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We all know the pull of one more episode. Streaming services make it easy to keep watching, and though it often feels like a guilty pleasure, new research suggests it may not be entirely bad.



A study from the University of Georgia (<a href="https://www.uga.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UGA</a>) highlights that binge-watching or marathon reading can actually strengthen how we remember stories. 



These memories may not vanish once the credits roll but instead linger in our minds, shaping imagination and reflection.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-binge-watching-strengthens-memory">Binge watching strengthens memory</h2>



The research connects this phenomenon to something called <a href="https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/34268/chapter-abstract/290548954?redirectedFrom=fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">retrospective imaginative involvement</a>, or RII. It refers to how people continue to think about characters and events after finishing a story.



Rather than ending with the last chapter or episode, stories are reconstructed, expanded, and sometimes even altered in imagination.



“Humans are storytelling creatures. One of the functions of narratives is the ability to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-media-use-increases-smoking-vaping-risks-among-youth/">satisfy motivations</a> for things like connecting with other people, feeling autonomous and confident, and even security and safety. Stories have characters that fulfill these roles, and we can satisfy those needs through them,” noted Joshua Baldwin, lead author of the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-memory-and-imagination">Memory and imagination</h2>



The study shows that people who binge-watch are more likely to engage with stories later, carrying them into daydreams. 



Consecutive viewing appears to help audiences create richer mental models of characters and worlds, which makes these stories more accessible in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/emotions-shape-what-goes-viral-on-social-media/">memory</a>.



By consuming content in longer stretches, viewers weave tighter connections across episodes and character arcs, allowing subtle details to resonate more clearly.



This means binging may support stronger recall in the short term, even if some details fade over time. 



More importantly, it keeps the emotional and thematic essence alive, which is what fuels imagination and encourages people to revisit stories in new, creative ways.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-people-binge-watch">Why people binge watch</h2>



The reason behind a person's binge-watching habits also matters. Some are drawn to stories to escape stress, while others seek to expand their sense of self through new perspectives.



The Temporarily Expanding Boundaries of the Self (<a href="https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/34268/chapter-abstract/290539200?redirectedFrom=fulltext">TE</a><a href="https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/34268/chapter-abstract/290539200" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">B</a><a href="https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/34268/chapter-abstract/290539200?redirectedFrom=fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OTS</a>) model suggests narratives allow people to step outside daily limits and experience autonomy, competence, and connection in imagined worlds.



Escapism-driven viewing, on the other hand, gives relief by pushing aside everyday stress. 



The study found both motivations can lead to retrospective imagination, though expansion motives appear more powerful in creating long-lasting engagement.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-enjoyment-versus-appreciation">Enjoyment versus appreciation</h2>



Not all stories affect memory the same way. Lighter tales that are fun and easy to watch often spark simple recollections. 



By contrast, appreciated stories (those that feel deep, moving, or even bittersweet) encourage people to reimagine, expand, and reshape them.



These more reflective narratives are especially likely to trigger dynamic forms of imagination, such as changing events or exploring hidden backstories.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stress-and-leisure-time">Stress and leisure time</h2>



Stress does not influence story recall in a simple way. When stress is low or moderate, imagination can act as a relief, giving people a way to unwind and mentally process experiences. In these cases, stories serve as a calming outlet.



However, when stress levels rise too high, the brain becomes overloaded, leaving fewer mental resources available for remembering or reflecting on narratives. 



Instead of nurturing imagination, the mind directs energy toward coping with immediate pressures.



Leisure time changes the picture. When people have free, relaxed moments, their minds are more open to revisiting favorite stories. 



These quiet breaks - during a walk, while chatting, or simply reflecting - create mental space for narratives to return, grow, and shape daydreams.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-binge-watching-can-support-coping">Binge watching can support coping</h2>



Binge-watching has often been criticized for harming sleep and well-being. But this research suggests the picture is more nuanced. 



For some, it builds mental models that last well beyond the show itself. These memories and imagined extensions may even help people cope with challenges, making stories an ongoing psychological resource.



“People who have that habit of binge-watching shows often aren’t doing it passively but are actually actively thinking about it afterwards. They’re very much wanting to engage with stories, even when they’re not around to watch shows,” Baldwin explained.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stories-live-on-beyond-the-screen">Stories live on beyond the screen</h2>



Most people think bingeing means wasting hours in front of a screen. But the study shows it can be much more than that. 



When you get lost in a story, the characters and emotions often tag along even after you stop watching. Sometimes they reappear in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-dogs-binge-watch-television-everyday/">daydreams</a>, other times in quiet reflections when your mind drifts.



