Page Updated: Wednesday, January 28, 2026 4:39 PM ET

The Conversation - Environment

PFAS are turning up in the Great Lakes, putting fish and water supplies at risk – here's how they get there - Christy Remucal, University of Wisconsin-Madison

7 hours ago

Greenland's Inuit have spent decades fighting for self-determination -- Susan A. Kaplan, Bowdoin College and Genevieve LeMoine, Bowdoin College

7 hours ago

How fire, people and history shaped the South's iconic longleaf pine forests -- Andrea De Stefano, Mississippi State University

7 hours ago

Marine protected areas aren't in the right places to safeguard dolphins and whales in the South Atlantic -- Guilherme Maricato, UFRJ; Clinton N. Jenkins, Florida International University; Maria Alice S. Alves, UERJ, and Rodrigo Tardin, UFRJ

21 hours ago

How the polar vortex and warm ocean intensified a major US winter storm -- Mathew Barlow, UMass Lowell and Judah Cohen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

21 hours ago

Oversalting your sidewalk or driveway harms local streams and potentially even your drinking water – 3 tips to deice responsibly -- Steven Goldsmith, Villanova University

7 hours ago

Why too much phosphorus in America's farmland is polluting the country's water -- Dinesh Phuyal, University of Florida

2 days ago

America's next big critical minerals source could be coal mine pollution – if we can agree on who owns it -- Hélène Nguemgaing, PhD, University of Maryland and Alan Collins, West Virginia University

2 days ago

American farmers, who once fed the world, face a volatile global market with diminishing federal backing -- Peter Simons, Hamilton College

7 days ago

Despite its steep environmental costs, AI might also help save the planet -- Nir Kshetri, University of North Carolina – Greensboro

7 days ago

What air pollution does to the human body -- Jenni Shearston, University of Colorado Boulder

8 days ago

The world is in water bankruptcy, UN scientists report – here's what that means -- Kaveh Madani, United Nations University

8 days ago

Global power struggles over the ocean's finite resources call for creative diplomacy -- Jonas Gamso, Arizona State University and Hossain Ahmed Taufiq, Arizona State University

8 days ago

US military has a long history in Greenland, from mining during WWII to a nuclear-powered Army base built into the ice -- Paul Bierman, University of Vermont

13 days ago

How mountain terraces have helped Indigenous peoples live with climate uncertainty -- Stephen Acabado, University of California, Los Angeles

13 days ago

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8 months ago

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1 year ago

The western US is in a snow drought, and storms have been making it worse -- Alejandro N. Flores, Boise State University

19 days ago

West Coast levee failures show growing risks from America's aging flood defenses -- Farshid Vahedifard, Tufts University

23 days ago

Iran's president calls for moving its drought-stricken capital amid a worsening water crisis – here's how Tehran got into water bankruptcy -- Ali Mirchi, Oklahoma State University; Amir AghaKouchak, University of California, Irvine; Kaveh Madani, United Nations University, and Mojtaba Sadegh, Boise State University; United Nations University

1 month ago

What is an atmospheric river? A hydrologist explains the good and bad of these storms and how they're changing -- Qian Cao, University of California, San Diego

1 month ago

LA fires 1 year later: Chemicals from smoke lingered in homes long after the wildfires were out – studies tracked the harm -- Yifang Zhu, University of California, Los Angeles

21 days ago

Read more about extreme weather

9 months ago

Why unlocking Venezuelan oil won't mean much for US energy prices -- Amy Myers Jaffe, New York University; Tufts University

14 days ago

Even with Trump's support, coal power remains expensive – and dangerous -- Hannah Wiseman, Penn State and Seth Blumsack, Penn State

1 month ago

US oil industry doesn't see profit in Trump's 'pro-petroleum' moves -- Skip York, Rice University

1 month ago

What are small modular reactors, a new type of nuclear power plant sought to feed AI's energy demand? -- Leonel Lagos, Florida International University

1 month ago

Renewable energy is cheaper and healthier – so why isn't it replacing fossil fuels faster? -- Jay Gulledge, University of Notre Dame; University of Tennessee

2 months ago

Read more about energy

24 days ago

Rising electricity prices and an aging grid challenge the nation as data centers demand more power -- Barbara Kates-Garnick, Tufts University

30 days ago

Data centers need electricity fast, but utilities need years to build power plants – who should pay? -- