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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...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-birth-defects/">Air pollution</a> is detrimental to health and wellbeing and has been linked to cardiovascular disease, reduced respiratory health, and even death. 

According to the <a href="http://www.lung.org/our-initiatives/healthy-air/sota/key-findings/">2017 “State of the Air Report”</a> released by the <a href="http://www.lung.org/">American Lung Association, </a>almost 4 in 10 people in the United States live in areas with risky levels air pollution. 

Now, a new study has found that even short-term exposure to air pollution levels below current quality standards increases the risk of death in older adults. 

The study was conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/">Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health</a>, Boston. 

The researchers analyzed data from Medicare patients between the years 2000 and 2012 from almost 40,000 zip codes across the United States. 

The team examined pollution levels including particulate matter and ozone levels and compared these to death rates among the Medicare data used for the study. 

The results show that daily growth in pollution levels increases the risk of death for more than 22 million Medicare patients. Even if the levels calculated by the research team were below legal limits, exposure to pollution still correlated with a risk of death. 

This means that air pollution levels may need to be re-evaluated and that people with Medicare living in areas with ozone and particle pollution below current standards are still at risk of health problems and now, as the study shows, even death.

As it stands now, the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-air-act">Clean Air Act</a> mandates that air quality standards for pollution be reviewed every five years, but with increasing levels of greenhouse gas emissions, pollutants are becoming more and more harmful. 

The researchers say that in order to revise the acceptable levels of pollution, further studies will need to be done specifically examining the risk of death at differing levels of air pollution. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Even below legal limits, air pollution increases risk of death

Air pollution is detrimental to health and wellbeing and has...

As some environmental ideas become mainstream, such as ‘sustainability’ and the practice of recycling, companies are scrambling to catch up.  It’s important to know how to separate the wheat from the chaff, the truly green companies from those pretending to be <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenhouse-gas-emissions-100-companies/">environmentally friendly</a>.  

From my perspective, every company claiming to be environmentally friendly is in some way lying.  One case of this fakeness is Best Buy.  I worked stocking shelves in Best Buy on an overnight shift for the holidays a couple years back.  Best Buy went out of its way to paint the image of an environmentally friendly tech company.  Best Buy will recycle your electronics and batteries for free.  Some Best Buy gift cards that year had environmental slogans.  Why isn’t Best Buy green?  Let me spell it out.  When I was young and still in college I felt solar, wind and other alternative energies could save the planet.  I travelled to Tasmania and got a big wake up call.  

I worked on a small subsistence farm in Tasmania for free room and board.  The farm was entirely vegetarian, there was no electricity and as much food as possible was grown on the farm, organically.  Peter, the man who ran the farm, was one of the first people to question my environmental presumptions.  When talking about a large pulp mill being built in Tasmania, Peter said, ‘It’s the fault of people who use electricity.  You buy a light bulb that was shipped to a store in a cardboard box and packaged in paper, you’re contributing to pulp mills.’  

The point wasn’t that electricity use was the worst thing you could do, obviously reading books also contributes to pulp mills.  The point is that the more resources, any resources you consume, the larger your impact on the environment.  Peter, in his comment, also highlights the interconnectedness of our actions in society and the environment around us.  By writing this article on my laptop, using electricity and publishing it on a website to be read by other people using electricity, I’m making a compromise.  I’m knowingly making a trade-off between consumption (electricity, metals, plastics, etc. in my laptop) and informing the public (that’s you, reader).  

Even with solar panels producing electricity that is clean, few people think of the initial environmental impact of producing solar panels.  Recycling everything from plastic bottles to electronics isn’t without its problems either.  Recycling takes a lot of energy input.  Besides the carbon produced from recycling, it can contribute to child labor borne from the desperation of poverty with unsafe conditions.

The best practice when it comes to deciding whether an action, a purchase or life style is ‘green’ is to do as little as possible.  What I mean is, don’t buy something to support ‘green’ industry.  The less you buy, the greener it is; live simply.  When you do buy, buy used.  Buying used contributes less energy towards production of goods.  Second hand stores are often a better deal as well and sometimes profits go towards non-profit causes.  

