Heart disease, not suicide or overdose, is the leading killer of people living with serious mental health conditions. This is the conclusion of a sweeping review led by Viola Vaccarino of Emory University.



The experts report that adults with depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety die, on average, 10 to 20 years earlier than their peers - largely because of cardiovascular disease.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mental-health-and-life-expectancy">Mental health and life expectancy </h2>



The cardiovascular penalty attached to common psychiatric diagnoses is substantial. Depression raises the risk of heart disease by roughly 72 percent.&nbsp;



For <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/psychedelic-use-linked-to-higher-risk-of-schizophrenia/">schizophrenia</a>, the risk nearly doubles - up to about 95 percent. Bipolar disorder increases cardiovascular risk by 57 percent, PTSD boosts coronary heart disease risk by 61 percent, and anxiety disorders are associated with a 41 percent higher risk of dying from cardiovascular causes. 



These numbers help explain why <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-life-expectancy-faces-a-triple-threat/">life expectancy</a> shrinks so dramatically for this population.



Despite the elevated risks, people with mental health conditions routinely receive worse heart care than the general public. Screenings are missed and risk factors go unmanaged. Evidence-based treatments are offered less often and followed up less reliably.&nbsp;



The result is a widening survival gap affecting a vast swath of society: roughly one in four people will experience a mental health disorder during their lifetime.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mental-illness-and-heart-disease">Mental illness and heart disease</h2>



Mood and thought disorders don’t just coincide with heart disease; they help cause it - and cardiovascular events can in turn trigger new psychiatric illness. That feedback loop runs through behavior and biology.&nbsp;



Higher rates of smoking, physical inactivity, and poor diet are part of the story. So are the physiological effects of chronic stress: systemic inflammation, elevated <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/blood-pressure-treatment-efficacy-calculator-revolutionize-measurement-and-treatment/">blood pressure</a>, arrhythmias, and insulin resistance all nudge the cardiovascular system toward failure.



The relationship is equally visible in reverse. About 18 percent of people with cardiovascular disease live with depression; after an acute event such as a heart attack, that figure climbs to roughly 28 percent. 



Nearly one in four stroke survivors develops depression in the aftermath, and around 12 percent of heart attack survivors go on to meet criteria for PTSD. Treating either condition in isolation misses the way each amplifies the other.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-existing-systems-miss-what-matters">Existing systems miss what matters</h2>



The review highlights a pattern of structural neglect. Mental health and cardiology are typically staffed, funded and measured as separate domains, with little coordination between them.&nbsp;



Many cardiology clinics don’t routinely screen for depression, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/witnessing-trauma-may-cause-ptsd-in-a-different-way/">PTSD</a>, or anxiety. Many psychiatric services don’t monitor blood pressure, lipids, or glucose as systematically as cardiovascular teams would.



Access gaps compound the problem. In a 2023 U.S. survey cited by the authors, 54 percent of people who met criteria for a mental health disorder received no treatment at all.



Even in countries with universal coverage, patients with serious mental illness are less likely to receive recommended medications, procedures and follow-up for heart disease. 



Poverty, unstable housing, and social isolation make adherence and clinic attendance harder, turning health inequities into entrenched mortality.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mental-and-physical-health-gains">Mental and physical health gains</h2>



The good news is that several familiar tools carry cardiovascular benefits alongside mental health gains.&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exercise-in-a-pill-is-now-closer-to-reality/">Exercise</a> is one of the most effective treatments for depression and also directly improves blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, and endothelial function. The review argues it should sit alongside psychotherapy and antidepressants as core treatment - not an optional add-on.



Mind-body practices such as yoga, tai chi, and meditation can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression and improve some risk factors (for example, heart rate variability and stress biomarkers). Evidence that they prevent heart attacks or strokes remains limited, but early signals are encouraging and warrant larger trials.



Integrated care models - where mental health and cardiovascular teams coordinate around the same patient - consistently improve psychiatric outcomes in clinical studies. The next step is proving that these collaborative approaches also cut hard cardiac endpoints like myocardial infarction and cardiovascular mortality.&nbsp;



To do that, researchers will need to stop excluding people with mental health disorders from cardiovascular trials, a longstanding practice that has left clinicians without robust, disorder-specific guidelines for high-risk patients.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-improving-life-expectancy-outcomes">Improving life expectancy outcomes</h2>



The authors call for changes that are as practical as they are profound. Medical schools and residency programs should train clinicians to recognize and manage the bidirectional links between mental and physical illness.&nbsp;



Health systems and payers need to expand mental health coverage while embedding routine cardiovascular screening and risk management into psychiatric care - and, conversely, embedding mental health screening into cardiology.



Community-level solutions matter, too. Making exercise accessible and safe, addressing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/smoking-related-deaths-will-surge-by-2030/">tobacco</a> use with tailored support, improving food access and tackling social isolation are public-health interventions that serve both the heart and the mind.&nbsp;



And because the burden is unequally distributed, equity must be a design principle: culturally competent care, outreach in underserved neighborhoods and policies that reduce financial and logistical barriers will save the most lives.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-treat-the-whole-person">Treat the whole person</h2>



Taken together, the evidence reframes a familiar crisis. Mental health disorders are common. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/a-century-of-progress-in-the-fight-against-cardiovascular-disease/">Cardiovascular disease</a> is common. When they collide, lives are cut short - not by inevitability, but by gaps we can close.&nbsp;



If roughly a quarter of us will face a mental health condition in our lifetime, preventing the downstream heart damage is not a niche priority; it’s a population-wide imperative.



The path forward is clear enough: measure risk where it’s highest, treat depression and anxiety as cardiac risk factors, deploy exercise and integrated care as first-line tools, and build research and reimbursement structures that reflect how tightly the mind and heart are tied. 



Stop treating mental and cardiovascular health separately, and that 10- to 20-year life-expectancy penalty starts to look less like fate - and more like a fixable failure.



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(25)00165-6/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Lancet Regional Health - Europe</a>.



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Mental health disorders reduce life expectancy by up to 20 years

Heart disease, not suicide or overdose, is the leading killer of people living with serious mental health conditions. This is the conclusion of a sweeping review led by Viola Vaccarino of Emory University. The experts report that adults with depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety die, on average, 10 to 20 years earlier than their peers - largely because of cardiovascular disease.&nbsp; Mental health and life expectancy The cardiovascular penalty attached to common psychiatric diagnoses is substantial. Depression raises the risk of heart...

Eating more fruit and cutting out fast food could help improve fertility in women and reduce the time it takes to get pregnant, according to a new study. 

Fertility studies don’t often examine the impact that diet has on conception beyond those who are in the process of fertility treatments, and the results show that eating fast food multiple times a week reduces the chances of conceiving within a year. 

The study was conducted by research midwives in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland and led by the <a href="https://www.adelaide.edu.au/">University of Adelaide, Australia</a>. The research was published in the journal Human Reproduction. 

For the study, 5598 women were asked about their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mediterranean-diet-healthier-aging/">diet</a> and how long it took to conceive during their first prenatal or antenatal visit after 14 to 16 weeks of pregnancy. The midwives asked how much fruit, leafy vegetables, fish and fast food each woman consumed the month before getting pregnant. 

The women were part of the multi-center Screening for Pregnancy Endpoints (SCOPE) study from 2004 and 2011 and the majority of the participants had not received any fertility treatments before conception. 

“Most of the women did not have a history of infertility. We adjusted the relationships with pre-pregnancy diet to take account of several factors known to increase the risk of infertility, including elevated body mass index [BMI] and maternal age, smoking, and alcohol intake,” said Jessica Grieger, the study’s first author. “As diet is a modifiable factor, our findings underscore the importance of considering preconception diet to support timely conception for women planning pregnancy.”

Fruit and fast food had a major impact on the study’s results and women who ate fruit less than one to three times a month took half a month longer to conceive. 

For those women who frequently ate fast food, the researchers found that it took almost a month longer to conceive compared to those who rarely ate fast food. 

The researchers also found that not eating fruit increased the risk of infertility from 8 percent to 12 percent, and eating fast food four or more times a week increased infertility risk from 8 percent to 16 percent. 

“These findings show that eating a good quality diet that includes fruit and minimizing fast food consumption improves fertility and reduces the time it takes to get pregnant,” said Claire Roberts, the leader of the research. 

There are some limitations to the study as any research that relies on data from recalled information isn’t wholly reliable and there might have been other influencing factors that the researchers didn’t consider. 

However, even with the uncertain variables in the study, the researchers are confident in the results. 

“We recommend that women who want to become pregnant should align their dietary intakes towards national dietary recommendations for pregnancy,” said Grieger. “Our data show that frequent consumption of fast foods delays time to pregnancy.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Eating more fruit and less fast food can speed up conception

Eating more fruit and cutting out fast food could help...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-pollution-lakes-freshwater/">Lakes</a> in the Northern Hemisphere could soon emit substantial levels of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-warming-methane-bubbles/">methane</a>, a greenhouse gas that’s more potent than CO2, and further drive global warming. 

A new study on methane emissions from lakes found that tree debris like pine needles suppress methane, while debris from plants in wetlands could double methane emissions in lakes over the next 50 years. 

The research was led by Andrew Tanentzap from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge's </a>Department of Plant Sciences and published in the journal Nature Communications.

The results are especially worrying because the world's forests are shrinking but wetland plants that create methane emissions are thriving. 

It’s yet another feedback loop where climate change creates optimal conditions for releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere which drives up temperatures in a vicious cycle, according to the researchers. 

“We believe we have discovered a new mechanism that has the potential to cause increasingly more greenhouse gases to be produced by freshwater lakes,” said Tanentzap. “The warming climates that promote the growth of aquatic plants have the potential to trigger a damaging feedback loop in natural ecosystems.”

77 percent of methane emissions in lakes are from microbes that eat organic matter from plants near the water. Matter from the plants gets buried in sediment where it becomes the perfect food source for microbes. 

Tanentzap and his fellow researchers wanted to see if different plants impacted the amount of methane emitted from lakes and tested three different types of plant debris. 

Leaves from deciduous trees, coniferous pine needles, and cat-tails were added to lake sediment and left for 150 days. The researchers then measured the methane produced by each type of plant debris. 

The sediment with the cattails produced over 400 times the amount of methane that the coniferous sediment emitted, and almost 2,800 times the methane the deciduous sediment produced. 

The researchers also added microbes to the three sediment debris samples in order to see how methane-producing microbes would impact the methane emitted. 

With microbes in the mix, the cattail sample produced twice the amount the methane as compared to the other two debris. 

The researchers used a species distribution model to see how climate change would impact the methane-producing plant species near lakes in central and eastern Canada, an area rich with forests and lakes. 

The results show that in that region, the number of lakes with cattails could double in the next fifty years and increase methane emissions from lakes by 73 percent. 

“Accurately predicting methane emissions is vital to the scientific calculations used to try and understand the pace of climate change and the effects of a warmer world,” said Tanentzap. “We still have limited understanding of the fluctuations in methane production from plants and freshwater lakes.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Andrew Tanentzap

Methane emissions from lakes could double over the next 50 years

Lakes in the Northern Hemisphere could soon emit substantial levels...

In the first large-scale study of its kind, experts have linked sauna bathing to a significantly lower risk of stroke. Study participants who used a sauna four to seven times a week were found to be 61 percent less likely to have a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cigarette-smoking-stroke-risk/">stroke</a> compared to participants who used a sauna once a week.

The investigation, which was led by the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a>, was focused on 1,628 men and women aged 53 to 74 years living in the eastern part of Finland. The individuals had taken part in the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor (KIHD) study at the <a href="https://www.uef.fi/en/etusivu">University of Eastern Finland</a>.


The participants were divided into three groups based on how frequently they took traditional Finnish sauna baths. The study revealed that the risk of stroke was lowered with a higher frequency of sauna usage.

Individuals who took a sauna bath two to three times per week had a 14 percent less chance of a stroke compared to those who took one sauna bath per week. For those who took four to seven sauna baths per week, stroke risk was reduced by 61 percent.

The researchers accounted for conventional stroke risk factors and found the effect was the same. 

Lead author Dr. Setor Kunutsor is an expert at the University of Bristol's Musculoskeletal Research Unit.

“The findings are very significant and highlight the multiple health benefits of taking frequent sauna baths,” said Dr. Kunutsor.


Previous evaluations based on data from the KIHD study demonstrated a correlation between the frequency of sauna bathing and a reduced risk of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.


The study authors pointed out that the relationship between sauna usage and reduced stroke occurrence may be attributed to other health benefits of sauna bathing such as reduction in blood pressure, stimulation of immune system, a positive impact on the autonomic nervous system, and an improved cardiovascular function.

The study is published in the journal in <a href="http://www.neurology.org/">Neurology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Spending time in the sauna can substantially lower risk of stroke

In the first large-scale study of its kind, experts have...

Data from the <a href="https://www.healthyagingpoll.org/">National Poll on Healthy Aging</a> has revealed that 40 percent of people between the ages of 65 and 80 are sexually active, disproving common assumptions about the intimate lives of seniors. 

Around 75 percent of people in this age group have a romantic partner, and more than half of the individuals involved in a relationship are having <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/women-less-regret-sex/">sex</a>.

Furthermore, nearly two-thirds of older adults reported being interested in sex, while more than half reported sex as being important to their quality of life.

The results of the poll, which was conducted by the <a href="http://ihpi.umich.edu/">University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation</a>, also showed that 73 percent of over 1,000 seniors who were surveyed said that they are satisfied with their current sex life.

The respondents also reported on whether they have sought out help or advice about sexual health or sexual problems.

Overall, 18 percent of men and 3 percent of women said they have taken medications or supplements to improve sexual function in the past two years. However, only 17 percent of older adults said they have discussed their sexual health with a doctor in the past two years. 


“Sexual health among older adults doesn't get much attention but is linked closely to quality of life, health and well-being,” explained co-associate poll director Dr. Erica Solway. “It's important for older adults and the clinicians who care for them to talk about these issues and about how age-related changes in physical health, relationships, lifestyles and responsibilities such as caregiving, affect them.”


Dr. Alison Bryant, senior vice president of research for AARP, said that this survey confirms that the interest in sexual intimacy does not stop at any certain age.

“Although most older adults say that they would talk with their doctor about sexual concerns, health care providers should routinely be asking all of their older patients about their sexual health and not assume that bringing up the issue will offend or embarrass them,” said Dr. Bryant.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The majority of seniors over 65 are still interested in sex

Data from the National Poll on Healthy Aging has revealed...

Migraine headaches are a painful neurological disorder that affects millions of people around the world. While the percentage of people who have this disorder varies across populations, it is known to be highest in individuals of European decent – and scientists may have just figured out the reason why.

A study published in <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/">PLOS Genetics</a> reports that a common genetic variant responsible for migraines may have proliferated because it helped early humans adapt to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/neanderthal-skull-shape-oxygen/">cold weather</a>. Researcher Felix Key of the <a href="https://www.eva.mpg.de/index.html">Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology</a> and his colleagues looked at the gene TRPM8, which codes for the only known receptor that allows a person to detect and respond to cool and cold temperatures. They found that a genetic variant upstream from the gene, which may regulate it, became more common in populations living at higher latitudes in the last 25,000 years.

Within the last 50,000 years, some human populations moved from the warm climates of Africa to the colder climates in Asia, Europe, and other areas of the world. “This colonization could have been accompanied by genetic adaptations that helped early humans respond to cold temperatures,” says Aida Andres, who supervised the study.

Only 5 percent of people with Nigerian ancestry carry this genetic variant, while 88 percent of people with Finnish ancestry carry the variant. The percentage of people within a population carrying this variant increases at higher latitudes and with colder climate. In previous research, scientists had identified this variant as being strongly linked to migraine headaches.

The authors of this current study believe that adaptation to cold temperatures in early human populations may have contributed to the variation in migraine prevalence that exists within human populations today. So if you’re one of the unlucky individuals that suffers from migraines, you may be able to blame your distant ancestors for surviving the cold.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Migraines linked to gene that helped early humans adapt to cold

Migraine headaches are a painful neurological disorder that affects millions...

A bill has been passed by state lawmakers in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/flooding-hawaii-climate-change/">Hawaii</a> to protect coastal waters from the pollution caused by toxic sunscreens. If the legislation is signed by the state's governor, the sale and distribution of sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate will be prohibited beginning in January of 2021.

Democratic State Senator Mike Gabbard proposed the ban, stating that oxybenzone and octinoxate are harming Hawaii's marine environment and ecosystems.

The bill reads: “Oxybenzone and octinoxate cause mortality in developing coral; increase coral bleaching that indicates extreme stress, even at temperatures below 87.8 degrees Fahrenheit; and cause genetic damage to coral and other marine organisms.  These chemicals have also been shown to degrade corals' resiliency and ability to adjust to climate change factors and inhibit recruitment of new corals.”

Oxybenzone and octinoxate are active ingredients in some of the most popular brands of sunscreen, including Coppertone, Hawaiian Tropic, and Banana Boat. According to the magazine <a href="https://www.outsideonline.com/">Outside</a>, scientists have estimated that 412 pounds of sunscreen are washed into Oahu’s Hanauma Bay every day.

The official document says that “the contamination is constantly refreshed and renewed every day by swimmers and beachgoers.” The chemicals are also making their way into the ocean from wastewater because these chemicals are not removed by the state’s water treatment system.

Oxybenzone and octinoxate are endocrine disruptors that can trigger feminization in male fish, and have been linked to reproductive diseases in many marine species. 

“The chemicals also induce deformities in the embryonic development of fish, sea urchins, coral, and shrimp and induce neurological behavioral changes in fish that threaten the continuity of fish populations,” the bill states.

Critics of the proposed legislation, which was passed by the Senate unanimously, say that it will discourage people from wearing any sunscreen at all. If passed, the law will be the first of its kind anywhere in the world.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Hawaii on the verge of banning sunscreens that kill coral

A bill has been passed by state lawmakers in Hawaii...

Designing an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eco-friendly-office-supplies/">office</a> with an open-plan has been a growing trend in recent years. Open space offices are said to boost the flow of information and communication among employees and remove rigid hierarchical boundaries. 

As more and more of the workforce find themselves in these types of offices, many are wondering if the open-plan lives up to its promises or if the modern and trendy layouts damper productivity. 

Research has found that open-plan offices can be distracting and create a stressful environment for employees. 

A new study conducted by <a href="https://www.anglia.ac.uk/">Anglia Ruskin University</a> and the <a href="https://www.beds.ac.uk/">University of Bedfordshire</a> found that working in collective spaces can make people more self-conscious and even act differently. 

The research was published in the journal Gender, Work and Organization and involves 1,000 UK employees who moved into a new shared space after working in a more traditional separated working environment with departmental buildings. 

Over a three year period, the researchers monitored the employees and their behavior before and after the switch to the new environment. The researchers also conducted interviews with the employees. 

The researchers found that many people, women especially, were more conscious of their attire and behavior. The employees reported feeling a sense of unease due to being constantly visible. 

“When changing from a more closed, compartmentalized office space to a new open-plan, transparent and fluid working space, office workers were more conscious of their visibility and often found this unsettling rather than liberating,” said Alison Hirst, the study's lead author.

“Women in particularly felt anxious about the idea of being constantly watched, and felt they had to dress in a certain way,” Hirst added. 

Some of the employees took the new environment as a challenge and enjoyed the opportunity to dress better and act more professionally.

The employees also noted that they could pick out senior staff members by the way they dressed and the fact they tended to move around the office space more than lower level employees.

The results of the study align with previous research on open-plan offices and show that while there may be some benefits, in many instances the costs outweigh them. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Offices with open layouts make employees more self-conscious

Designing an office with an open-plan has been a growing...

There is a strange gap between the views of those who spend enormous amounts of time outdoors utilizing the land for activities such as ranching and those who spend time outdoors in pursuit of recreation.  Often at odds with each other are mainstream environmentalists and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/paying-farmers-conservation-land/">farmers</a>, ranchers, loggers, fishermen, miners and others working in the outdoor environment. What is often not acknowledged are the complex, even contradictory world views that each group holds.  It isn’t so black and white that those who work in the oil field, for instance, don’t appreciate the environment while dedicated backpackers do. Robert Moore, writing about surveying an extension of the Appalachian Trail through Morocco with a local pathfinder, Hammou, in his book On Trails captures this idea near perfectly:

“Hammou and I differed radically in our regard for the landscape.  I had often felt that Hammou saw the Atlas Mountains as nothing more than impediments to our progress, and that he, like New England farmers of yore, would gladly flatten them if he could.  This kind of thinking in the United States had ultimately led to a deeply destructive mindset, the most obvious manifestation of which was a string of notorious Appalachian mining operations involving the literal removal of mountaintops.  But I had overlooked the possibility that Hammou, who had grown up among these mountains, might have a connection to them that was subtler but vastly more intimate than what I felt for my beloved Appalachians…” 

Moore goes onto explain how Hammou recited with a smile on his face the route he, Moore and another guide had taken through the mountains completely from memory.  The route passing several mountains, villages and landmarks Hammou knew. 

The strangeness of how different people have different views and connections to the land is one that can be captured in different forms in the persons of both Edward Abbey and Theodore Roosevelt.  Both men were extremely individual and both revered wild landscape of the west and western culture. Both men came west from more eastern areas and each had their own differing lives in the west. Ultimately, Roosevelt returned east after making prolonged sojourns and Abbey made the west his permanent home.  Each man had different views on how the landscape should be protected and each occupies an important but very different place in the pantheon of American environmentalism. 

Roosevelt worked as a rancher on his beloved Elkhorn Ranch, near Madora in the North Dakota Badlands.  This is also where Teddy Roosevelt hunted Bison, before he worked on a breeding and reintroduction program for the endangered mammal.  For modern environmentalists, many who are vegetarian and often detest ranching, especially on public lands; it’s hard to reconcile Roosevelt the rancher and hunter with Roosevelt the father of American Conservation.  Roosevelt himself after establishing the backbone of public lands in the U.S. turned his back on John Muir and failed to prevent the flooding of Hetch Hetchy Valley. 

Abbey himself is something of a conundrum.  Books like The Monkey Wrench Gang and Desert Solitaire Abbey rallies against the control of ‘wild’ places by the federal government while simultaneously working for them.  Abbey was a military veteran, social worker and a professor who is better known as an Anarchist. At the heart of his contradictions is how he viewed the western lands he so well loved.  Abbey’s use of a cowboy as his hero in his second novel, The Brave Cowboy is telling.  Ed Abbey even talks about working for ranchers moving cattle in Desert Solitaire.  Yet later in his career, as Terry McDonell, one of Ed Abbey’s previous editors at Outside wrote: 

“He was writing and giving speeches about how the beef industry’s abuse of our Western lands is based on the old mythology of the cowboy as a natural nobleman, the most cherished and fanciful of American fairy tales.”

I find a bit of the contradiction between utilizing the land and enjoying it within myself actually.  Although I don’t often bring it up, I worked for a season in oil and gas exploration in the western United States, and it bothers me that some of my work at an unthinking time of my life might damage such beautiful lands as I worked.  I also remind myself that I continue to use gasoline and continue to be culpable in the destruction of lands near and far. More importantly, I remember hiking all day through rough desert country to drill holes in the land. I remember the driller I was working with raising his arm over the desert of southwestern Colorado and saying, “This is your office,” implying the streak of luck that we were both working there in a beautiful, rough land.  I remember riding home in a helicopter at the end of the day, watching cliff dwellings pass before my eyes and falling easily into deep, untroubled sleep in the hotel of that night. Many of the conversations I had with the men I worked with in oil and gas exploration were about the landscape, a delicate arrow head found, national parks in the area. At the end of the day oil, gas, lumber is about what the land can give you; it’s about extracting something, not giving back.  

