News</a> reported that strict building codes kept earthquake damage to a minimum.  Alaska and California have the hardest rules for building to withstand earthquakes.  Anchorage has a population of around 300,000 large enough that an earthquake of the size that hit at the end of November could’ve caused much bigger problems.  Alaska’s largest hospital initiated an incident command center but few people showed up with injury. About 50 sites showed road damage, but <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/05/us/alaska-earthquake-road-repair-trnd/index.html">CNN</a> reported that some of the roads are already repaired, partly thanks to federal dollars.  We can learn a lot from Alaska’s preparedness. 

If Trump signs reauthorization of NEHRP into law, prevention rather than reaction will become the law.  Much work can still be done to include Alaska, the state with the most earthquakes, into the federal earthquake program.  We can also look to Alaska as a good example of disaster preparedness in general. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Alaska earthquake highlights the importance of being ready

In 1964, what later became known as the Great Alaskan...

Hangxiety describes the increased anxiety that one might feel while hungover the day after a night out drinking. A hangover is hard enough, but feeling anxious and stressed certainly doesn’t help the already unpleasant symptoms.

Unfortunately, shy people are more at risk of hangxiety because they often drink in order to feel more at ease during uncomfortable social situations. A new study by researchers from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> reveals how shy personalities are more affected by this condition.

Alcohol can reduce anxiety but the Exeter researchers recommend that introverted people not feel like they have to drink just to release their inhibitions as it can cause more problems the next day 

“We know that many people drink to ease anxiety felt in social situations, but this research suggests that this might have rebound consequences the next day,” Celia Morgan, an author of the study, told the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6467757/Shy-people-suffer-HANGXIETY-heavy-night-anxious.html">Daily Mail.</a> “More shy individuals are more likely to experience this, sometimes debilitating, aspect of a hangover.”

Morgan also suggested that hangxiety might be linked to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/alcohol-2-million-deaths/">developing an alcohol addiction</a>. 

97 adults who were between and 18 and 53 years old participated in the study which took place at a get-together at a participant’s home. 

The study was published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences 

The researchers observed the social event and recorded breathalyzer tests for each participant before the party. Participants were also given a questionnaire before the event to help measure anxiety levels. 

Half the participants were told to drink like they normally would, and then after the party, all the participants were again given a second anxiety test. The next day, the participants took another breathalyzer and anxiety test and were asked about their drinking the night before. 

The researchers discovered that shyness correlated with feelings of anxiety the next day after drinking. 

People with alcohol dependence often score higher on levels of shyness which could indicate that alcohol problems and shyness are linked, according to the Daily Mail. 

The researchers say that shyness is not a trait to be ashamed of and to embrace being quiet and reserved.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Hangxiety is real, and shy people are more affected than others

Hangxiety describes the increased anxiety that one might feel while...

Researchers at the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> have demonstrated that the amount of time that we spend being either active, sedentary, or sleeping is determined by our genes. Some of the associations identified in the study between genetic regions and activity were brand new to science. 

The experts analyzed the activity of 91,105 individuals using data from the UK Biobank, which included information collected from activity trackers worn by the participants for a week. Using the massive amount of tracking device data, the team used machine learning to identify active and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sedentary-behavior-cardiovascular-trouble/">sedentary lifestyles</a>. 

When this data was combined with genetic information in the UK Biobank, the researchers were able to pinpoint 14 genetic regions that were tied to activity, seven of which had never been related to activity before. 

The study is the first to provide a causal link between physical activity and lower blood pressure. The research also revealed that physical activity and sleep have a strong influence on mental health, well-being, and brain structure.

“How and why we move isn't all about genes, but understanding the role genes play will help improve our understanding of the causes and consequences of physical inactivity,” said study lead author Dr. Aiden Doherty.

“It is only by being able to study large amounts of data, such as those provided by UK Biobank, that we are able to understand the complex genetic basis of even some of the most basic human functions like moving, resting and sleeping.”

