Parents pass down more than genes. Their everyday choices shape how children see the world. 



A new study from São Paulo State University (<a href="https://www.international.unesp.br" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UNESP</a>) in Brazil shows how this works with physical activity. Children copy the habits of their parents, whether active or sedentary.



The researchers tracked 182 children and teenagers, aged 6 to 17, along with their parents. They used accelerometers, devices that measure movement with precision. 



The results were clear: children with inactive parents spent more time sitting. Children with active <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parent-children-relationships-are-key-to-lifelong-well-being/">parents</a> were less sedentary.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mothers-play-a-bigger-role">Mothers play a bigger role</h2>



The study also revealed something striking. Mothers influenced their children’s activity levels more strongly than fathers. Their effect was more than double. 



The exact reason is still uncertain, but daily routines could explain part of it. Mothers often spend more time shaping schedules around meals, homework, and television.



“The results indicate that parents’ level of physical activity can directly influence their children’s habits. In other words, when parents maintain a more active routine, their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/singing-to-babies-is-a-powerful-way-to-boost-their-mood/">children</a> are less likely to remain seated for long periods,” Diego Christofaro noted. 



Christofaro is a professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology (FCT-UNESP) at the Presidente Prudente campus and the lead author of the article published in the journal Sports Medicine and Health Science.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sedentary-lifestyles-rising">Sedentary lifestyles rising</h2>



The findings matter because inactivity in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/even-before-they-crawl-babies-can-feel-their-own-heartbeat/">childhood</a> is already a public health concern. In Brazil, 11% to 38% of children and adolescents are overweight. Sedentary routines contribute directly to this problem. 



The risks go beyond weight gain. Research links too much sitting with heart problems, back pain, poor sleep, anxiety, and depression.



Once these patterns start, they are hard to change. A child who spends long hours sitting is likely to carry those habits into adult life. That makes early action vital.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-kids-copy-parents-activity">Kids copy parents’ activity</h2>



The home environment explains much of this. Children often copy their parents’ screen habits. If parents watch hours of television, children usually do too. When limits on screen time are missing, the hours grow longer.



But the opposite is also true. When parents swap sitting for exercise, children follow their lead. 



In one Canadian study, every 20 minutes of vigorous parental activity added 5 to 10 minutes of moderate activity in children. Kids don’t just listen to words; they notice actions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-parents-education-shapes-activity">Parents’ education shapes activity</h2>



Education changes the picture as well. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parents-who-use-humor-have-better-relationships-with-their-children/">Parents</a> with higher education levels tend to set more structured routines. They often balance screen time with sports or outdoor play. 



Parents with higher levels of education also recognize the harm of excessive sitting and take steps to prevent it.



Awareness is powerful. A parent who knows the risks of long sedentary hours is more likely to limit television, encourage outdoor play, or join their child in activity. Those choices add up over time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-value-of-support">The value of support</h2>



Support at home makes staying active easier. Equipment, safe spaces, and shared activities all matter. Families who play sports together or go for walks often see children grow up more active. 



Shared routines also create memories, tying positive feelings to exercise and movement. 



On the other hand, when support is missing, even motivated children face obstacles. A lack of safe places to play or no encouragement from parents can keep them sitting.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-message-for-public-health">A message for public health</h2>



“Sedentary habits are the result of multiple factors, such as lack of access, time, and places where physical activity can be practiced,” noted Christofaro. 



“However, our study shows that parents’ habits can affect their children’s health. Therefore, we believe that these results can support public policies and campaigns aimed at promoting a more active lifestyle in the family environment.”



The study showed that parent-child links in sedentary behavior appeared only when parents were insufficiently active. In families where parents stayed active, those links weakened. That means active parents can protect children from inheriting sedentary patterns.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-parents-set-activity-goals">Parents set activity goals</h2>



Brazil’s health guidelines recommend that children and adolescents spend at least 60 minutes a day on moderate to vigorous physical activity. 



Parents should aim for 150 minutes of activity each week. These targets are not just numbers. They represent habits that can shape family health across generations.



Children copy what they see. Parents who sit less and move more give their children a model worth repeating. Small daily choices - walking instead of sitting, playing instead of watching - can ripple through a child’s life, reducing risks and building healthier futures.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666337625000691?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sports Medicine and Health Science</a>.



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Family fitness: Active parents raise active kids

Parents pass down more than genes. Their everyday choices shape how children see the world. A new study from São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Brazil shows how this works with physical activity. Children copy the habits of their parents, whether active or sedentary. The researchers tracked 182 children and teenagers, aged 6 to 17, along with their parents. They used accelerometers, devices that measure movement with precision. The results were clear: children with inactive parents spent more time sitting. Children with active parents were less sedentary....

Commercial paleontology can quickly drift into moral grey areas.  Many people question the practice of selling <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shell-fossils-reveal-earths-climate/">fossils</a> for profit at all.  I would counter this by saying that museums also sell and buy fossils, and targeting commercial dealers artificially divides industry from academia.  In fact, museums are often clients of commercial companies I’ve worked for. How the ivory trade impacts commercial paleontology also changes a lot.

Having worked in commercial paleontology for years, I have found that most in the field are able to distinguish scientific valuable finds from those less useful, and target academic organizations to acquire those fossils beneficial to science.  I’m also a bit hesitant to let government decide how people will deal with everything discovered on private land, as public land is completely out of the reach of law abiding commercial paleontology. Personally, I feel public land should remain public in all aspects.

Ivory plays an interesting role in the debate over commercial paleontology.  In a business showroom I recently visited, enormous tusks arch in simple metal stands.  Other tusks are intricately carved with leopards and mammoths. The tusks are mammoth tusks, but if they were from animals killed by humans, the killing happened before recorded history.

But how to distinguish mammoth ivory from elephant ivory?  Some states, including California, have banned the sale of fossil ivory such as mammoth ivory to completely avoid mistaking elephant ivory for mammoth ivory.  The law in California was challenged in court by the Ivory Education Institute in November 2016, but was ultimately was upheld by the Los Angeles Supreme Court.  

The non-profit <a href="http://www.ivoryeducationinstitute.org/">Ivory Education Institute</a> argues that elephant ivory trade is already blocked by international treaties and that the California law is ‘superfluous’. The Institute says that banning ivory trade of all kinds won’t stop poaching, and a list of historical bans that failed is cited.  Prohibition didn’t stop Americans from drinking, the war on drugs hasn’t stopped us from getting high, etc. The Ivory Education Institute argues that the only way to stop poaching for ivory is for demand to be met through normal, legalized trade. 

It seems there may be some truth to the idea, if a small one.  In states like Alaska, where fossil ivory is plentiful, you can buy pieces of jewelry featuring mammoth ivory for relatively cheap.  The Ivory Education Institute goes on to argue that making ivory illegal increases scarcity, which in turn makes the existing ivory more valuable, increasing the incentive to poachers.  Diamonds come to my mind, naturally rather plentiful, some companies hoard diamonds, creating artificial scarcity and inflating their value. 

Keeping in line with legalized trade, the Ivory Education Institute goes further; saying ivory is a natural resource.  Outsiders are painted in this light as those who impose their own values on how Africans would utilize their ‘resources’.  This is the most sickening part of the Ivory Education Institute’s argument. 

Elephants are living animals.  If someone was torturing an animal for sick pleasure, I would not pause to try my best to stop them.  Outsiders imposing bans on ivory in Africa is in some ways harkening back to imperialism. The international ban on ivory though, is more like the ban on human trafficking: a moral imperative.  Further, banning the trade of ivory in the US or in California specifically says nothing about what Africans do in Africa. The truth is that different African nations have taken different approaches, such as Zimbabwe’s attempt to create a sustainable ivory trade.  Of course, without the ability to export ivory, what is done in Zimbabwe or South Africa is of limited use for their own trade.

Others have argued quite forcefully that legal trade in ivory, or indeed, in anything, fosters a black market.  If any ivory is legal, it creates the problem of verifying the status of any ivory, opening the door again to poachers. How the ivory trade impacts commercial paleontology

The Ivory Education Institute has a point, though; few legal bans have created lasting change.  For lasting change, we may look at something else: how views change. At one point, birds were at the whim of the fashion industry.  During America’s Gilded Age, hats, pins and other fashion items featuring feathers or sometimes entire birds were the height of women’s fashion.  Plume hunters that killed wild birds for their feathers made quick cash for their trade, with little care for the negative aspects. At least one early wildlife ranger was murdered for trying to protect birds from gangs of plume hunters.  It’s estimated that in 15 million birds were killed for their feathers. 