Besides simplicity, we should always think deeply and look at unintended consequences.  For instance, I don’t eat meat.  It’s true that meat eating contributes more of a carbon footprint than vegetarian eating.  It’s also true that meat production demands more land and contributes to predator ‘control’ on wild animals.  There are many other environmental reasons for being vegetarian but it’s just an example.  Don’t assume an electric car is greener.  Think about where the electricity for that car is coming from; consider the environmental impact of producing and shipping an electric car.  If the electricity comes from solar or wind, think about the impact of installing windmills or solar panels.  An easy thing to do is walk instead of drive.  There’s no environmental downside to walking over driving and you might actually enjoy the environment you walk through more.

Remember that global climate change is only one of many environmental problems.  Plastic is quickly replacing fish in the ocean.  We’re on the edge of a massive global extinction, set to wipe out many plants, animals and fungi.  Getting out and connecting to our environment is more important than ever and yet federal public lands are under attack.  Kids spend more time inside and less outside connecting to the world around them and others.    

What’s green and what’s just green washing is a matter of opinion in the end.  The important thing is not to just believe a label or the hype around a certain product.  Being green is a personal responsibility, not something that can be passed off to business or government.  Trying your best and being imperfect is better than getting overwhelmed and giving up.  Inform yourself, think for yourself, trust yourself.                

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Greenwashing: How easy is it to ‘go green’?

As some environmental ideas become mainstream, such as ‘sustainability’ and...

German scientists may have finally solved the mystery of what part of the brain recognizes human voices. The researchers are reporting that the area of the brain responsible for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/politicians-voice-impacts-success/">voice</a> recognition is a small region known as the superior temporal gyrus (STG).

The STG is part of the right posterior temporal lobe, which is one of the four major lobes in the brain. Claudia Roswandowitz is a researcher at the <a href="https://www.mpg.de/149614/kognition_neuro">Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences</a> and the lead author of the study.

Roswandowitz teamed up with other experts from the research group <a href="http://www.cbs.mpg.de/independent-research-groups/human-communication">Neural Mechanisms of Human Communication</a> for the investigation. The study was focused on 58 individuals with brain injuries in an effort to examine their ability to learn and recognize voices.

“Very valid statements about which brain areas are responsible for which functions are derived from investigations in patients with lesions,” explained Roswandowitz.

The <a href="http://www.cbs.mpg.de/voice-recognition-in-the-brain">study</a> revealed that patients with damage to the right posterior temporal lobe had trouble identifying the voices of other people, and individuals who had suffered from a stroke had even more difficulty.

Overall, 9 percent of the patients examined had difficulty in distinguishing one voice from another. The results of the study indicate that this particular region of the brain is critical in voice recognition. 

“These findings improve our understanding of how the brain identifies voices and provide the basis in the search for effective therapies for those affected by phonagnosia, a fairly common deficit which is sometimes present from birth but especially after a stroke,” said Roswandowitz.

“In our studies nine percent of the participants reported suffering from difficulties in recognizing voices, a problem that is almost unheard of in the medical sector.Thus, we have to raise awareness of this matter.”

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

This part of the brain allows us to remember voices

German scientists may have finally solved the mystery of what...

A new <a href="https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/6043f-meyers-fallout-mortality-website.pdf">study</a> from <a href="http://www.arizona.edu/">University of Arizona</a> economist Keith Meyers reveals that radiation from nuclear tests during the Cold War led to many more deaths than previously thought. 

Between 1951 and 1963, the United States conducted over 100 above-ground nuclear tests at sites in Nevada. Meyers has found that as many as 690,000 casualties resulted after radioactive pollution made its way into the environment and the food supply.

Exposure to high levels of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-travelers-fly-radiation-clouds/">radiation</a> can cause serious illness or death, and even low doses of radiation can cause cancer. The weapons developers were either unaware of these risks or just completely careless, and people working at test sites or living closeby were not the only ones in harm's way. Ultimately, millions of people were exposed to “tremendous" amounts of radiation.

“Counter-intuitively, the areas where fallout had the largest impact on the crude death rate was not in the region surrounding the test site, but rather in areas with moderate levels of radioactive fallout deposition in the interior of the country,” said Meyers.

Early attempts to calculate the extent of the fallout from nuclear tests were inaccurate because they did not account for the collateral damage that happened over time and space. 

“The largest health effects appear in areas far beyond the scope of previous scientific and medical studies,” explained Meyers. “The scientific and medical literature has studied the effects of atmospheric testing on populations residing in downwind counties in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.”