This habit doesn’t just strengthen memory. It can stir creativity, spark imagination, and even help people make sense of their own lives. 



Stories can offer comfort, connection, or a fresh perspective - things we all need from time to time. That’s why they rarely end with the credits. Instead, they linger in our thoughts, shaping how we dream, reflect, and connect with the world.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825004147?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Acta Psychologica</a>.



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Why binge-watching TV shows may actually be good for your mind

We all know the pull of one more episode. Streaming services make it easy to keep watching, and though it often feels like a guilty pleasure, new research suggests it may not be entirely bad. A study from the University of Georgia (UGA) highlights that binge-watching or marathon reading can actually strengthen how we remember stories. These memories may not vanish once the credits roll but instead linger in our minds, shaping imagination and reflection. Binge watching strengthens memory The research connects this phenomenon to something called...

It’s common knowledge that eating healthy, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exercise-makes-heart-younger/">exercising</a>, and refraining from tobacco use leads to a longer, healthier life. In fact, following these lifestyle tips could prolong life expectancy at the age of 50 by 14 years for women and roughly 12 years for men, according to recent research published in the American Heart Association’s journal <a href="http://circ.ahajournals.org/">Circulation</a>.

Despite being one of the wealthiest countries in the world, the average American has a shorter life expectancy compared to other wealthy countries, such as Japan, Canada, and Norway. In the United States, conditions like heart disease and stroke are major contributors to premature death, with 2,300 Americans dying of cardiovascular disease every day. 

In an effort to quantify the effects of disease prevention, researchers assessed data from two major ongoing cohort studies, including dietary, lifestyle, and medical information from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Combined with data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data and mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the researchers used this data to estimate the impact of lifestyle factors on the life expectancy of U.S. citizens.

The study analyzes five factors that could affect a person’s life expectancy. These factors are not smoking, eating a healthy diet, regularly exercising, keeping a healthy body weight, and moderate alcohol consumption. The results showed that following all five lifestyle behaviors is linked to improved longevity for both men and women. Those who followed these lifestyle habits were 82 percent likely to have died from cardiovascular disease and 65 percent less likely to die from cancer within the study’s follow-up period. 

The American healthcare system focuses mostly on drug discovery and disease management, but the study’s authors believe an increased emphasis on disease prevention could help life expectancy trends. 

“Quantifying the association between healthy lifestyle factors and longer life expectancy is important not only for individual behavioral changes but also for health communicators and policy makers,” says study author Dr. Frank B. Hu, who chairs the Department of Nutrition at the <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/">Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health</a> in Boston. “It is critical to put prevention first. Prevention, through diet and lifestyle modifications, has enormous benefits in terms of reducing occurrence of chronic diseases, improving life expectancy as shown in this study, and reducing healthcare costs.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

5 healthy habits proven to increase life expectancy

It’s common knowledge that eating healthy, exercising, and refraining from...

Sleeping with the light on can make your circadian rhythm miss a beat. Now, medical researchers are beginning to understand why.

A new study published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1113/JP275501">Journal of Physiology</a> explores how missing sleep during the dark hours of the night can affect the production of melatonin. The hormone, which helps regulate sleep and is produced by the brain during the night, can be suppressed if someone is frequently exposed to light before sleep.

In a 9- to 10-day inpatient study at <a href="https://www.brighamandwomens.org/">Brigham and Women’s Hospital</a>, researchers used continuous and intermittent light during sleeping periods to test whether melatonin suppression and the circadian rhythm are connected. The study included tight control over the participants activity levels and sleep/wake schedule.

The team hopes to find whether a correlation between melatonin levels and circadian phase resetting – the process that sets the internal clock using day and night cues from one’s environment – might equal causation.

But in the end, the research didn’t show a strong link. The intermittent light patterns were shown to trigger larger phase shifts, even though they caused less melatonin suppression. 

"Overall, our data suggest that melatonin suppression and phase resetting are sometimes correlated, but ultimately are regulated by separate neurophysiological processes. Therefore melatonin suppression is not a reliable surrogate for phase resetting," said Dr. Shadab Rahman, who led the study.

The study could have an impact on people who have poor quality sleep, like shift workers, as well as those battling depression. 

The small sample size indicates that more research is needed, the researchers warned. Still, it may be time to look into techniques other than melatonin suppression to reset circadian rhythm.

"This is an important consideration for developing light-therapy treatments for people who have poor quality sleep and biological clock disruption, such as shift workers, or disorders such as depression. Additional work is needed to optimize light therapy protocols used as treatment," Rahman said.

—

By Kyla Cathey,<a href="http://www.earth.com"> Earth.com</a> staff writer

Sleeping when it's light? Your circadian rhythm may be off

Sleeping with the light on can make your circadian rhythm...

Have you ever noticed that after an intense <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exercise-makes-heart-younger/">workout</a>, you may not have much of an appetite, despite having burned a considerable amount of calories?

Young-Hwan Jo, an associate professor of medicine and molecular pharmacology at the <a href="http://www.einstein.yu.edu/">Albert Einstein College of Medicine</a>, was curious why after bouts of intense exercise, running around a track near his house, his body temperature was raised and he lost his appetite for several hours afterward.

“I'm a neuroscientist who studies the hypothalamus--the portion of the brain that plays the central role in regulating metabolism and weight,” said Jo. “I wondered if certain hypothalamic neurons sense temperature increases and respond to exercise-induced warming by releasing a 'stop eating!' message.”

Now, a new study led by Jo may pave the way for weight loss treatments by targeting receptors in the brain to suppress appetite. 

The study was published in the journal PLOS Biology. 

Sensory neurons equipped with heat-detecting TRPV1 receptors are found all throughout the body. TRPV1 receptors are the reason we get a burning sensation from eating spicy foods such as jalapenos. 

The receptors are actually reacting to an active ingredient called capsaicin, which is common in spicy cuisine. TRPV1 receptors also react to physical heat.

For the study, the researchers used mice to see if specific neurons in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) of the hypothalamus in the brain had similar heat-detecting receptors which might explain the loss of appetite after exercising.

Hypothalamus tissue containing proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons known for suppressing appetite were taken from mice and the researchers exposed the tissue samples to capsaicin and heat. 

The POMC neurons reacted to both heat and the capsaicin proving that a region in hypothalamus contained similar heat-detecting receptors like TRPV1. 

The researchers then conducted experiments with mice to examine how exactly these receptors in the brain curb appetite and send messages to the brain and body to reduce food intake. 

When the researchers infused capsaicin in the ARC of the mice, food intake was reduced for twelve hours. 

As part of the experiments, the mice were put on treadmills for 40 minutes which rapidly increased their temperate and also suppressed appetite. Exercising mice reduced their food intake by 50 percent compared to mice who hadn’t run the treadmills. 

The results help explain why exercising, which raises body temperature, suppresses appetite and could help provide new treatments for weight loss in the future. 

“Our study provides evidence that body temperature can act as a biological signal that regulates feeding behavior, just like hormones and nutrients do,” said Jo. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Why you don’t feel hungry after an intense workout

Have you ever noticed that after an intense workout, you...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-galapagos-islands-are-struggling-from-the-growth-of-ecotourism/">Tourists</a> are generally considered to be either oblivious or indifferent to their impact on the natural environment, so it’s natural to be a bit skeptical of new rise of ‘ecotourism’ and ‘volunteerism’ as forces for good.  Many of the people I’ve met make a distinction between being a traveler and a tourist, but if I’m honest with myself, the distinction often becomes a bit fuzzy. Largely those who call themselves travelers and disdain the title of ‘tourist’ are speaking from a lofty, even classist vantage.  Those with little funds for long term travel or little wherewithal to travel independent of organized tours, hotels with security or areas catering to those speaking English are shunted into the category of ‘tourist’.

The whole idea of tourism seems to be changing though.  The <a href="http://www.un.org/en/">United Nations</a> (UN) declared 2017 as the ‘International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development’, recognizing:

“the important role of sustainable tourism as a positive instrument towards the eradication of poverty, the protection of the environment, the improvement of quality of life and the economic empowerment of women and youth and its contribution to… sustainable development, especially in developing countries.”

The UN designated 2002 as the Year of Ecotourism.  According to the UN World Tourism Organization, in 2030, 57% of arriving tourists will be in emerging economies.  Tourism is growing too, in 2016 international tourist arrivals reached 1.2 billion, a 3.9% growth from the year before.  Some regions are increasingly reliant on tourist dollars for their economies and consumer demand has the power to make change for good or for ill.  

I’ve travelled to the Bahamas to help with parrot research and conservation.  I stayed in a beach house lent by a friend to the project with three other volunteer research assistants.  Days were spent hiking in the forest listening carefully for parrots, following the birds and marking nests on a GPS.  The parrots loud squawking, the damp heat of the forest, the quick glimpse of a buzzing Bahama Woodstar (hummingbird) passing are some of my better memories from the Bahamas.  Learning to use Technu soap to wash poison wood sap off, early hours and the loss of hot water in the house were just par for the course. While I was in the Bahamas, the game warden was generous enough to invite us to his house for delicious meals, take us through the forest to visit a lighthouse and generally share his country with us.  

There was a moment in the Bahamas when everything seemed to change.  I drove the project truck into the field as I’d been doing for some time.  People were walking through the forest, along the dirt road. Many of the people I saw didn’t have shoes.  Some had small backpacks with some supplies, most had nothing but the clothes on their backs. Children walked hand in hand with exhausted looking parents.  There was a worn look of poverty over the people we saw in the forest, people with no money and no recourse was my impression. 

I didn’t talk to any of the people I saw in the forest that day.  I didn’t understand who the people were or why they were there at first.  One of the other volunteers encountered a man in the forest who asked her for water, which she gave him, he said, “God bless the USA”.

The people in the forest were Haitians who’d spent probably most of all the money they had to be smuggled to the US; which is where they thought they were.  Dropped off in the Bahamas, the people I saw were in a desperate situation, fleeing poverty for opportunities Americans take for granted, they risked everything.  This wasn’t long after the earthquake had hit Haiti in 2010, killing an estimated 220,000 to 300,000 people and injuring 300,000. 1.5 million people were initially misplaced by the earthquake.      

The Haitian refugees were rounded up by the government of the Bahamas, including the game manager and his dogs helped catch those desperate people in the forest.  As a volunteer I was helpless, we all were, the woman who selected us was complicit in the refugees being captured and even complained about illegal immigrants. I couldn’t help but question what I was doing there.  I felt for the plight of the parrots that were captured in the pet trade and those killed by non-native feral cats. I also felt more deeply the desperation and pain of the refugees in the forest that day; I wanted to help them.  

Since that time in the Bahamas I’ve volunteered with sea turtles in Equatorial Guinea and reforestation in Madagascar, I co-managed a nature reserve in Ecuador.  I’ve often had a mix of feelings about my own place volunteering in another country. I’ve had locals offer to carry me across streams they crossed daily so I wouldn’t get a parasite that they commonly suffered.  I’ve given food to people staring hungrily through the window of a restaurant I was eating at. Largely I’ve felt incredibly helpless to make a change for good for either wildlife or people no matter how hard I tried.  Madagascar has its share of Peace Corps members, Catholic aid groups and UN workers but its problems are incredibly complex. Equatorial Guinea is at a crossroads as cities boom with newfound wealth and modernization from oil and villages without roads have no electricity or running water.

Many problems volunteers try to combat are partially caused by their home countries governments or consumption.  One Canadian volunteer in Madagascar I talked to complained about a friend who was going to work for an oil company in environmental compliance.  To the Canadian, his friend was selling out as an environmentalist; I reminded him that he was using a lot of oil to get to Madagascar from Canada.  I was no different. I wonder at the motivation of many international volunteers, myself included. Sure, I wanted to help but I also wanted to see an exotic place, learn, grow in a rather selfish way and perhaps even further my own career.  

A look at the <a href="https://www.gooverseas.com/">GoOverseas.com</a> makes me wonder even more at the motives behind the growing number of overseas volunteers.  The website ranks the top 15 countries searched on their website for volunteers in 2012. Haiti, the same country that was devastated by an earthquake, whose refugees I saw in the Bahamas, rated at #14.  Ireland and Australia, significantly wealthier countries rated higher at #12 and #9 respectively. I wonder if someone volunteering in a country like Australia or Ireland thinks they’re really helping solve deeply entrenched problems.  The website noted that interest of volunteers waned in countries like Haiti overtime but it’s hard to imagine Haiti couldn’t use the help more than Australia a mere 2 years after a major earthquake. In 2014, 145,000 Haitians remained misplaced, living in temporary camps.

The project I volunteered at in Equatorial Guinea also monitored monkeys in the area and had years of data showing monkey populations diving as proof.  Collecting data isn’t always enough to help protect a species. We can’t always make real change sticking to the safe work organizations will allow international volunteers to do.  