Wildlife refuges, including those protected by rangers to the death, were partially established to give birds a chance to survive in the face of plume hunting.  Bird City, a private reserve in Louisiana by Edward Avery McIlhenny, Tabasco Sauce heir, was established partially in response to plume hunters nearly wiping out Snowy Egrets.  Some surviving Snowy Egrets were taken to Avery Island where the refuge was located and introduced first through an aviary and then set free so they could continue their migration. 

Acts by the government and private individuals such as Avery did something more important than give birds safe breeding grounds.  Slowly through, public acts of compassion toward wild birds through pamphlets blasting the trade in feathers and speeches, things changed.  What ended up saving birds like the Snowy Egret wasn’t so much a ban in the feather trade. Laws, such as the 1900 Lacey Act prohibiting transport of birds across state lines that were killed in violation of state laws, didn’t stop the feather trade.  What happened is that slowly American women had a collective change of heart. Culture changed. It’s not just feathers either, it’s the fur trade as well. Furs are still sold even if they’re often socially taboo. 

The stance of The Ivory Education Institute is repulsive, not so much because it doesn’t have a certain logic to it.  I find the argument that ivory is a natural resource disgusting but it isn’t surprising. Conservationists talk of trees, rocks, minerals, fossils even hunted animals as ‘resources’ all the time.  The problem is viewing elephants, trees and even the Earth as a thing. This is a problem that we must fix in the ‘hearts and minds’ of every person in the world. We must collectively learn empathy and compassion for others and for the earth itself.    

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

How the ivory trade impacts commercial paleontology

Commercial paleontology can quickly drift into moral grey areas.  Many...

A new study from <a href="http://www.physoc.org/">The Physiological Society</a> has revealed that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/quitting-smoking-improves-lungs/">smoking</a> cigarettes causes muscle damage. The researchers found that components of cigarette smoke reduce the number of small blood vessels that bring oxygen and nutrients to muscles in the legs.

The findings of the study suggest that smoking damages muscles in the body not only indirectly, but also directly. Prior to this study, smoking was believed to cause muscle weakness indirectly due to the fact that lung capacity becomes more limited, as does an individual’s ability to exercise.

But now, the researchers have demonstrated that cigarette smoke causes direct harm to muscles by reducing the number of blood vessels in leg muscles, which subsequently reduces the amount of oxygen and nutrients that can be received.

This damage has an impact on both metabolism and activity levels, leading to an increased risk for many chronic diseases including diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).


For the investigation, a team led by the <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">University of California, San Diego</a> exposed mice to cigarette smoke for eight weeks. Some of the mice inhaled the smoke, while others were injected with a solution containing tobacco smoke.


Study lead author Ellen Breen is an expert in Respiratory Medicine at UC San Diego.

“It is vitally important that we show people that the use of tobacco cigarettes has harmful consequences throughout the body, including large muscle groups needed for daily living, and develop strategies to stop the damage triggered by the detrimental components of cigarette smoke,” said Breen.

While the study did not identify which of the thousands of chemicals in cigarette smoke are responsible for direct muscle damage, this will be an important focus for further research. The experts also hope to get a better understanding of how these chemicals lead to fewer blood vessels.

The research is published in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14697793">The Journal of Physiology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Cigarette smoke even damages the muscles in your body

A new study from The Physiological Society has revealed that...

A recent investigation into language and social interaction has revealed that people around the world do not usually say 'thank you' when someone helps them out. The findings of the research indicate that there is a universal willingness to cooperate.

Study lead author Nick Enfield is a professor of Linguistics at the <a href="https://sydney.edu.au/">University of Sydney</a>.

“Our findings indicate a widespread assumption that saying ‘thank you’ is not necessary in the everyday contexts of our lives,” said Professor Enfield.

“Some might interpret this as a crisis of rudeness, that we are polite in public but have no manners in our own homes. But that is the wrong interpretation. Instead, it demonstrates that humans have an unspoken understanding we will cooperate with each other.”

The team analyzed nearly 1,000 recordings of informal conversations among friends, families, and neighbors. The conversations were spoken in eight different languages, including Russian, Polish, and English. 

Cooperation was found to be very commonplace, but saying thanks was not. Across most of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/language-impact-perception-earth/">languages</a>, gratitude was only expressed vocally in one out of 50 situations.

The highest rates of spoken gratitude expression were found among English and Italian speakers. However, while ‘thank you’ and relative terms were used the most frequently in English, these phrases were still only uttered 14.5 percent of the time.

In Cha’palaa, a language spoken in Ecuador, the speakers never said 'thank you.’

“When people think of social norms around gratitude, they naturally think about our interactions in formal settings, where it seems standard to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’,” said Professor Enfield.

“But in in our homes and villages - where our interactions would seem to matter most - we find people dispense with these niceties almost entirely.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/">Royal Society Open Science</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Most people do not say thank you, study finds

A recent investigation into language and social interaction has revealed...

The Chinese giant salamander is one of the more prehistoric-looking animals that is still around today. These ancient creatures – dating back 170 million years – are amphibians that can grow up to six feet long and weigh 140 pounds. They’ve been depicted in Chinese culture for thousands of years, but have now become a highly coveted delicacy amongst the country’s wealthy. As a result, they have all but disappeared from their freshwater habitats.

In order to keep up with growing demand, these amphibians are routinely harvested from the wild in an effort to stock commercial breeding farms. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/economic-benefits-climate-china/">China</a> has officially banned the harvesting of wild giant salamanders, but supports widespread releases of farmed salamanders as a conservation effort. But this conservation measure may actually be harming wild populations by mixing genetic lineages and facilitating the spread of diseases. 

Recently, a research team from the <a href="https://www.zsl.org/">Zoological Society of London</a> (ZSL) conducted a wide survey of river sites where the salamanders are known to live. These field surveys covered 97 sites in 23 Chinese provinces through a period of four years.

“We cannot confirm survival of wild Chinese giant salamander populations at any survey sites,” the authors say in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/authors">Current Biology</a>. “And consider the species to be extremely depleted or functionally extinct across the huge surveyed area.”

The researchers warn that these amphibians are in “catastrophic” decline, with only a handful potentially left in the wild. The species is already categorized as critically endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.

“The over-exploitation of these incredible animals for human consumption has had a catastrophic effect on their numbers in the wild over an amazingly short time-span,” says Dr. Samuel Turvey, a member of the research team from the ZSL. “Unless coordinated conservation measures are put in place as a matter of urgency, the future of the world’s largest amphibian is in serious jeopardy.”

The salamander population has experienced a dramatic decline in the last few decades as a result of poaching and habitat destruction. But despite their status as an endangered species, this amphibian is still widely regarded as a delicacy. Luckily, recent legislation by the Chinese government has made it so anyone found to be eating this salamander could receive a jail sentence of up to ten years.

Co-author Dr. Fang Yan, from the <a href="http://english.kiz.cas.cn/">Kunming Institute of Zoology</a>, laments “It’s essential that suitable safeguards are put in place to protect the unique genetic lineage of these amazing animals, which dates back to the time of the dinosaurs.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Endangered delicacy: Earth’s biggest amphibian disappearing

The Chinese giant salamander is one of the more prehistoric-looking...

Nightmares can be so unsettling that they can disrupt a night’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/harder-stay-asleep-older/">sleep</a> and stay on your mind throughout the following day. While being jarred awake in the middle of the night from frightening dreams can actually cause health issues, experts also say that confronting nightmares can be beneficial. 

A new report published in <a href="http://time.com/5287932/are-nightmares-bad-for-you/">Time</a> examines the health problems associated with nightmares as well as the positive benefits of working through nightmare-related trauma.

The sleep loss associated with chronic nightmares, which is classified as having one nightmare per night, can increase the risk of heart disease and depression.

“When you have a lot of nightmares, that can lead to stress and insomnia,” Michael Nadorff, an assistant professor of psychology at <a href="https://www.msstate.edu/">Mississippi State University</a>, told Time. “For people who have significant nightmare problems, it’s also common is for these individuals to actively try to avoid sleep in order to avoid having nightmares. When they do have [a nightmare], they often don’t sleep for the rest of the night.”

However, nightmares aren’t always a bad thing, and dream therapy, or working through the scenarios in nightmares that cause distress, can actually be quite therapeutic. 

For example, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1020118425588">one study found</a> that nightmares may actually be a coping mechanism and help with stress management.

Working through nightmares can also help with anxiety, as dreams often reflect concerns or emotional turmoil. 

Tore Nielsen, a professor of psychiatry at the <a href="http://www.umontreal.ca/en/">University of Montreal</a>, told Time that working with a therapist to analyze your dreams can help shed insight into personal fears. 

With the health problems associated with sleep deprivation and nightmares, it’s important to look into treatment rather than simply trying to avoid nightmares all together, which can aggravate issues and increase health risks. 

There are several treatment options, including taking blood pressure medication or talking through the nightmare with something called image rehearsal therapy. 

“We have the person talk through their nightmare and change it in a way that’s not threatening, and then they practice the new dream during the day using visual imagery,” Nadorff told Time. “This kind of daily rehearsal can help reshape the scary dream even while a person is sleeping.”

Nightmares can range in severity from being a mere nuisance to being seriously life-disrupting, but the underlying stresses, fears, and concerns presented in nightmares are often reflections of deep seeded issues that should be addressed. 

This is why nightmares, while scary, are not worth ignoring, especially when confronting nightmares could help with stress management, processing trauma, and reducing the health risks associated with nightmare-related sleep deprivation. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Confronting nightmares can be good for your health, experts say

Nightmares can be so unsettling that they can disrupt a...

Researchers have found that couples who eat at least two servings of seafood each week are more sexually active and succeed in getting pregnant faster. 

The link between seafood and faster conception was not entirely explained by more frequent sex, suggesting that biological factors such as semen and embryo quality are positively influenced by eating fish.

Although <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seafood-lovers-plastic-mussels/">seafood</a> is an important source of nutrients for women who may become pregnant, concerns about mercury have led some women to stop eating fish while trying to conceive. 

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 90 percent of seafood consumed in the United States is low in mercury and is safe to eat. 

Two to three servings of seafood per week are recommended by the Food and Drug Administration, yet half of pregnant women do not consume this much fish.

“Our study suggests seafood can have many reproductive benefits, including shorter time to pregnancy and more frequent sexual activity,” said study co-author, Audrey Gaskins. 

“Our study found that couples who consume more than two servings of seafood per week while trying to get pregnant, had a significantly higher frequency of sexual intercourse and shorter time to pregnancy.”


The investigation was focused on 500 couples from the <a href="http://grantome.com/grant/NIH/ZIA-HD008770-09">Longitudinal Investigation of Fertility and the Environment (LIFE) Study</a>. Harvard University researchers followed the couples  for one year, as participants documented their seafood intake and sexual activity on a daily basis.

The research team found that 92 percent of couples who ate seafood more than twice a week were pregnant at the end of one year, compared to 79 percent of couples who ate less seafood.

“Our results stress the importance of not only female, but also male diet on time to pregnancy and suggests that both partners should be incorporating more seafood into their diets for the maximum fertility benefit,” said Gaskins. 

The research is published by the <a href="https://www.endocrine.org/about-us">Endocrine Society</a> in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcem">Journal of Clinical Endocrinology &amp; Metabolism</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Couples who eat seafood have more sex and get pregnant faster

Researchers have found that couples who eat at least two...

The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/losing-status-votes-trump/">Trump administration</a> is moving to lift restrictions on sport hunting and trapping in national reserves. The proposed changes would make it legal to hunt black bears with dogs, shoot swimming caribou from boats, and kill wolves and pups in their dens.

Furthermore, hunters on some public lands in Alaska would be permitted to lure brown bears with food and use spotlights to shoot hibernating black bears and their cubs.

In 2015, these and other hunting methods were outlawed under President Obama. If passed, the new legislation will remove the hunting restrictions on 20 million acres of federally preserved land.

On Monday, the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/">National Park Service</a> (NPS) announced its intentions to move forward with the proposal in an effort to establish better consistency with state regulations.

Maria Gladziszewski is Alaska's deputy director of the Division of Wildlife Conservation. She told the <a href="https://www.ap.org/en-us/">Associated Press</a> that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game was “pleased to see the National Park Service working to better align federal regulations with State of Alaska hunting and trapping regulations.”

Gladziszewski said that the proposal is “progress in that direction, and we appreciate those efforts. Alaskans benefit when state and federal regulations are consistent.” She explained that the state can currently only conduct predator control in national reserves with federal authorization.

Collette Adkins is a biologist at the <a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/">Center for Biological Diversity</a>. “Cruel and harmful hunting methods like killing bear cubs and their mothers near dens have no place on our national preserves,” said Adkins.

The <a href="https://www.npca.org/">National Parks Conservation Association</a> (NPCA) is also opposed to the amendment, arguing that national preserves should be managed according to national park regulations.

Jim Adams is the regional director of NPCA Alaska.

“Hunting is allowed on national preserves. It's appropriate on national preserves,” Adams told <a href="http://www.ktuu.com/">KTUU-TV</a>. “But turning them into glorified game farms by reducing bear and wolf populations is not appropriate and it's not right.”

The public has 60 days to comment on the proposal, which can be done by using this <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=NPS-2018-0005.">link</a> to regulations.gov.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Trump admin to lift restrictions on hunting bears and wolves

The Trump administration is moving to lift restrictions on sport...

A new study has found that the brain activity of young transgender people matches the gender they identify with, as opposed to the sex that they were born with. 

Researchers from the Netherlands and Belgium set out to better understand the brain activity of young transgender people and to see if MRI scans could shed insight into how best to treat gender dysphoria at an early age. 

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/transgender-youth-risk-suicide/">Transgenderism</a> is defined as identifying with a gender different from one’s assigned biological sex. Someone who is cisgender, conversely, identifies with the gender they were born with. 

Gender dysphoria (GD) can result due to the stress of being faced with a gender or identity that doesn’t match what someone may internally identify with and can lead to serious psychological issues.  

“It is important to study the origin of sex differences in the brain, not only for making clinical decisions for people suffering from disorders of sex development or from gender dysphoria, but also because there are important sex differences in the incidence of a wide variety of neurological diseases such as autism, depression, schizophrenia and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease,” said Julie Baker, the study’s lead author from the <a href="https://www.uliege.be/cms/c_8699436/en/portail-uliege">University of Liège in Belgium. </a>

The researchers analyzed MRI scans of around 160 young transgender people and the study participants included both adolescent boys and girls with gender dysphoria. 

The study participants were exposed to a pheromone that produces gender-specific activity in the brain and the MRI scans showed how the brain responded to the pheromone. 

Brain activity of the participants matched the activity and brain patterns of cisgendered individuals from the participants’ desired genders.

In other words, whatever gender the study participants identified with, regardless of their biological sex, their brain activity matched. 

A misconception of the LGBT community is the idea that these preferences are a “lifestyle choice,” or that choosing to identify as a different gender is psychological. But more and more science has shown that this is not the case. 

“It used to be held long ago that all of this was psychological, and over the years the pendulum of 'Is it nature or nurture?' has swung rather more toward the nature side of it, with increasing peculiar pieces of biological evidence suggesting there may be something innate in the pre-uterine environment,” James Barrett told <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/transgender-people-brains-wired-those-gender-they-identify-new-study-shows-939504">Newsweek</a>, who reported on the study. 

Barrett is the president of the <a href="https://www.bagis.co.uk/">British Association of Gender Identity Specialists,</a> who peer reviewed the new study 

The results show that MRI imaging could help with early detection of transgenderism and GD among young people which can pave the way for better treatments and an overall improved quality of life and transition for both individuals and their families. 

Some treatments that have been met with success include delaying puberty with hormones and psychotherapy. 

“The earlier it [being transgender] is detected, the better the outcome of the treatment,” said Baker in an interview with Newsweek. “For instance in the Netherlands, youngsters are being treated with puberty inhibitors at 12 years of age to prevent the development of secondary sex characteristics which are difficult or even impossible to reverse (like the lowering of the voice in boys) and then at 16 years of age, they can start with cross-sex hormones. It has been shown that these youngsters are doing relatively well and are well accepted by their peers.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Transgender brains match their desired gender at a young age

A new study has found that the brain activity of...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.asu.edu/">Arizona State University</a> (ASU) have investigated how quickly various types of cars warm up when exposed to different levels of shade and sunlight on hot days. They found that the dashboard of a car can reach 160 degrees in an hour, which is about the same amount of time that it would take for a child trapped inside to have a heatstroke.

So far this year, six children left in hot cars in the United States have died, and this number is expected to rise. Every year in the United States, an average of 37 children die from hyperthermia in hot cars. Over half of these deaths are caused when a parent or caretaker forgets that their child has been left in the car.

Nancy Selover is a climatologist and research professor in ASU's School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning. 

“Our study not only quantifies temperature differences inside vehicles parked in the shade and the sun, but it also makes clear that even parking a vehicle in the shade can be lethal to a small child,” said Professor Selover.

The researchers used identical pairs of mid-size sedans, economy cars, and minivans for the study. While outdoor temperatures were in the 100s, the team moved the cars from sunlight to shade for different time intervals throughout the day, measuring surface and interior air temperatures.