Study co-author Dr. Karl Smith-Byrne pointed out that the use of machine learning in big healthcare data sets is advancing quickly, and is having a profound effect on the sorts of studies that can be carried out.

“We have carefully developed machine learning models to teach machines how to analyse complex functions like activity,” said Dr. Smith-Byrne. “These models provide exciting new insights into human movement behaviours in large studies such as UK Biobank with its half a million participants.”

Professor Michael Holmes added, “This provides scientists with a wonderful opportunity to learn much more about how genes and environment interact in our daily lives, causing us to move as we do, and possibly putting us at increased risk of disease. For instance, it might help us determine whether inactivity is a cause or a consequence of obesity.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Genes can determine whether we have active or sedentary lives

Researchers at the University of Oxford have demonstrated that the...

According to the <a href="https://www.itu.int/">International Telecommunication Union</a> (ITU), 51.2 percent of the global population will be online by the end of this year. The ITU suggested that getting 3.9 million people connected on the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/online-food-shopping-healthy/">internet</a> is an important milestone that will help promote sustainable development across the planet. 

ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao said in a statement: “By the end of 2018, we will surpass the 50/50 milestone for Internet use. This represents an important step towards a more inclusive global information society.” 

Among the world’s richest countries, internet use has been rising slowly but steadily, increasing from 51.3 percent in 2005 to 80.9 percent today. Some of the biggest advancements have occurred in developing countries, where 45.3 percent of people are now online versus only 7.7 percent just 13 years ago. 

The ITU report revealed that the number of individuals with online access in Africa jumped from 2.1 percent to 24.4 percent between 2005 and 2018. The researchers also found that while fixed-line telephone subscriptions are down to just 12.4 percent, the number of mobile phone subscriptions is now greater than the world's population. 

Mobile broadband subscriptions have dramatically increased from just 4 percent in 2007 to over 69 percent today. According to the ITU, there are now 5.3 billion active mobile broadband subscriptions worldwide. In addition, 96 percent of the world population lives within reach of a mobile cellular network, and 90 percent of people have internet access with at least 3G speeds.

Zhao added that “far too many people around the world are still waiting to reap the benefits of the digital economy.” He is urging for more “technology and business innovation so that the digital revolution leaves no one offline.” 

The ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Over half of all people in the world now have internet access

According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 51.2 percent of...

For the characters on one popular television show, loyalty is a death sentence. The trick to surviving “Game of Thrones” may be switching sides, a new study has found.

Researchers at <a href="https://www.mq.edu.au/">Macquarie University</a> in Australia set out to see if they could spot a pattern to the deaths on the fantasy TV show with a notoriously high body count. 

"The risk of death is high among characters in Game of Thrones,” said Dr. Reidar Lystad of the <a href="https://www.mq.edu.au/research/research-centres-groups-and-facilities/healthy-people/centres/australian-institute-of-health-innovation">Australian Institute of Health Innovation</a>, who co-authored the study. “By the end of the seventh season, more than half of the characters had died – 186 out of the 330 characters we included in this study – with violent deaths being the most common by far."

After tracking who lived and who died across all seven seasons released so far, they found one. Characters who stayed loyal to their house were more likely to die, especially if they were “lowborn.” The risk of death went down for lords and ladies, even if they stayed loyal – but only a little. Switching sides lowered that risk.

"While these findings may not be surprising for regular viewers, we have identified several factors that may be associated with better or worse survival, which may help us to speculate about who will prevail in the final season,” Lystad said in a press release.

The researchers found a few other risk factors for dying before the show ends. More than 80 percent of the deaths so far have occurred in Westeros, most while the characters were at home. Only two of the deaths were from natural causes, while 13 were from decapitations.

Fans of characters who have been series regulars can relax – a little. They’re not totally safe, but characters had a 14 percent chance of dying within an hour of screen time. The average survival time of deceased characters was 28 hours and 48 minutes. The most common causes of death were assault, war and legal executions.

The team used the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/">Internet Movie Database</a> and the <a href="https://gameofthrones.fandom.com/wiki/Game_of_Thrones_Wiki">Game of Thromes Wiki</a> to conduct their research, which also included logging the gender, social status, religion and occupation of the victims. And, of course, who stayed loyal to their house and who preferred switching sides.

The study has been published in the journal <a href="https://injepijournal.springeropen.com/">Injury Epidemiology</a>. Game of Thrones is set to return in April 2019.

--

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Switching sides may be key to survival on 'Game of Thrones'

For the characters on one popular television show, loyalty is...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0mn5mTvhQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that scientists never expected.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-waters-beneath-ancient-craters">Hidden waters beneath ancient craters</h2>



Scientists have made a startling discovery that challenges everything we thought we knew about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saturn-moon-mimas-has-remarkably-young-ocean/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Saturn's moon Mimas</a>. Beneath the heavily cratered surface that earned it the nickname "Death Star" lies a global ocean that formed just 5 to 15 million years ago—a remarkably young age by cosmic standards.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cassini-data-reveals-orbital-secrets">Cassini data reveals orbital secrets</h2>



The discovery, led by Dr. Valéry Lainey of the <a href="https://observatoiredeparis.psl.eu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Observatoire de Paris</a>, emerged from careful analysis of <a href="https://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA</a>'s Cassini spacecraft data. By studying subtle irregularities in Mimas's orbit around Saturn, researchers detected the gravitational signature of liquid water hidden 20 to 30 kilometers beneath the moon's icy shell.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-unlikely-ocean-world">An unlikely ocean world</h2>



At only 400 kilometers in diameter, Mimas seemed like the least likely candidate to harbor a subsurface ocean. Unlike other ocean moons such as Europa and Enceladus, which show clear surface signs of internal activity, Mimas displays no obvious hints of the liquid water beneath its ancient, crater-scarred exterior.



"Mimas is a small moon, and its heavily cratered surface gave no hint of the hidden ocean beneath," explained Dr. Nick Cooper from <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Queen Mary University of London</a>, a study co-author.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-astrobiology">Implications for astrobiology</h2>



The ocean's recent formation makes Mimas a prime target for studying how oceans develop and potentially support life. This discovery adds another member to the exclusive club of ocean worlds in our solar system, each offering unique insights into the conditions necessary for habitability.



The research, published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a> journal, demonstrates how advanced orbital analysis can reveal hidden features of celestial bodies, opening new possibilities for understanding ocean formation throughout the cosmos.



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Scientists discover unexpected young ocean on Saturn's cratered moon Mimas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0mn5mTvhQ 'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE
</div></figure>



On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop and sunlight barely penetrates through the polar winter. It was here, however, that an international team of scientists found <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/predatory-worms-were-terror-beasts-half-a-billion-years-ago/#google_vignette" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evidence of sea monsters</a> that would change our understanding of ocean life in the past.



This video captures the discovery of Timorebestia fossils that had been hidden for more than 500 million years in the Sirius Passet formation. The "terror beasts," as they are called, are a hidden chapter in the evolutionary history of <a href="https://www.earth.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth</a>, showing that sophisticated predator-prey interactions occurred much earlier than previously envisioned.



Dr. Jakob Vinther and his research team at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bristol</a>, in collaboration with researchers at the <a href="https://eng.kopri.re.kr/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Korean Polar Research Institute</a>, braved extreme weather conditions at 82.5 north latitude to locate these giant creatures. Using sophisticated electron microprobe analysis, they revealed the detailed anatomy of the animals, including their muscle and nerve tissues.



The find upsets the traditional timeline of sea predators. Although we've long appreciated that Cambrian oceans were at one time ruled by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWI3-UgA3_o&amp;list=PL1QLQMW9MWDwpkFOnvgAmu7wT6rZmYqdJ&amp;index=19" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">arthropods</a>, these discoveries indicate that relatives of arrow worms were first to dominate the seas. These worms were building sophisticated food webs several million years before other predator groups arose.