I still travel.  I still encourage others to travel.  I still even maintain a positive attitude about travel.  Travel and volunteering are more complex than whether you can ‘change the world’ or ‘make a difference’ yourself.  I believe in education and I know of no better education than being in another culture, another place, another environment than the one you know best.  The world is complex and its problems are equally complex. We must learn from others, not just export our ways to the world if we want to solve any problems.  I feel like a better informed citizen of my own country, more valuable in my home because of my experiences abroad. I would be blissfully unaware of my own culpability in war, in economic inequality, in environmental destruction if I’d stayed at home.  Bananas I buy may contribute to birth defects in Latin America because of pesticides. I can read an article about the pesticides but it isn’t the same as seeing pain first hand. 

As Vanda Shiva said, 

“The poor are not those who have been ‘left behind’; they are the ones who have been robbed.”

It’s important to know the people and even the plants and animals robbed for your own benefit.  The only way we’ll ever change the world is by letting it change us. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzer</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The effects of overseas tourism and volunteerism are not so clear

Tourists are generally considered to be either oblivious or indifferent...

A new study out of Canada found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/young-people-perfect/">millennial</a> men value selflessness, health, and openness, which is contrary to the popular stereotype of the hedonistic, selfish, and hyper-competitive male caricature we often see painted by society. 

Conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> and<a href="https://www.intensions.co/"> Intensions Consulting</a>, the results were published in the journal Psychology of Men &amp; Masculinity and show that self-care and altruism were valued highly by millennial men. 

For the study, the researchers surveyed 630 men in western Canada ages 15 to 29 and asked about different values. The results showed that selflessness was the most highly valued trait among the responders. 

80 percent of the participants agreed that men should help out in their communities and 88 percent said that men should be open to new ideas and experiences. 

Health and self-care were also important values as the participants said men should be healthy and in good shape. 

Other old-school or traditional values of previous generations of men like strength and independence were still ranked highly, however, there was an almost equal emphasis on emotional and intellectual strength. 

“Young Canadian men seem to be holding masculine values that are distinctly different from those of previous generations,” said John Oliffe, the study’s lead author. “These values may run counter to long-standing claims that young men are typically hedonistic, hypercompetitive, and that they risk or neglect their health.” 

Nick Black, the study’s co-author says that the results show how Canadian values in young men are expanding and changing in a way that still incorporates the more traditional ideals of independence and strength. 

“As a millennial myself, I can see these values reflected in the lives of men around me,” said Black. “They want to be both caring and strong, both open to others and self-sufficient, and they see no contradiction in these values.”

The researchers say the results could help develop more effective healthcare program for men and hopefully expand to include other age groups and locations in future studies.

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Millennial men are different and value health and selflessness

A new study out of Canada found that millennial men...

Researchers at the <a href="https://healthcare.utah.edu/">University of Utah Health</a> are aiming to use music as a therapeutic way of easing anxiety in Alzheimer's patients. The experts are focusing their efforts on a network in the brain that is stimulated by music and is largely unaffected by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/twice-americans-alzheimers-2060/">Alzheimer's disease</a>.

“People with dementia are confronted by a world that is unfamiliar to them, which causes disorientation and anxiety,” said study co-author Dr. Jeff Anderson. “We believe music will tap into the salience network of the brain that is still relatively functioning.”


Previous studies have shown that music can improve the mood of dementia patients. The current study investigated a mechanism that is connected to the salience region of the brain.

Dementia patients and their caretakers created a playlist of meaningful songs which were loaded into a portable media player.

“When you put headphones on dementia patients and play familiar music, they come alive,” said study first author Jace King. “Music is like an anchor, grounding the patient back in reality.”


The researchers conducted brain scans to track activity as the patients listened to 20-second clips of music or silence. The participants were presented with eight clips of music from their collections, eight clips of the same tracks played in reverse, and eight intervals of silence.


The study revealed that music stimulated brain activity, causing entire brain regions to communicate. As the patients listened to their personal songs, the salience network showed substantially higher functional connectivity with the visual network, the executive network, and the cerebellar and cortical cerebellar networks.

“This is objective evidence from brain imaging that shows personally meaningful music is an alternative route for communicating with patients who have Alzheimer's disease,” said senior author Dr. Norman Foster.

“Language and visual memory pathways are damaged early as the disease progresses, but personalized music programs can activate the brain, especially for patients who are losing contact with their environment.”

The study authors pointed out that the results of the research are not conclusive and that it is unknown whether the enhancement effects observed in the patients are long-term or short-term.

The research offers a new approach to treating agitation, depression, and anxiety in dementia patients. The activation of neighboring brain regions may also have implications for treatments to delay the progression of cognitive decline.