Commercial paleontology, a business I’ve worked for much longer, is also about extracting but in different ways.  To mount the skeleton of an extinct animal is to be intimate in a certain way with that creature. Most of the people I know in paleontology enjoy landscapes now as well as the past landscape they recreate in their minds.  Commercial paleontology is about digging things out of the Earth, but it’s usually small scale and less destructive. I remember sipping beer with a paleontologist next to the truck at the end of the day, watching deer graze in the quiet twilight.  Another man I’ve worked for told me the field is where he goes to heal body and spirit, speaking about the therapy of working to exhaustion and the beauty of place. Paleontology is about extraction like oil and gas but it also depends on an acknowledgment of inherit beauty in the natural world.

<a href="http://futureconservation.org/">FutureConservation.org</a> has a detailed survey that I took on my views related to conservation.  Although I consider myself an environmentalist and not a conservationist, the two are similar and I found the survey enlightening.  The graph at the end of the survey comparing my views to those of others has two axis, one which shows how compatible I view capitalism to be with conservation, the other showing how much I view human good to be compatible with conservation.  The graph left me in a lonely place, I was right in the middle on how compatible human needs are with conservation goals. I was at the bottom of how compatible I consider conservation to be with capitalism. From my experience those in the business of extracting from nature tend to view it as a resource capable of great regeneration, something to be used.  Many of the people I’ve worked with and talked to over the years appreciate the beauty but think that they can and should take from nature for their own and the economies benefit. 

In some ways those I worked with in the oil field have more in common than I do with the ‘New Conservation’ school of thought.  The New Conservationists use economy and emphasis of the utility of nature as a tool for conservation. I feel much the same as Jack Turner when he noted in The Abstract Wild, “The new economic conservationists think they are being rational; I think they treat Mother Nature like a whorehouse.”

The difference between the two groups is largely one of scale; I believe that many of those logging forests, fishing oceans and yes, drilling for oil are willing to protect some nature as long as their livelihood isn’t threatened.  The main difference is how much is too much when it comes to using nature. 

The difference between how Native Americans and mainstream environmentalists has also often been noted.  Joni Adamson in American Indian Literature, Environmental Justice, and Ecocriticism: The Middle Place notes that the American Indian students she worked with were more likely to be utilitarian in their environmentalism than many in the mainstream.  American Indians are more likely to have a strong tradition of working the land, where many European American environmentalists are divorced from this type of labor.  The difference is often seen in Native American views acknowledge landscapes as having long been inhabited by people rather than as pristine wilderness. Adamson notes in her book writing of Ed Abbey:

“At various points in Desert Solitaire, he constructs nature as “escape,” but at others as “home.”  As escape, wilderness becomes a paradise, an Eden, a place that existed before the corruption inherent in the civilized world.”

The point here I think is the contradiction between those who identify as merely using the land and those who identify as merely enjoying it.  Every person on the planet uses the environment for their food, shelter, water, entertainment and all other needs and wants. I hope every person on the planet also enjoys the environment in some capacity and I have no reason to think it isn’t so.  

Those people working in extraction industries tend not to be the wealthiest or most highly educated people.  Environmentalists tend to be educated and relatively wealthy. A survey done by the Carsey Institute on people in the Puget Sound region showed that people in urban areas are more likely to view environmental issues as a problem, people living in rural areas are more likely to view economic issues as a problem.  This is the heart of the problem. People in both areas seem to see only one side of the coin.

To really understand nature we must acknowledge our dependence on it.  Working a farm, fishing the ocean, even mineral extraction shows us that we depend on the planet for our life.  We must also acknowledge that the joy, peace, wonder and happiness we can have in this life is dependent on the beautiful planet we live in.

The utilitarian view is often short sighted, based on making money or a living from nature without acknowledging the inherit values and dare I say rights of the land to exist.  Many utilitarian views also fail to take into account common sense sustainability issues. 

The view of recreationists and many environmentalists also have a limited view of the world.  Many working in the environmental field pretend that they can solve all the problems by something as simple as making people care.  We first need to recognize our own sins, our own culpability. Anyone reading this uses electricity in some form or other and has an environmental impact.  Anyone eating has an environmental impact. Many environmentalists (myself included) fly in airplanes, drive motor vehicles and at least sometimes use electricity from fossil fuels.  We do need to change industry but it’s my view that capitalism as a ‘force for good’ won’t do it.  I have just as little faith in technical changes. We need to learn to live with less. We need to work the land ourselves and understand what we’re taking if we really want to save it.             