Each fossil is a story of ancient hunger, with fossil stomach contents revealing these meter-long beasts dined on heavily armored arthropods regularly, cementing their place as the ocean's first apex predators.



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow3JH03PqEQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">New York is the site of the world's oldest forest.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-385-million-year-old-trees-discovered">385-million-year-old trees discovered</h2>



Scientists have uncovered something extraordinary just two hours north of New York City. The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-oldest-forest-discovered-close-to-new-york-city/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">world's oldest forest</a>, dating back 385 million years, offers a window into how Earth's first complex forests shaped our planet's atmosphere.



Located near <a href="https://townofcairo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cairo, New York</a>, in Greene County, these weren't merely primitive plants struggling to survive. These were sophisticated trees with root systems remarkably similar to modern forests. This ancient woodland predates dinosaurs by 140 million years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-cairo-forest-discovery">The Cairo forest discovery</h2>



385 million years ago, upstate New York was a tropical paradise near the equator. Thanks to continental drift, this ancient forest has traveled thousands of miles to its current location.



The fossil forest sits in an abandoned quarry, roughly half the size of a football field. This represents just a slice of what was likely a massive forest system stretching from New York into Pennsylvania.



Charles Ver Straeten, curator of sedimentary rocks at the <a href="https://www.nysm.nysed.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York State Museum</a>, made the discovery in 2009. While scouting the former highway department property, his trained eye spotted wandering patterns in the stone that looked like marine features.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revolutionary-age-and-preservation">Revolutionary age and preservation</h2>



The site contains 385-million-year-old rocks with fossilized woody roots forming horizontal patterns up to 18 feet (5.5 meters) wide. As Christopher Berry, a paleobotanist at Cardiff University, explains: "You are walking through the roots of ancient trees."



This discovery pushes back advanced tree evolution by millions of years. The research, published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a> in December 2019, fundamentally changes our understanding of when complex forests first emerged.



Researchers believe a massive flood buried the forest floor, creating perfect fossilization conditions. Over millions of years, sediment hardened into rock, preserving these root patterns like nature's time capsule.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meet-archaeopteris-the-first-modern-tree">Meet Archaeopteris: the first modern tree</h2>



The star of this ancient forest is Archaeopteris – not to be confused with the feathered dinosaur Archaeopteryx. This tree was far older and more revolutionary.



William Stein from <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binghamton University</a> describes the roots as "strikingly modern, essentially what you'd see outside in my yard right now." These weren't simple root systems you'd expect from ancient plants.



Some fossilized roots are six inches (15 centimeters) in diameter, forming 36-foot-wide (11-meter) patterns. These giants grew up to 65 feet (20 meters) tall with five-foot-diameter (1.5-meter) trunks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-changing-impact">Climate-changing impact</h2>



These trees fundamentally changed Earth's environment. Kevin Boyce, a Stanford University geoscientist, explains how their deep roots triggered "weathering," chemical reactions that pulled carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.



This process dropped atmospheric CO2 levels from 10-15 times higher than today to roughly modern concentrations. These ancient trees helped create atmospheric conditions that made complex life possible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-forest-ecosystem">Ancient forest ecosystem</h2>



The forest was remarkably diverse. Scientists identified Eospermatopteris, palm tree-like plants with short roots that reached 30 feet (9 meters) tall but lacked woody structure. The forest also housed cladoxylopsids and a mysterious third species still being studied.



All reproduced through spores rather than seeds – millions of years before seeds evolved. This tropical environment had no grass, flowers, or flying insects, just towering trees creating Earth's first complex forest canopy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientific-significance">Scientific significance</h2>



Before this finding, the Gilboa forest, located 25 miles (40 kilometers) away, held the "oldest forest" title. Cairo's trees are 2-3 million years older, showing that complex forest ecosystems developed much faster than scientists believed possible.