“In our society, the diagnoses of dementia are snowballing and are taxing resources to the max,” said Dr. Anderson. “No one says playing music will be a cure for Alzheimer's disease, but it might make the symptoms more manageable, decrease the cost of care and improve a patient's quality of life.”

The research is published in <a href="http://www.jpreventionalzheimer.com/">The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Music helps treat anxiety and depression in adults with dementia

Researchers at the University of Utah Health are aiming to...

Horses can sense and remember human facial expressions, emotions. A team of psychologists led by the <a href="http://www.sussex.ac.uk/">University of Sussex</a> has found that horses remember people's facial expressions, which allows them to identify individuals who may be a threat.

Professor Karen McComb is a specialist in animal behavior and a co-lead author of the study.

She explained, “What we've found is that horses can not only read human facial expressions but they can also remember a person's previous emotional state when they meet them later that day - and, crucially, that they adapt their behavior accordingly. Essentially horses have a memory for emotion.”

For the investigation, the researchers showed images of happy or angry human faces to domestic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/domesticating-wild-horses-genome/">horses</a>. Several hours later, the individuals from the photographs were presented to the horses with a neutral facial expression.

The experts found distinctive differences in how the horses responded to individuals depending on the emotional expression conveyed in the images. The head orientation and gaze direction of the horses showed that individuals who looked angry in the photographs were perceived more negatively.

Previous studies have demonstrated that animals usually view negative events with their left eye. This is due to the fact that threatening stimuli are processed in the corresponding right brain hemisphere.

In order to prevent the humans from behaving a certain way, they were not informed of whether the horse was shown an angry or happy picture of themselves. The researchers also noted that the cautionary reactions observed in the horses were only given in response to the people they had previously seen with angry expressions and not to other individuals.

“We know that horses are socially intelligent animals, but this is the first time any mammal has been shown to have this particular ability,” said co-lead author Dr. Leanne Proops from the <a href="http://www.port.ac.uk/">University of Portsmouth</a>. 

“What's very striking is that this happened after just briefly viewing a photograph of the person with a particular emotional expression - they did not have a strongly positive or negative experience with the person.”

This is the first study to demonstrate that horses have a memory of emotional experiences with specific humans, an ability that may inform their decision to bond with people or to avoid them.

The research is published in the journal <a href="http://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Horses can sense and remember human facial expressions, emotions

Horses can sense and remember human facial expressions, emotions. A...

Researchers at <a href="https://wsu.edu/">Washington State University</a> (WSU) have investigated how smoking <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-app-marijuana-use/">medical marijuana</a> affects symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. The study revealed that small amounts of cannabis were effective in lessening the severity of symptoms. 

The analysis is one of the first of its kind to assess how cannabis with different concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) influenced mental wellness when smoked at home.

“Existing research on the effects of cannabis on depression, anxiety and stress are very rare and have almost exclusively been done with orally administered THC pills in a laboratory,” lead author Carrie Cuttler told the <a href="https://news.wsu.edu/2018/04/19/assessing-cannabis-affects-emotional-well/">WSU Insider</a>. 

“What is unique about our study is that we looked at actual inhaled cannabis by medical marijuana patients who were using it in the comfort of their own homes as opposed to a laboratory.”

The research was based on data in an app called Stainprint, which offers users a way to document their mental and physical responses to different strains and doses of medical marijuana. 

The team analyzed information from 12,000 participants who reported on symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression before and after smoking different types of cannabis.

Overall, symptoms of depression were reduced by 50 percent among the volunteers, while symptoms of anxiety and stress were reduced by 58 percent. The experts also found some evidence to suggest that long-term use of cannabis can make depression worse.

The researchers established that one puff of medical marijuana with high-CBD and low-THC content effectively reduced feelings of depression. The same type of marijuana was found to significantly reduce stress after 10 puffs. Furthermore, two puffs of any type of medical cannabis relieved symptoms of anxiety.

“A lot of consumers seem to be under the false assumption that more THC is always better,” said Cuttler. “Our study shows that CBD is also a very important ingredient in cannabis and may augment some of the positive effects of THC.”

Cuttler explained that this is one of the first studies to identify strains and quantities of medical marijuana that can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression.

“Currently, medical and recreational cannabis users rely on the advice of bud tenders whose recommendations are based off of anecdotal not scientific evidence,” said Cuttler.

The research is published in the <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-affective-disorders">Journal of Affective Disorders</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Just a small dose of medical marijuana combats stress, depression

Researchers at Washington State University (WSU) have investigated how smoking...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.rutgers.edu/">Rutgers University</a> have found a substantial rise in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among 8-year-olds in the United States. The investigation revealed that the percentage of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/junk-food-advertising-children/">children</a> with autism has increased by an average of 15 percent compared to two years ago.