After the nuclear tests, pollution was carried far away by winds. In addition, cows consumed irradiated grass which leaked radioactive material into the milk supply.

To analyze the number of deaths which resulted from nuclear testing, Myers used an empirical alternative approach which combined measures of radioactive fallout exposure from the <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/">National Cancer Institute</a> and mortality data from across the continental United States. 

Meyers found that radioactive fallout was to blame for between 340,000 and 690,000 deaths from 1951 to 1973, which is up to fourteen times more casualties than earlier research had demonstrated. 

Meyers explained that putting a stop to nuclear testing inadvertently saved millions of Americans from additional exposure. He estimated that the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was responsible for saving between 11.7 and 24 million lives.

“The evidence presented in this paper reveals that the health cost of domestic nuclear
testing is both larger and more expansive than previously thought,” said Meyers. 

“The mortality estimates may understate the magnitude of the true number of deaths attributable to nuclear testing and the magnitude of the health costs of this polluting defense policy. It is plausible that
these estimates are lower bounds of the true health effects.”

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

1950s nuclear tests exposed millions to radiation

A new study from University of Arizona economist Keith Meyers...

An odor can trigger memories and emotions from experiences long ago, and neuroscientists from the <a href="http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/index_en.htm">Ruhr-Universität Bochum</a> set out to determine which region of the brain stores long-term memories of scents. They discovered that an area of the olfactory brain called the piriform cortex plays a role in saving memories, yet it does not operate alone.

“It is known that the piriform cortex is able to temporarily store olfactory memories," said study co-author Christina Strauch. “We wanted to know, if that applies to long-term memories as well.”

A biological process known as synaptic plasticity alters communication between neurons found in the brain. These synaptic changes contribute to memory and learning by storing new information on the brain's memory structures.

Through experimentation in mice, the researchers investigated if the piriform cortex is capable of expressing synaptic plasticity. They also wanted to examine whether synaptic changes lasted for more than four hours, which would indicate that long-term memory had been established.

The experts used electrical impulses in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/salad-vegetables-brain-young/">brain</a> with varying frequencies and intensities to emulate processes that trigger the encoding of an olfactory sensation as a memory. 

It is known that these procedures can produce lasting effects in the hippocampus, which is another region of the brain responsible for long term memories. Surprisingly, the protocols did not induce synaptic plasticity in the piriform cortex.

Next, the scientists set out to determine whether the piriform cortex needs to be instructed to create a long-term memory. To do so, they stimulated a brain area called the orbitofrontal cortex, which is responsible for the recognition of sensory experiences. This stimulation resulted in synaptic change in the piriform cortex. 

“Our study shows that the piriform cortex is indeed able to serve as an archive for long-term memories,” said Strauch. “But it needs instruction from the orbitofrontal cortex - a higher brain area - indicating that an event is to be stored as a long-term memory.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/cercor">Cerebral Cortex</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Why certain smells turn into long-term memories

An odor can trigger memories and emotions from experiences long...

There are thousands of premature deaths from particle pollution in the United States each year, and the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">Environmental Protection Agency</a> (EPA) has the responsibility of writing and enforcing regulations that will protect both the environment and human health. Researchers are reporting that the amount of lives saved by legislation from the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scott-pruitt-doubts-global-warming/">EPA</a> has been substantially underestimated in the past.

Colette Heald is an associate professor of Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences and Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at the <a href="http://web.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a>.

“In the United States, the number of premature deaths associated with exposure to outdoor particulate matter exceeds the number of car accident fatalities every year,” said Heald. “This highlights the vital role that the EPA plays in reducing the exposure of people living in the United States to harmful pollutants.”


The 1970 Clean Air Act and its amendments were proposed by the EPA to address the health effects of particulate matter. More specifically, the legislation regulated the emissions of air pollutants and promoted research into cleaner alternatives. 

The EPA reported in 2011 that the regulations set forth in the Clean Air Act had led to a substantial decrease in particulate matter in the atmosphere, and estimated that over 100,000 lives were saved every year from 2000 to 2010 as a result of the enforcement of the new laws. 

The report, however, did not account for organic aerosol, a major component of particle pollution, as a large contributor to the decline in particulate matter during this time frame. Organic aerosol is emitted directly from vehicles, residential burning, and wildfires, and is also chemically produced in the atmosphere from the oxidation of  hydrocarbons.

The research team examined surface measurements of organic aerosol from all over the country between 1990 to 2012, which enabled them to develop a comprehensive map of organic aerosol in the United States.

“Widespread monitoring of air pollutant concentrations across the United States enables us to verify changes in air quality over time in response to regulations,” said Heald. “Previous work has focused on the decline in particulate matter associated with efforts to reduce acid rain in the United States. But to date, no one had really explored the long term trend in organic aerosol.

The researchers discovered that there had been a much more significant decline in organic aerosol than previously thought, which suggested that more lives has been saved by the EPA than what was reported.  

“The EPA report showed a very large impact from the decline in particulate matter, but we were surprised to see a very little change in the organic aerosol concentration in their estimates,” explained study co-author David Ridley. “The observations suggest that the decrease in organic aerosol had been six times larger than estimated between 2000 and 2010 in the EPA report.”

The findings of the study are published in the <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/earth/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Report: EPA clean air policies have led to longer lives

There are thousands of premature deaths from particle pollution in...

UK Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to end the inhumane act of puppy farming. The proposed legislation will outlaw the sale of puppies without their mother present, and will mandate that the sale of a dog can only be made by licensed dog breeders.

“It is all too easy to be moved by images online or adverts in the local Press advertising newborn puppies looking for a home for Christmas,” said Environment Secretary Michael Gove.

“But what we don’t see is all too often a sad history of mistreatment and malpractice. That is why we are looking at how we can go further to crack down on unscrupulous breeders so pet owners will have no doubt their new dogs have had the right start in life.”

Interbreeding and unhealthy kennel conditions can cause major health issues in dogs, including psychological problems and hereditary defects. In a puppy farm, the animals are commercially bred. The puppies are separated from their mothers and kept in unsanitary conditions.

In the United States alone, there are an estimated 10,000 puppy mills, both licensed and unlicensed, that sell over 2,000,000 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-chocolate-poisoning-christmas/">puppies</a> a year. 

The Prime Minister's proposed guidelines would help to put an end to the suffering of tens of thousands of dogs.

“The arrival of a happy, healthy puppy, as I know myself, is a memorable time for a family – but it’s absolutely right we do everything we can to eradicate animal cruelty from our society,” said May.

“Any unscrupulous mistreatment of animals is disturbing – so in our drive to achieve the highest animal welfare standards in the world, we continually look at what more can be done.

The Prime Minister said that the proposals made by her administration are an important step in the right direction. The reforms will eradicate the sale of sick, underage puppies and the breeding of unhealthy dogs. 

The Prime Minister also intends to address puppy smuggling and the regulation of online sales. 

“In our drive to achieve the highest animal welfare standards in the world, we will continually look at what more can be done,” said the Prime Minister.

The legislation could be passed as soon as early 2018.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

UK Prime Minister aims to eliminate puppy mills

UK Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to end the...

Whether you’re singing Christmas carols or simply rocking out with your friends in the car, belting the hits can be a blast. But according to new research, singing out loud with others is actually good for your health.

A recent study found that singing in a group has a positive impact on people with anxiety or depression, and it can maintain and even improve mental health. 

In fact, researchers noticed that group <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/traffic-noise-birds-stop-singing/">singing</a> had a therapeutic effect and was a primary part of the recovery process for some of the individuals.

The study was conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/">University of East Anglia</a> in collaboration with the Sing Your Heart Out project, which is based in Norfolk. 

Sing Your Heart Out is a program that hosts weekly singing workshops open to the public but geared toward people suffering from mental health issues. Since its launch in 2005, there are a little over 100 people who attend the workshops each week. 

Sing Your Heart Out isn’t about talent or performing, as the group doesn’t rehearse for any public presentations. Instead, it’s an inclusive and supportive program that offers something unique and fun. 

For the study, researchers observed the workshops for six months. There were also interviews and focus groups with program participants and the workshop organizers.

The researchers found the workshops had such a positive impact because the singing and weekly interaction resulted in a sense of wellbeing, improved confidence, and social skills. 

The program also offers a free, low-pressure alternative to other common group treatment options for people with mental health conditions. 

"All of the participants we spoke to reported positive effects on their mental health as a direct result of taking part in the singing workshops,” said Tom Shakespeare, the study’s lead researcher. “But the key thing for everyone was that the Sing Your Heart Out model induced fun and happiness.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Singing in groups improves mental health and wellbeing

Whether you’re singing Christmas carols or simply rocking out with...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-understand-humans-better/">Dogs</a> have long been companions for high adventures of all kinds.  John Muir wrote of Stikine, a little black dog that accompanied him on an Alaskan expedition and even jumped over glacial crevasses with him.  There was the South American botanist explorer Spruce and his dog Sultan who explored Amazonia together.  In Jewel Cave there is a tight passage called Dog Balk for when explorer couple’s dog had enough and was ready to leave the cave.  Of course there are sled dogs which have been instrumental in much polar exploration.

I’ve seen dogs happily hiking peaks 13,000 or 14,000 feet high in Colorado and Wyoming.  My friend Matt has brought his Yellow Labrador, Pokey on many long hikes with us; including one where we helped him from ledge to ledge, held safe with a harness made from climbing webbing.  Outdoor films and books often feature dogs; there is Ace and the Desert Dog, a documentary about a man’s 60 day backpacking trip to celebrate his 60th birthday with his dog Genghis Khan.  There are books like Merle’s Door about dogs that hike, raft, go on hunting trips and generally live many outdoor enthusiasts’ dream.  There is even When Dogs Fly, a film about a professional rock climber and base jumper that brings his dog along, in a specially designed roll cage in his parachute bag.  Recently I watched a man doing flips and rolls in his Kayak at the river park in Salida Colorado as his dog sat with his friends and nervously barked and whined, watching what she must’ve thought pure human madness.        

Before one paints too rosy an image of dogs along for adventure there are some considerations to keep in mind.  Both Antarctic explorers Amundsen and Shackleton ungratefully and cruelly killed their dogs for consideration of human life and cold calculation of expedition objectives.  Spruce Killed his dog when he ‘went mad’ after experiencing the roar of rapids in a canoe, and refused to eat or drink.  More recently Anthony Ortolani left his German Shepherd at 13,000 feet on Mt. Bierstadt with bloody paws for seven nights of cold temperatures and dehydration.  Eventually kind strangers rescued the German Shepherd renamed Lucky against high odds and with considerable personal risk.

Today the focus on the outdoors, even among professional adventurers and explorers has shifted from serious scientific and mapping expeditions to more personal or intrinsic outdoor pursuits.  Likewise there is growing concern about the welfare and wellbeing of non-human animals, including the animal closest to us, the dog.  One may easily question the purity of motives behind those who bring dogs on the most extreme of adventures.  The Iditarod and other dog sled races are often criticized for being cruel.  Many people think dogs don’t belong on any of Colorado’s 14,000 ft. peaks (14ers).  The National Parks don’t offer much for someone wanting to recreate outside with their canine friend. 

The problem seems one of balance.  Only those who just plain don’t like dogs or don’t like the outdoors would suggest that dogs should never go on hikes.  When Anthony Ortolani left his dog on Bierstadt, he was ridiculed online and in the media but most of the ridicule was because he didn’t mount a rescue for his dog as soon as possible.  Ortolani left Lucky with two of his three liters of water when carrying her down became impossible and then remained silent for the next week while other people organized her rescue on the 14ers.com forum.  There have been dogs that have summited all of Colorado’s 14ers and opinions on the subject are all over the map.  I, with my girlfriend, Erin carried our Shih Tzu, Zari to the top of 14,229’ Mt. Shavano where we were greeted with a hail storm.  On the way to the summit of Mt. Shavano and back down, we saw at least 5 other dogs, all seemingly happily hiking the mountain.  Zari was quite happy to be let out of her bag after the storm had passed and walk most of the way down the mountain under her own power.  On Cloud Peak in Wyoming we also witnessed a Rottweiler with injured paws, scared and alone in a bolder field high on the mountain.  We gave the dog food and water lapped from our hands but when we tried to lead him down towards the camping areas he was resistant and disappeared, making his own way, we hoped towards his people.