Patricia Gensel, a <a href="https://www.unc.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of North Carolina</a> paleobotanist, notes: "The size of those root systems is really changing the picture. Even 20 years ago, researchers assumed trees with such complex root systems didn't evolve so early."



The Cairo site presents three unique root systems, suggesting Devonian period forests were diverse ecosystems with different trees occupying different environmental niches, much like today's forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-modern-preservation-efforts">Modern preservation efforts</h2>



In 2022, New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey secured a $170,000 grant for the town of Cairo to construct specialized fencing around the fossil forest site. The town plans to conduct a feasibility study exploring the possibility of creating an educational center and working lab on-site.



Joe Hasenkopf, chair of the Cairo Planning Board, hopes to partner with educational institutions to create a research facility serving scientists, students, and the public.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-today-s-climate">Lessons for today's climate</h2>



Why does a 385-million-year-old forest matter today? It shows how dramatically forests can change Earth's climate. These ancient woodlands created the atmospheric conditions supporting complex life.



Understanding how prehistoric forests transformed the planet helps us appreciate modern forests' critical role in addressing climate change. Forests remain Earth's most effective carbon capture systems.



These prehistoric trees changed Earth's atmosphere by pulling massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the air. As we face modern climate challenges, this ancient forest reminds us of trees' incredible power to transform our planet's environment.



The next time you walk through a forest, remember you're experiencing an ecosystem whose blueprint was established 385 million years ago in upstate New York. These ancient pioneers didn't just survive – they thrived and changed the world forever.



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow3JH03PqEQ New York is the site of the world's oldest...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Acid rain and a crisis solved.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-don-t-we-ever-hear-about-acid-rain-anymore-the-environmental-crisis-that-was-solved">Why don't we ever hear about "acid rain" anymore? The environmental crisis that was solved</h2>



Remember the 1980s when acid rain dominated headlines? Dire warnings about rain eating buildings, killing fish, and destroying forests filled every news cycle. Then, almost like magic, acid rain vanished from public discourse. What happened? Did we actually solve one of the late 20th century's most pressing environmental challenges?



The answer might surprise you. Unlike many environmental issues that drag on indefinitely, acid rain represents one of modern history's most successful ecological recovery stories. It's a tale of science, politics, and technology working together to tackle what seemed impossible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What was acid rain?</h2>



Acid rain isn't regular rain having a bad day – it's precipitation that became significantly more acidic due to air pollution. When power plants, factories, and vehicles burn fossil fuels, they release sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the atmosphere.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The science behind it</h2>



Think of acid rain as nature's chemistry experiment gone wrong. These compounds react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids. When mixed with water vapor in clouds, they create precipitation with dangerously low pH levels.



While clean rain has a pH of about 5.6, acid rain could drop as low as 4.2 to 4.4 – roughly as acidic as tomato juice or coffee. According to US Geological Survey documentation, Scottish chemist Angus Smith first coined "acid rain" in 1872, but it didn't become a household phrase until the 1960s and 1970s when Swedish scientist Svante Odén documented its devastating effects on Scandinavian lakes and European forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The crisis at its peak</h2>



During the height of public concern, environmental damage was both widespread and visible. This wasn't some abstract future threat – people could see destruction happening in real-time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Environmental devastation</h2>



The most dramatic impacts were impossible to ignore. Research documented by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation shows that in the Adirondack Mountains, more than 200 lakes became so acidic they couldn't support fish life. The Adirondack Council reports that 409 lakes once supported brook trout, but many lost their fish populations due to acid rain.



By 1976, when scientists cataloged all acidified lakes in the Adirondack Park, researchers found that half of the lakes over 2,000 feet above sea level had no fish, according to studies published in environmental journals. The acidification process worked like a slow-motion disaster. As acid rain fell into watersheds, it gradually lowered pH levels. Fish couldn't survive in acidic water, and their food sources died off too.