Across the 11 states included in the study, one out of every 59 children had autism. New Jersey had the highest number and a 19 percent jump compared to two years ago, with one out of every 34 children affected.


The higher rates of autism found in New Jersey are likely due to the efficiency of the state's clinical and educational services, which results in more accurate case finding.

Walter Zahorodny is an associate professor of Pediatrics at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. He said the study results are “consistent, broad and startling.” Professor Zahorodny pointed out that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in 2016 that autism rates in the United States had leveled off.

“It is now clear that what we saw in 2016 was just a pause along the way. It remains to be seen at what point ASD rates will plateau,” he said.

ASD has been found to affect four times as many boys compared to girls. In addition, white children have higher rates of ASD compared to Hispanic or black children. 

As of now, it is unclear why autism is increasing throughout the United States. There are many factors associated with autism risk including parents over the age of 30, illness during pregnancy, and birth before 37 weeks.

“These are true influences that are exerting an effect, but they are not enough to explain the high rate of autism prevalence,” said Professor Zahorodny. 

“There are still undefined environmental risks which contribute to this significant increase, factors that could affect a child in its development in utero or related to birth complications or to the newborn period. We need more research into non-genetic triggers for autism."

The average age of ASD diagnosis is 53 months, which has remained consistent for 15 years. The professor said that children who are diagnosed early tend to respond better to therapy.

“Despite our greater awareness, we are not effective yet in early detection,” he said. “Our goal should be systematic, universal screening that pediatricians and other health providers provide at regular visits starting at 18 months to identify ASD as soon as possible.”

The research was funded by the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Autism rates up 15 percent across the United States

Researchers at Rutgers University have found a substantial rise in...

When more and more claims were made against big tobacco in the 1990s that smoking causes cancer, it led to lawsuits like the one filed against <a href="https://www.justice.gov/civil/case-4">Phillip Morris by the Department of Justice in 1999</a>, and completely changed the way tobacco products were sold and marketed. Now, public health advertisements about the dangers of smoking are frequently seen on TV <a href="https://www.npr.org/2016/05/24/479349619/cdc-report-reveals-decline-in-american-smokers">and smoking has been</a> on the decline since the 1990s. 

The results of the lawsuits against tobacco companies show that citing public health problems is a strong motivator for bringing cases to court. In fact, a new study found that presenting public health risks could help shape the way people view <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-driving-climate-change/">climate change</a>. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.gwu.edu/">George Washington University</a> and the <a href="https://publichealth.gwu.edu/">Milken Institute School of Public Health</a> examined judicial decisions relating to climate change in order to see how health concerns factored in climate lawsuits. 

The study was published in the journal American Journal of Public Health.

The researchers found that even though health concerns are cited a minority of the time in climate litigation, claims about health risks have considerable potential for persuading court rulings and protecting communities from the risks of pollutants. 

“Many experts believe that climate change is the biggest threat to public health in the 21st century, and the courts have been and will continue to be a central avenue for the development of climate-related policy in the United States,” said Sabrina McCormick, the study’s lead author. 

For the study, the researchers looked at 873 judicial decisions involving climate change and coal-fired power plants between 1990 and 2016. 

Only 16 percent of the cases referenced health issues, and air pollution cases were most likely to discuss the increased risks of cardiovascular and respiratory disease that CO2 emissions and pollutants cause. 

After analyzing the different cases, the researchers found strong associations between health claims and their potential in climate litigation. 

According to the researchers, health claims may help bring a case to court and certain cases may be better supported by evidence about health issues like energy efficiency and renewables. 

The researchers suggest that for future climate lawsuits, the plaintiff should detail a list of the all the health benefits that would ensue if known aggravators to climate change, like emissions from power-plants, were reduced.  

The courts can again play a central role in protecting public health, just as they have with the cases against tobacco companies. 

“The courts represent a pivotal branch of government in climate policy formation,” said McCormick and her co-authors. “Increasing inclusion of health concerns in emergent areas of litigation could catalyze effective climate policy-making.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Citing health risks in climate lawsuits could sway public opinion

When more and more claims were made against big tobacco...

<a href="http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/the-uk-plastics-pact">The UK Plastics Pact</a> has officially been launched in an effort to transform the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-plastic-pollution-bacteria/">plastics</a> system and reduce unnecessary waste. More than 40 businesses, governments, and organizations have joined the initiative, agreeing to change the way they design, produce, use, and dispose of plastic pollution.