“These tests replicated what might happen during a shopping trip,” said Professor Selover. “We wanted to know what the interior of each vehicle would be like after one hour, about the amount of time it would take to get groceries. I knew the temperatures would be hot, but I was surprised by the surface temperatures.”

Among vehicles parked in the sun, the average cabin temperature hit 116 degrees in just one hour. Dashboards reached an average of 157 degrees, steering wheels reached 127 degrees, and seats heated up to 123 degrees in the same time frame.

For <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/self-driving-cars-back-roads/">vehicles</a> parked in the shade, interior temperatures averaged 100 degrees after an hour. Dashboards hit 118 degrees, steering wheels reached 107 degrees, and seats warmed up to 105 degrees. In addition, the economy car heated up faster than the mid-size sedan and minivan.

“We've all gone back to our cars on hot days and have been barely able to touch the steering wheel,” said Professor Selover. “But, imagine what that would be like to a child trapped in a car seat. And once you introduce a person into these hot cars, they are exhaling humidity into the air. When there is more humidity in the air, a person can't cool down by sweating because sweat won't evaporate as quickly.”

It is not possible to predict exactly when a child's core body temperature will rise above 104 degrees, which is heatstroke level, because individual factors such as clothing, health, and weight affect when heat becomes a fatal risk.

The researchers used data to model a hypothetical 2-year old boy's body temperature. The team found that a child trapped in a hot car could reach a deadly core body temperature in about an hour if a car is parked in the sun, and just under two hours if the car is parked in the shade.

“We hope these findings can be leveraged for the awareness and prevention of pediatric vehicular heatstroke and the creation and adoption of in-vehicle technology to alert parents of forgotten children,” said study lead author Jennifer Vanos.

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ktmp20">Temperature</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

It only takes an hour for a hot car to become deadly

Researchers at Arizona State University (ASU) have investigated how quickly...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/self-driving-cars-back-roads/">Self-driving cars</a> will soon change the way that people commute in the city. Private car ownership will be largely replaced by shared mobility, which is transportation services that are shared among users on-demand. 

A shift to shared mobility will reduce both traffic congestion and air pollution in urban areas. The issue, however, is determining how many vehicles are needed within each city to meet the on-demand needs of commuters. For years, researchers have struggled to develop a mathematical model capable of effectively calculating these numbers.

Experts at the <a href="http://web.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> have just announced the discovery of a computationally efficient solution, which they have named the “minimum fleet problem,” that can be applied to even the largest cities.

“We started looking into this problem motivated by the increasing trends toward shared mobility, which will likely become even stronger with the transition to autonomous vehicles,” said study co-author Professor Carlo Ratti. 

“If demand for mobility is served by fleets of shared vehicles, a fundamental question is: How many vehicles do we need to serve the mobility needs of, say, a city such as New York?”

Study lead author Paolo Santi explained that while previous solutions have been proposed for fleet management, they have been constrained in size, meaning they can only be computed for fleets with just a few tens of vehicles.


“If we were to consider replacing the current taxi system in New York with an optimized fleet of vehicles, we would have to find the best way of serving the around 500,000 trips made in a day, which are currently served by about 13,500 taxis,” said Santi.

The researchers used a network-based model which they named the “vehicle sharing network” in their approach to the problem.

The algorithm represented the shareability of the taxi fleet as a graph consisting of nodes and edges. The nodes were used to represent trips, and the edges were used to represent the fact that two specific trips can be served by a single vehicle. 

The experts found that the graph enabled the algorithm to find the best solution for fleet sharing. They tested the solution on a data set of 150 million taxi trips taken in New York over the course of one year. They used the Manhattan road network and GPS-based estimations derived from taxi trip datasets to compute travel times.

The researchers found that real-time implementation of the method could reduce the current fleet size by 30 percent, while still providing optimal service. According to Ratti, the solution could become even more relevant in the years ahead, as fleets of networked, self-driving cars become commonplace.

“If we look at Manhattan as a whole, we could theoretically satisfy its mobility demand with approximately 140,000 vehicles - around half of today's number,” said Ratti. “This shows that tomorrow's urban problems regarding mobility can be tackled not necessarily with more physical infrastructure but with more intelligence, or in other words: with more silicon and less asphalt.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Reduce congestion by calculating ideal number of taxis for a city

Self-driving cars will soon change the way that people commute...

New research has revealed that nearly a quarter of the global population will be obese by the year 2045 if the current trends continue. At this rate, 12 percent of all the people in the world will have type 2 diabetes by the same year.

The researchers noted that in order to prevent the incident of type 2 diabetes from rising above 10 percent in 2045, global <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/artificial-sweeteners-obesity-diabetes/">obesity</a> levels must be reduced by 25 percent.


The study was led by Dr. Alan Moses of <a href="https://www.novonordisk.com/rnd.html">Novo Nordisk Research and Development</a> in Denmark.

“These numbers underline the staggering challenge the world will face in the future in terms of numbers of people who are obese, or have type 2 diabetes, or both,” said Dr. Moses. “As well as the medical challenges these people will face, the costs to countries' health systems will be enormous.”

“The global prevalence of obesity and diabetes is projected to increase dramatically unless prevention of obesity is significantly intensified.”

The team obtained population data for all countries in the world from the <a href="http://ncdrisc.org/">Noncommunicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration</a>. 

For each country, the population was divided into age groups, which were then divided into body mass index (BMI) categories. The prevalence of obesity and diabetes were estimated for each country for every year between 2000 and 2014, and future projections were based on these patterns.

The study authors noted that there are varying trends across different countries, which must be targeted individually. 

“Each country is different based on unique genetic, social and environmental conditions which is why there is no 'one size fits all' approach that will work. Individual countries must work on the best strategy for them,” said Dr. Moses.

“Despite the challenge all countries are facing with obesity and diabetes, the tide can be turned - but it will take aggressive and coordinated action to reduce obesity and individual cities should play a key role in confronting the issues around obesity, some of which are common to them all and others that are unique to each of them.”

If current the trends in the United States continue, obesity will increase from 39 percent in 2017 to 55 percent in 2045, and diabetes rates will rise from 14 percent to 18 percent. To stabilize diabetes rates in America between 2017 and 2045, obesity must fall from 38 percent today to 28 percent.

“Developing effective global programs to reduce obesity offer the best opportunity to slow or stabilize the unsustainable prevalence of diabetes.” 

“The first step must be the recognition of the challenge that obesity presents and the mobilization of social service and disease prevention resources to slow the progression of these two conditions.”

The research was presented at this year's <a href="https://eco2018.easo.org/">European Congress on Obesity</a> in Vienna, Austria.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Nearly 25 percent of people will be obese by 2045 at current rate

New research has revealed that nearly a quarter of the...

As the official start of grilling season approaches, new research suggests that changing clothes after a cookout may help prevent exposure to harmful carcinogens produced in barbecue smoke.

The experts have found that the cancer-causing compounds generated by grilling are more likely to enter our bodies through skin contact than through <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfire-smoke-dangerous-seniors/">smoke</a> inhalation.

According to the Barbecue Industry Association, 70 percent of Americans own a grill or a smoker and over half of them barbecue at least four times per month. 

Barbecuing produces large amounts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, which are carcinogenic compounds known to cause respiratory diseases and DNA mutations. 

The research team found in a previous study that eating grilled foods is the most common source of PAH exposure while grilling outdoors, but barbecue fumes and particles can also affect bystanders. Led by Eddy Y. Zeng of <a href="https://english.jnu.edu.cn/">Jinan University</a>, the team set out to expand on these findings by quantifying the risk of skin exposure to PAHs at cookouts.

Study participants were divided into groups at an outdoor barbecue and were placed at varying distances from the food and smoke.


The analysis of urine samples from the individuals confirmed that the consumption of grilled foods accounted for the largest amount of PAH exposure, which is what the researchers expected. What they did not anticipate, however, is that skin was the second-highest exposure route among participants, followed by smoke inhalation. 

The researchers explained that the oils contained in barbecue fumes likely boost the uptake of PAHs by the skin. 

The team also found that clothes can reduce contact between the skin and PAHs to a degree, but the skin can absorb a considerable amount of PAH from clothing that is saturated with barbecue smoke. To reduce this risk, the experts recommend washing clothes as soon as possible after attending a barbecue.

The research is published by the <a href="https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en.html">American Chemical Society</a> in the journal in <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/toc/esthag/52/1">Environmental Science &amp; Technology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Human skin absorbs dangerous carcinogens from barbecue smoke

As the official start of grilling season approaches, new research...

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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.



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from 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

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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;



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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.

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;



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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.

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

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

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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

[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

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