Trees at high elevations showed stress directly linked to acid rain. It weakened them by leaching nutrients and making them susceptible to disease. Historical records show Germany's Black Forest saw nearly half its trees damaged by the mid-1980s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Economic impact</h2>



Acid rain wasn't just environmental – it was expensive. Acidic precipitation corroded infrastructure, buildings, and monuments. Historic stone structures deteriorated at accelerated rates. Tourism suffered as lakes became fishless and forests declined. EPA economic analyses from the period documented repair costs mounting into billions annually.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The solution: government action and technology</h2>



Transformation from crisis to success required unprecedented cooperation between governments, industries, and environmental groups.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Clean Air Act of 1990</h2>



The turning point came with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, signed by President George H.W. Bush. This represented a fundamentally new approach to environmental regulation, as documented in EPA historical records.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cap-and-trade success</h2>



Instead of mandating specific technologies, the 1990 amendments introduced something revolutionary: a cap-and-trade system for sulfur dioxide emissions. EPA program documentation shows this market-based approach set overall limits but allowed companies to trade emission allowances.



The genius was harnessing market forces to find cost-effective pollution reduction. Companies reducing emissions cheaply could sell excess allowances to those facing higher costs. Research published in environmental economics journals and EPA progress reports shows this resulted in dramatic SO2 reduction at a fraction of projected costs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Technology advances</h2>



Policy provided the framework, but technology made reductions possible. Studies in atmospheric science journals document the widespread adoption of flue gas desulfurization systems ("scrubbers") that removed sulfur dioxide before it reached the atmosphere. By the 2000s, new installations could remove over 95% of SO2 emissions, according to EPA technical reports.



The push coincided with cleaner energy development. Natural gas produces fewer sulfur compounds than coal. Wind and solar, emerging in the 1990s, captured growing market share, reducing reliance on high-sulfur coal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-we-don-t-hear-about-it-today">Why we don't hear about it today</h2>



Why did acid rain disappear from headlines? Simple: the problem was largely solved.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Success doesn't make news</h2>



There's an old journalism saying: "If it bleeds, it leads." Environmental success stories don't generate urgency like crisis reporting. Media attention shifted to other challenges: climate change, plastic pollution, and biodiversity loss. There's only so much environmental anxiety the public can absorb, and newer concerns replaced acid rain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mission accomplished</h2>



The primary reason is beautifully simple: interventions worked. EPA monitoring data shows sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990. Academic research published in environmental science journals confirms pH levels in formerly affected areas returned closer to normal. This represents one of history's most dramatic environmental recoveries. Studies by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation show fishless lakes now support healthy populations. Forests recovered, and building damage slowed dramatically.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-it-really-gone">Is it really gone?</h2>



The crisis is largely resolved, but monitoring data shows the problem isn't completely eliminated – it's managed to acceptable levels. Some areas still experience occasional events during high pollution periods. International environmental research indicates that rapidly industrializing Asian countries face similar problems to what we experienced decades ago, though they're implementing successful strategies.



EPA research shows nitrogen oxide emissions proved more challenging than sulfur dioxide, coming from vehicles and mobile sources. Climate science studies suggest changing weather patterns add complexity to how acid rain forms and falls.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What this teaches us</h2>



The acid rain experience proves that seemingly intractable environmental problems can be solved with scientific understanding, political will, and technological innovation. Environmental monitoring data shows recovery speed was remarkable – within a decade, measurable improvements appeared in air quality and ecosystem health.



Success came from bipartisan support across party lines. Policy analysis studies show the market-based approach appealed to those preferring economic incentives while achieving environmental goals. This support created lasting policy surviving political changes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Conclusion</h2>



Acid rain's disappearance from public consciousness represents environmental science's greatest success stories. Through effective regulation, technological innovation, and international cooperation, we transformed an overwhelming crisis into a manageable challenge.



Today's silence isn't because we forgot – it's because we solved it. The 1990 Clean Air Act, combined with technology and energy market changes, reduced acid rain emissions over 90%, according to comprehensive EPA data analysis.