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Utility vs recreation: the ultimate land-use debate

There is a strange gap between the views of those...

Biodegradable water bottle

An entirely biodegradable water bottle might sound too good to be true, but thanks to the innovations of an Edinburgh-based company, plastic-free biodegradable water bottles could soon be a reality and ready for consumers. 

James Longcroft invented the plastic-free bottle after launching a non-profit water bottle company, <a href="https://choosewater.org/">Choose Water</a>, as a means to provide clean drinking water to countries in Africa two years ago. 

Longcroft saw the growing problem with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-pollution-oceans-triple/">plastic pollution</a> filling up landfills and ending up in the oceans and decided to go plastic-free. 

After experimenting with different materials and techniques, Longcroft designed an effective replacement bottle that didn’t use any fossil fuels in the production process.

The paper bottle surrounds a waterproof seal made of entirely sustainably-sourced natural ingredients and can break down in salt-water in just three weeks. 

“The outside is made from recycled paper, but the inside had to be waterproof, provide strength so the bottle would retain its structure, and keep the water fresh – just like plastic,” Longcroft told the <a href="https://www.scotsman.com/news/environment/edinburgh-inventor-creates-biodegradable-water-bottle-to-fight-plastic-problem-1-4731899">Scotsman</a>. “We've managed to do all that, which is pretty exciting. It's made with a combination of natural, sustainable materials. I've just mixed some stuff together from trees and plants – they're all natural.” 

The bottle costs just a little more to make than the average price of just one plastic single-use bottle. After use, the new bottle starts to break down almost immediately and takes only a few weeks to completely biodegrade. 

The steel cap is the only part of the bottle that doesn’t break down quickly but still begins to decompose within a year. 

Plastic pollution is increasing and while researchers, engineers, and policymakers are scrambling to find ways to reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfills and oceans, plastic production is projected to exceed 500 million metric tons by 2050. 

Choose Water’s plastic-free bottle could be a major step in reducing plastic pollution and creating new ways to package and sell products that are sustainably sourced. 

 “Changing an industry will be a massive uphill battle but with the public's support we will change the way we look at bottled water',” Longcroft was quoted as saying in the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5678023/The-paper-bottle-disintegrates-saltwater-just-THREE-WEEKS.html">Daily Mail</a>. “We really want to get our bottles on shelves and into people's hands as soon as possible, if we can stop even one plastic bottle ending up in the environment it will be worth it.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: John Stillwell/PA Wire

Plastic-free water bottles could soon hit the shelves

An entirely biodegradable water bottle might sound too good to...

According to a new report by the <a href="http://who.int/">World Health Organization (WHO)</a>, over 90 percent of humans on Earth are breathing in highly polluted air. In addition, 90 percent of deaths caused by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/half-americans-air-pollution/">air pollution</a> occur in developing countries.

The WHO collected data from over 4,300 cities in 108 countries, adding more than 1,000 cities to its ambient air quality database since the WHO’s last report two years ago. The WHO now has the world’s biggest database of outdoor air pollution.

Air pollution has been linked to cardiovascular disease, lung cancers, stroke, and respiratory issues. 

“Air pollution threatens us all, but the poorest and most marginalized people bear the brunt of the burden,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a chief of the WHO in <a href="http://www.who.int/news-room/detail/02-05-2018-9-out-of-10-people-worldwide-breathe-polluted-air-but-more-countries-are-taking-action">a statement</a>.

In 2016 the WHO estimated that air pollution was responsible for the deaths of 4.2 million people, that number has now increased to seven million annually. 

The gap in air quality between affluent and developing countries is only made worse by the fact that more than 40 percent of the world’s population doesn’t have access to clean cooking fuels, which is one of the biggest contributors to household pollution. 

“It is unacceptable that over three billion people -- most of them women and children -- are still breathing deadly smoke every day from using polluting stoves and fuels in their homes,” said Tedros. 

Besides cooking fuels, exposure to outdoor pollution from public transportation, industrial operations, and motor vehicles reportedly kills 4.2 million people every year. 

The majority of these deaths occur in what the WHO calls the Eastern Mediterranean Region, which encompasses the Middle East and North Africa as well as Southeast Asia. 

Air pollution in cities in these regions is sometimes five times more than the WHO’s pollution limits. 

Even though people are gaining access to cleaner fuels and more is being done to reduce pollution, the WHO says it is not enough to keep up with the growing population. 

“Many of the world’s megacities exceed WHO’s guideline levels for air quality by more than 5 times, representing a major risk to people’s health,” said Maria Neira, Director of the Department of Public Health, Social and Environmental Determinants of Health at the WHO. “We are seeing an acceleration of political interest in this global public health challenge. The increase in cities recording air pollution data reflects a commitment to air quality assessment and monitoring. Most of this increase has occurred in high-income countries, but we hope to see a similar scale-up of monitoring efforts worldwide.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

WHO report: 90 percent of people breathe highly polluted air

According to a new report by the World Health Organization...

