Climate Change

Concrete is the most abundant manufactured material in the world. It is primarily composed of water, cement, and aggregate (sand and gravel.) Cement manufacturing is responsible for about 8% of the world’s total CO2 emissions, primarily a result of the chemical reaction of heating limestone and the combustion of fossil fuels used to provide the heat.

Ten years ago, there were about 1,200 satellites in orbit around the earth. Now there are about 12,000 and the numbers are growing rapidly. Starlink alone has 9,000 satellites in its communications swarm and may in a few years have as many as 42,000. By 2040, there may be more than 100,000 active satellites circling Earth.

Lemurs are small social primates with pointed snouts, large eyes, and a long tail. These charismatic creatures are a favorite of children. There are about 100 living species and all of them live on the large island of Madagascar. Lemurs’ ancestors are thought to have originated in Africa and crossed the Mozambique Channel to Madagascar over 60 million years ago. Over time, they evolved into a large number of species.

According to a new study, mountains around the world are warming faster than surrounding lowlands. The increased heat at higher elevations is melting glaciers and reducing snowfall. This threatens a vital source of fresh water for more than a billion people.

The Trump administration broadly opposes renewable energy. The so-called Big Beautiful Bill gutted green energy subsidies and the administration has been systematically cutting back on clean energy programs including essentially bringing American offshore wind energy development to a halt. Their overall policy position is that climate change is not a serious problem and that fossil fuels are the way to go.

Africa’s forests were once among the world’s largest carbon sinks, absorbing roughly 20% of all the carbon dioxide captured by plants. For centuries, the continent’s rainforests and woodlands helped regulate the planet’s climate, acting as a vital buffer against global warming.

Storing energy in batteries is an increasingly important aspect of the modern world. Electric cars and giant battery banks for electric utilities require high-capacity batteries. The majority of these batteries are lithium-ion batteries that come in a number of different varieties based on the other elements used to make them.

For more than three decades, Bill McKibben has been one of the most influential - and clearest - voices warning about the dangers of a warming planet. In his new book, "Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization," McKibben argues that while the window to act is narrowing, it is not yet closed.

Researchers at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia have found that there are marine bacteria living in all the world’s oceans that are able to consume and digest plastic – in particular polyethylene terephthalate (or PET) plastic – the plastic found in soda bottles, clothing, and many other things.

There has much coverage of the plight of sunflower sea stars, the large starfishes with 16 to 24 arms that inhabit the Pacific Coast of North America. A wasting disease that hit the population starting in 2013 killed off more than 90% of the population from Mexico to Alaska. Only recently has the underlying cause of the disease been identified: a specific bacterium of the Vibrio genus. But sunflower sea stars aren’t the only species that have fallen victim to the wasting disease. In fact, it has killed billions of sea stars in up to 20 species.