This success offers hope for current challenges. It proves complex problems can be solved when science, policy, and technology work together. As we face climate change and plastic pollution, acid rain reminds us that dramatic positive change is possible.



Next time someone asks whether environmental regulations work, remember acid rain. It's proof that sometimes, we get it right.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Sources: This article draws from EPA official documentation and progress reports, peer-reviewed research published in environmental and atmospheric science journals, historical data from the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation records, US Geological Survey publications, policy analysis studies, and environmental monitoring data collected over three decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Frequently Asked Questions</h2>



1. Is acid rain completely gone? No, but EPA monitoring shows it's reduced to manageable levels. US sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990, making acid rain much less severe than the 1980s crisis.



2. How long did solving take? Environmental monitoring data shows significant improvements began within 5-10 years of 1990s emission controls. Full ecosystem recovery took longer – some areas need 20-30 years for complete recovery.



3. What made the solution successful? Clear scientific understanding, visible damage motivating action, bipartisan support, available technology, and innovative market-based policies like cap-and-trade.



4. Do other countries have acid rain problems? Yes, particularly rapidly industrializing Asian countries. However, international environmental research shows many implement similar successful control strategies.



5. Could acid rain return? Potentially, if regulations weaken or we return to high-sulfur coal without controls, though effects would take years to become severe according to environmental projections.



6. Can you recommend any teaching tools on the subject of "acid rain"? The United States Environmental Protection Agency produced a wonderful teacher's guide for ages 14 and under that you can find on the EPA website here: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf</a>



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The environmental problem we actually solved

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk Acid rain and a crisis solved. Why don't we...

Fresh,Radish,Harvest,On,Soil,In,Garden.

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Mid-July is an opportune time to kick-start a thriving fall garden, and this guide lays out the best vegetables and herbs to plant now for a fruitful autumn harvest. 



Fast-growing leafy greens such as spinach, lettuce, kale, and arugula perform especially well in the waning summer heat, with harvests beginning as soon as 30 days. 



These cool-season crops relish the transition into fall, offering repeated yields with cut-and-come-again methods.



Root vegetables like radishes, carrots, and beets also excel during this period. Radishes deliver satisfaction in under a month, while carrots and beets mature in about two months. Employing succession planting ensures a continuous stream of produce deep into the cooler months. 



For a boost of fresh flavor, herbs like cilantro, basil, dill, and chervil are excellent picks. These heat-loving varieties flourish in July’s warmth and are harvest-ready in about 30 days, especially when sown continuously.



Gardeners in zones 6 through 9 can benefit from planting bush beans and snap peas, which don’t require trellising and are ideal for compact plots. 



Maturing in 50–60 days, they’re a smart choice for quick, protein-rich harvests. For those in hotter regions, heat-tolerant crops such as okra and southern peas provide reliable yields and thrive in scorching conditions.



This guide emphasizes more than crop selection—it highlights the importance of timing, soil preparation, and ongoing sowing techniques. 



With thoughtful planning and attention to regional climate needs, even late-summer gardeners can enjoy fresh salads, hearty stews, and the satisfaction of a robust, homegrown harvest well into fall.



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

https://youtu.be/Fi2OeEwuzRM?si=vTyd2m9FMmtyWkex Mid-July is an opportune time to kick-start a thriving...

Green,Ecoduct,Over,An,Empty,Highway,During,Sunset.

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A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that wildlife tunnels significantly reduce amphibian road mortality during seasonal migrations. 



Frogs and salamanders often cross roads to reach breeding ponds each spring, but many are killed by vehicles. 



Researchers from the <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Vermont</a>, in collaboration with local citizens and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, installed two underpass tunnels in 2015. 



Over a 12-year monitoring period, they observed an 80.2% reduction in amphibian deaths, and up to 94% for non-climbing species like salamanders. 



The study used a before-after-control-impact design and documented more than 5,200 amphibians, highlighting the tunnels’ effectiveness even in nearby buffer zones.



Funded at $342,397 - far cheaper than wildlife crossings for large mammals - the project showcased the power of community-led conservation.



Local groups initiated the effort after observing mass amphibian deaths. Wildlife cameras later captured over 2,200 amphibians using a tunnel in just one spring, along with other species like raccoons and bobcats, indicating wider ecosystem benefits.



This marks the first peer-reviewed, long-term data set in the northeastern U.S. confirming amphibian-specific underpasses work. 



The study urges transportation departments to incorporate these designs into road planning and highlights how community action, thoughtful infrastructure, and persistence can make a real difference for biodiversity.



The full study was published in the <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1617138125000780" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal for Nature Conservation</a>.



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-----

Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that...

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.



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
</div></figure>



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 the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image 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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



---



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.

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



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



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.

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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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.

How does salt makes things taste better?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



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



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.

Santiago, Chile in South America

[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Spiral,Galaxy,,Illustration,Of,Milky,Way

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Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



---



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.

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

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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 the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland. Beyond its pub culture, Dublin is known as a modern culinary destination and a UNESCO City of Literature.



"Dublin is located near the midpoint of Ireland’s east coast in the province of Leinster. The city, which covers an area of around 115 square kilometers, is bordered by the Dublin Mountains, a low mountain range to the south, and is surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west," says ESA.



"The city straddles the River Liffey, which rises in the Wicklow Mountains and flows around 80 kilometers eastwards through the city of Dublin, in which it is canalised and bordered with quays. It then empties into Dublin Bay, an arm of the Irish Sea."



Dublin has an abundance of green spaces, including one of the largest enclosed public parks in any European capital city. Phoenix Park, which was originally formed as a royal hunting park in the 1660s, includes 707 hectares of green space.



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



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 city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



"Together with the provinces of Huesca and Teruel, Zaragoza formed the old kingdom of Aragon. Its capital, also called Zaragoza (not visible in this image) is home to around half of Aragon’s population," says ESA.



"The Ebro River can be seen winding its way through the province from west to east in this image. Between its source in the Cantabrian Mountains in the northwest and its delta on the Mediterranean coast, the Ebro River is fed by more than 200 tributaries as it flows 910 km across much of northern Spain."



Since rainfall is very scarce in this region, irrigation in the Ebro basin is critically important. In the valleys surrounding the Ebro River, many fields are used for growing crops such as corn, wheat, and barley.



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



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 province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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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 the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the Pyrenees Mountains, which form a natural boundary between France and Spain in southwest Europe.



The mountain range is 430 kilometers in length. It stretches from the Mediterranean Sea on the east to the Atlantic Ocean on the west.



At an elevation of 3404 meters, Pico de Aneto is the highest mountain peak in the Pyrenees, and the third-highest peak in Spain. Pico de Aneto is located in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, which spans more than 82,000 acres.&nbsp;



"Geological studies have revealed that the Pyrenees Mountains have been around for longer than the Alps, with their sediments first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras," reports ESA.



"The entire mountain range formed due to the upwelling of large sedimentary rocks by the collision of the Iberian and the Eurasian plate around 100 to 150 million years ago, followed by intense erosion from ice and water."



The western Pyrenees receive more precipitation due to moisture blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. The mountain range contains many lakes, several small glaciers, and some of the highest waterfalls in Europe.



Video &amp; 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



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 Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes two exoplanets that are orbiting a star 218 light-years away. A team of researchers led by the University of Montreal has found evidence that these planets are "water worlds."



The experts used data from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. They discovered that exoplanets Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 could be composed largely of water.



"We previously thought that planets that were a bit larger than Earth were big balls of metal and rock, like scaled-up versions of Earth, and that's why we called them super-Earths," explained study co-author Björn Benneke.&nbsp;



"However, we have now shown that these two planets, Kepler-138 c and d, are quite different in nature and that a big fraction of their entire volume is likely composed of water. It is the best evidence yet for water worlds, a type of planet that was theorized by astronomers to exist for a long time."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Leah Hustak (STScI)



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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.

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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