Experts have identified nerve cells in the brains of mice that trigger their physical response to visual threats. Researchers at the <a href="http://med.stanford.edu/">Stanford University School of Medicine</a> found that altering the activation levels of two nuclei controlled whether mice would become courageous or afraid when confronted by a simulated predator.

The two adjacent clusters of nerve cells, located in the center of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/strong-grip-brain-function/">brain</a>, determined whether the mouse would have a passive or aggressive reaction to a perceived threat.

Study senior author Dr. Andrew Huberman explained that human brains likely contain this same circuitry. Therefore, finding non-invasive ways to strengthen or weaken the signals of the nuclei may help treat people with excessive anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder.

“This opens the door to future work on how to shift us from paralysis and fear to being able to confront challenges in ways that make our lives better,” said Dr. Huberman.

When a predator such as a hawk or an owl is advancing, a mouse must make a split-second decision to freeze, duck into a shelter, or run for its life. 

The researchers simulated the aerial approach of a bird on an overhead screen to examine which regions of the brains of mice would become active. They noted heightened activity in a structure called the ventral midline thalamus, or vMT. 

Although the vMT was found to receive a broad amount of inputs, its output points were limited to two main destinations - the basolateral amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex.

In previous studies, the amygdala has been linked to the processing of threat detection and fear and the medial prefrontal cortex has been linked to anxiety and high-level executive functions.

The investigation revealed that the nerve tract leading to the basolateral amygdala originated from a nerve-cell cluster in the vMT called the xiphoid nucleus. The researchers also discovered that the tract that leads to the medial prefrontal cortex came from a cluster called the nucleus reuniens.


The experts modified specific nerve cells to stimulate or inhibit activation levels in these two nerve tracts. Stimulating xiphoid activity caused the mice to freeze out of fear, while stimulating the nucleus reuniens caused the mice to become aggressive and brave. 

Dr. Huberman said the courageous behavior was unmistakable, and loud. He explained, “You could hear their tails thumping against the side of the chamber. It's the mouse equivalent of slapping and beating your chest and saying, ‘OK, let's fight!’”

In the absence of a predator, stimulation of the nucleus reuniens did not trigger any aggressive behavior.

Dr. Huberman said that human brains have a structure that is equivalent to the vMT. He theorized that episodes or malfunctioning circuitry in people with chronic anxiety, phobias, or PTSD may cause vMT signaling to persist with repeated exposure to stressful conditions.

The team is now investigating techniques that may adjust the arousal states of people suffering from severe anxiety issues. The researchers believe that shifting the balance of nerve signaling strength in the human equivalent of the vMT may help patients learn how to better cope with stress.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://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

Fear and courage have controllable switches in the brain

Experts have identified nerve cells in the brains of mice...

Cutting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reforestation-efforts-greenhouse-gas/">greenhouse gas emissions</a> is a major area of focus for a number of U.S. states and cities. Most places are attempting to do this through cap-and-trade programs, building-efficiency regulations, and increasing public transit and renewable energy resources. But there are countless other ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, some of which are explored in a new article published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/page/esthag/about.html">Environmental Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Researchers have found additional measures cities could utilize in order to further shrink their carbon footprint, all of which are related to reducing emissions stemming from food consumption and waste. Previous studies have shown that feeding urban populations accounts for 20 to 30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions come from producing and transporting food, as well as refrigeration, cooking, and food waste. 

In the past, much of the conversation around this idea has focused on the agricultural production side of things, but researcher Eugene Mohareb and his colleagues wanted to see what would happen if they reassessed this topic from the standpoint of urban consumption.

A member of the research team had previously conducted a review of diet-related emissions, which the researchers built off of for this current study. They pooled data from numerous sources to estimate emissions related to various components of the U.S. food system, including transportation, processing, and waste disposal methods. The team them estimated how changes in certain urban consumption practices could potentially reduce these emissions.

The results showed that increasing urban agriculture to occupy half of the vacant land in cities would only reduce food-related emissions by about 1 percent. However, switching from fossil fuel-based electricity to carbon-free energy sources could cut food-related emissions by 18 percent or more. They also found that reducing retail and consumer food waste by half would drop emissions by 11 percent, and replacing just a quarter of total beef consumption with chicken instead would decrease emissions by 6 percent. 

In short, it would be more effective for cities to focus on converting to carbon-free energy sources and look for ways to reduce waste than it would to focus on utilizing urban space for agriculture. In the meantime, we can all individually reduce our own carbon footprints by buying locally, growing food in gardens at home, and attempting to limit food waste as much as possible. 

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Cities can change food systems to reduce their carbon footprint

Cutting greenhouse gas emissions is a major area of focus...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
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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

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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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



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.

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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