In some ways smaller dogs seem to have advantages to bigger dogs on harder, longer hikes.  The Rottweiler on Cloud Peak and the German Shepherd on Bierstadt were both undoubtedly strong hikers but when the route became too much, they’re quite a burden to carry.  Smaller terriers, sheep and some cattle dogs seem to fit in a good middle place where they can be high energy and love walks and runs but are small enough to be carried in a pinch.  On a desert trail in western Colorado I saw a Jack Russel Terrier racing after a mountain bike speeding downhill; the dog looked to be having the time of her life.  

Of course there is the consideration of knowing your dog and easing him or her into outdoor adventures.  Some outdoor pursuits by their nature are unpredictable.  Lucky, the dog left on Bierstadt had summited 6 14ers before that fateful mountain.  I’ve felt great on some mountains and sick and weak on others with out completely understanding why.  Dogs age faster than humans too, just because a dog hiked something last year, it gives no guarantee for the coming year.      

In the end, taking your dog (or not) on outdoor adventures comes down to consideration.  Ryan Kushner set out to summit all of Colorado’s 14ers with Sophie, his dog but stopped a little short because his Sophie was getting old and arthritic and he didn’t want to cause unnecessary pain.  One could ask why he took his dog on any 14er in the first place but the answer is plain when one sees dogs and humans happy together high in the mountains.  Because dogs can’t communicate clearly, because they may push themselves further than they should for a human they love, we should show dogs more consideration than we show ourselves.  

On a long hike when I was in my teens, I took our mix breed family dog, Chance with me, we got a little lost and took longer getting back than I anticipated.  Eventually it was obvious Chance’s paws were getting sore from walking longer than he was accustomed to. I picked Chance up and carried him for miles over my shoulders back to the car; it was the only time I remember Chance letting me pick him up.  Carrying Chance made the hike harder for me but I got him into the mess in the first place and I felt truly sorry his feet were sore.  Showing a dog more consideration than yourself means not only being willing to carry your dog or invest in booties or salve.  Putting your dog first can also mean what is anathema to many peak baggers: turning around before the summit.  Your dog is more important than any amount of posturing for the perfect photo at the top.         

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Earth.com exclusive: Hiking With Dogs

Dogs have long been companions for high adventures of all...

The rise of self-driving <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/self-driving-cars-ethical-decisions/">cars</a> has been occurring more in the public sphere over the last few years, with companies like Tesla and Google rising to the forefront. But there have been questions of safety concerns with this new technology. 

A recent study from <a href="http://web.mit.edu">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> (MIT) highlights a potential breakthrough in improving the safety of self-driving cars.

In their paper published in IEEE Access, members of the Camera Culture group at MIT’s Media Lab discuss their new approach to time-of-flight imaging – an approach that measures distance by analyzing the time it takes light projected into a scene to bounce back to a sensor. 

The team’s new approach increases the depth resolution by 1,000-fold, which is the type of resolution needed to make self-driving cars practical. Furthermore, their technology could allow for accurate distance measurements through fog, which has been a significant obstacle in the development of these vehicles.

PhD student and first author of the paper, Achuta Kadambi, explains why increasing the resolution is so important:

“As you increase the range, your resolution goes down exponentially. Let’s say you have a long-range scenario, and you want your car to detect an object further away so it can make a fast update decision. You may have started at 1 centimeter, but now you’re back down to [a resolution of] a foot or even 5 feet. And if you make a mistake, it could lead to loss of life.”

However, the MIT team’s new system at a distance of 2 meters has a depth resolution of a whopping (or tiny) 3 micrometers. And at 500 meters, the system theoretically would have a depth resolution of only a centimeter. This is an enormous difference compared to the systems that are currently in place.

Fog has been an issue for these time-of-flight systems in the past, as it scatters light and deflects returning light signals so that the arrive back to the sensor late and at odd angles. The researchers are currently working on a new gigahertz optical system that combines the ideas of interferometry, light detection and ranging (LIDAR), and the principles of acoustics. This system has been shown in theoretical analyses to produce a usable signal in the presence of fog. 

-

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

One step closer to self-driving cars thanks to new sensors

The rise of self-driving cars has been occurring more in...

One of the main concerns of climate change is the increasing prevalence of killer <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/heat-waves-increase-mortality-rates/">heat waves</a>, which will only become more common as the climate warms. But heat isn’t the only issue. 

