Natural Resources

In an article on ScienceNews.org, written by Jake Buehler, a recent study sheds light on the potential threat posed by invasive Spanish cedar trees to the migratory patterns of giant tortoises in the Galápagos, with implications for the broader ecosystem. Wildlife biologist Stephen Blake and his…

In an article written on ScienceNews.org, author Payal Dhar writes about the quest to establish a robust communication infrastructure for human missions to Mars being underway, recognizing the challenges posed by vast distances and time lags. While Wi-Fi connections to Earth's internet are…

In an article on science.org, author Sean Cummings writes on the vast and intricate African savanna, a peculiar ecological upheaval is unfolding, akin to a fusion of David and Goliath with a Rube Goldberg machine. This bizarre phenomenon is occurring in the grasslands of Kenya, where an invasive…

An article found on ScienceDaily.com delves into the escalating frequency and intensity of weather extremes, such as heatwaves and heavy rainfall, across the United States due to climate change. Researchers from the University of Delaware and the University of Wyoming conducted a study examining…

An article, written by Robin Fearon on Discovery.com, discusses the transformation of the abandoned Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, into a green living neighborhood. This ambitious project aims to create an eco-friendly community on the 580-acre site, offering over 5,000 homes for more than…

A recent study in Peru, written about on ScienceNews.com by Saima Iqbal, found that llamas helped revitalize barren land left behind by melting glaciers. Researchers, in partnership with local farmers, allowed llamas to graze on designated plots from 2019 to 2022. Over this period, the soil…

A new study, written about by Patrick Pester on LiveScience.com, reveals the existence of a Jurassic sea monster called Lorrainosaurus, belonging to the pliosaur group known as Thalassophonea. This creature, with a 4.3-foot-long jaw, represented the oldest "megapredatory" pliosaur on record, ruling…

The origins of human burial rituals are discussed by Patrick Pester in his LiveScience.com article. While there's no definitive answer, the earliest evidence suggests that deliberate human burials date back to the Middle Paleolithic, around 120,000 years ago. These early burials occurred in caves,…

There has been more than a 40% increase in emissions amidst the congestion at Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. Chris Chavez, deputy policy director for the Coalition for Clean Air, indicates that the Long Beach port does not meet national air quality standards. The lower air quality could be…

Now, about a week out from the oil spill in southern California, wildlife and environmental experts are attempting to assess the damage done to the wildlife population. The spill was estimated to have leaked anywhere from 31,000 to more than 120,000 gallons of oil into the water off the coast of…

Climate change has been a controversial topic for as long as one can remember, and it is possible that human-caused climate trends are playing a role in the severity of the drought we are currently facing. The rising temperatures within the country also play a role in water loss, which further…

Residents in Manatee County, Florida have been evacuated over Easter weekend due to the potential leakage of contaminated wastewater at a former phosphate plant. Decades prior, phosphate was mined there for fertilizer use. Since the plant's closure in 2001, there remains three phosphogypsum stacks…

The global number of methane hotspots grew 32% since last year. Methane is a greenhouse gas that, over a 20-year time frame, can be 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide. Pipeline maintenance often causes methane leaks but it could also be an effect of some companies relaxing their operating…

Plastic-chomping caterpillars could potentially help solve the world's environmental plastic waste problem. These creatures chomp through plastic, even polyethylene, a non-biodegradable plastic that is clogging up our landfills and seas. They have gut microbes that are essential in the…