The growing list of businesses participating in the project include Aldi, Coca Cola, P&amp;G, Pizza Hut, and Pepsico. The <a href="http://www.bbc.com/">BBC</a> is reporting that the companies who have aligned with the pact are responsible for over 80 percent of the plastic packaging on products sold in supermarkets across the UK.

Critics of the project say that these companies need to make changes that are enforced by government action, and not just on a voluntary basis.

The organizations that signed the pact have promised to make huge strides by the year 2025. 

The pledges that must be honored by the target date include: 100 percent of all plastic packaging will be reusable, recyclable, or compostable; 70 percent of all plastic packaging will be effectively recycled or composted; all plastic packaging will contain an average of 30 percent recycled content; and unnecessary or problematic single-use packaging will be eliminated.

The UK Plastics Pact website states:

“Our throwaway culture needs to change. We need to move away from a linear plastics economy, where we take, make and dispose of plastic, towards a circular system where we capture the value of plastics material - keeping plastic in the economy and out of the oceans." 

The website cautions that around 5,000 pieces of marine plastic pollution have been found per mile of beach in the UK.

The initiative was launched by The Ellen MacArthur Foundation and by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), a nonprofit group that strives toward a sustainable, resource-efficient economy. 

“Creating a circular economy for plastics amounts to a huge opportunity for the economy as well as providing a longer-term benefit for the environment,” said Ellen MacArthur. “Achieving it will require close collaboration and significant commitment from industry, government, and society at large.”

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Major companies collaborate to reduce plastic pollution in the UK

The UK Plastics Pact has officially been launched in an...

The <a href="https://www.easac.eu/">European Academies’ Science Advisory Council</a> (EASAC) and the InterAcademy Partnership are urging European policymakers to modify their current approach to food, agriculture, the environment, and human health. 

The experts say that more policy coherence is needed to effectively address the issues of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/europe-drought-regions-climate-change/">climate change</a>, nutrition, and food waste. They are recommending a “food systems approach,” which is an integrative system that includes all of the steps involved from growing to consuming food.

Professor Joachim von Braun, is the co-chair of the <a href="https://easac.eu/meetings-events/details/public-launch-of-our-easac-iap-report-on-food-security-in-europe/">EASAC-IAP project on food and agriculture.</a>

“A food systems approach is critical to tackling some of the most pressing issues of our day, such as climate change, sustainable land and water use, food waste, and of course human health,” said Professor von Braun. “This calls for science initiatives that cut across disciplines, tailored to the complexity of food systems by both, EU and Member States.”

The researchers noted that the negative impacts of climate change must be met by the introduction of climate-smart agriculture, such as developing crops that are resistant to drought. The study authors also pointed out that, although agriculture plays a critical role in the change that is needed, the changes must be reflected in consumer behavior as well.

On the other hand, agriculture itself is significantly contributing to climate change, which means that new practices and consumer behaviors must be aimed at lowering agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. For example, the consumption of alternative protein sources such as insects or cell-cultured meat would lower the demand for livestock products.

The adjustment of meat consumption patterns should also have targeted health benefits, such as reducing the overconsumption of meat and dairy products in high-income countries while providing more nutritious diets for developing countries. Across Europe, obesity and undernutrition are critical public health issues.

Estimates from the research suggest that adopting the World Health Organization guidance on healthy diets could reduce mortality worldwide by up to 10 percent and reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions by up to 70 percent over the next three decades.

“As malnutrition remains a huge global problem and in recent years global hunger has increased again, EU science policy on food, nutrition and agriculture needs to take an international view,” said Professor von Braun. “Related innovations in Europe can have large positive impacts elsewhere in the world, if shared in science partnerships. Other themes of promising international collaborative science are food safety and healthy diets.”


Study co-author Professor Volker ter Meulen added, “This report is part of a larger project involving 130 science academies around the globe. Europe's approach to food, agriculture, and the environment is crucial because Europe's actions affect others around the world.”

The EASAC-IAP report, “Opportunities and Challenges for Research on Food and Nutrition Security and Agriculture in Europe,” was launched at the <a href="https://visit.brussels/fr/place/Palais-des-Academies">Palais des Académies</a> in Brussels.

--

By <a href="http://csextom@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Europe faces unsustainable future with food and agriculture

The European Academies’ Science Advisory Council (EASAC) and the InterAcademy...

<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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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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