A new global study states that, with the current trend of climate change, humidity will also increase in many areas and serve to magnify the effects of heat waves. In some cases, these conditions may surpass humans’ ability to work – or in some cases, survive.

Regions that could be affected include the southeastern United States, the Amazon, western and central Africa, southern areas of the Mideast and Arabian peninsula, northern India, and eastern China.

“The conditions we’re talking about basically never occur now – people in most places have never experienced them,” says Ethan Coffel, a graduate student at <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia University</a>'s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the study’s lead author. “But they’re projected to occur close to the end of the century.”

While a warming climate has been predicted to make many currently dry areas even dryer, as global temperatures rise, this same change in precipitation patterns may also allow the atmosphere to hold more water vapor – and thus result in an increase in humidity in some climates. Chronically humid areas along coastlines or linked to humid-weather patterns may become even more humid. 

If you’ve ever been outside in hot and humid conditions, you know that the effects are noticeably less tolerable than hot and dry conditions at the same temperature. This is because we cool our bodies through sweating, where our sweat evaporates off our skin into the air, taking excess heat with it. But when the air is already heavy with moisture, evaporation off the skin slows down – and at a certain point, becomes impossible. When this cooling process is no longer working, our core body temperature rises and results in lethargy, sickness, and possibly death. 

The researchers did their study through using global climate models to map and project future “wet bulb” temperatures, which shows the combined effects of heat and humidity. They found that by the 2070s, high wet-bulb readings that now occur maybe once a year could happen 100 to 250 days per year in some parts of the tropics. Coauthor Radley Horton, a climate scientist at <a href="http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/">Lamont-Doherty</a>, believes these climate effects could be “transformative” for all areas of human activity – “economy, agriculture, military, recreation.”

Elfatih Eltahir, a professor of hydrology and climate at the <a href="http://web.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> who has studied the issue in the Mideast and Asia, says this new study “is an important paper which emphasizes the need to consider both temperature and humidity in defining heat stress.”

Unless we curtail greenhouse gas emissions, many people will be put at risk of health problems as a result of overheating, and nations’ economies could be severely affected. One silver lining is that, if we substantially cut emissions in the next few decades, we can avoid the worst effects.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Climate change to make some places too humid for humans

One of the main concerns of climate change is the...

Some schools take field trips to national monuments or museums, but for a group of students from Glasgow and Ullapool, Scotland, their field trip took the form of a beach cleanup on Isle Martin in Loch Broom. 

The students ended up removing thousands of plastic straws among the washed-up marine pollution. Inspired by their efforts, the village of Ullapool has officially stopped use of plastic straws in bars, restaurants, and cafes. 

The <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-42439946">BBC</a> first reported on the success of the campaign, wherein 14 businesses agreed to either stop using straws or switch to an eco-friendly alternative such as paper straws. 

Students from Ullapool Primary School and Glasgow's Sunnyside Primary School ran the campaign with aid from the <a href="https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/">Scottish Wildlife Trust</a>. 

The decision to go plastic-free was motivated in part by the students’ realization of how harmful plastics are in the world’s oceans. 

There are millions of tons of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-find-plastic-in-the-most-remote-parts-of-the-ocean/">plastic</a> floating in the oceans, and millions more added every year. The accumulating plastic harms ecosystems and often form deadly traps for marine wildlife. 

The plastic problem is so dire that according to an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/19/more-plastic-than-fish-in-the-sea-by-2050-warns-ellen-macarthur">Ellen Macarthur Foundation Report</a> presented at the World Economic Forum in 2016<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/19/more-plastic-than-fish-in-the-sea-by-2050-warns-ellen-macarthur">,</a> plastic waste could outnumber fish by 2050. 


Everything from takeout containers, microbeads from synthetic fabric and hygiene products, plastic bottles and bags, and countless plastic straws are currently dumped in the ocean and washing up on beaches. 

“There's no need for plastic straws. If you do use a straw it shouldn't be a throwaway one. We're killing our seas with single-use plastic and it's just not necessary,” Caillín Erin Patterson, a student from Ullapool told the BBC. 

The Scottish government has commended Ullapool, noting that it’s a great step forward in reducing marine pollution and keeping shorelines clean. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Village in Scotland agrees to stop using plastic straws

Some schools take field trips to national monuments or museums,...

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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...

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</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.



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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



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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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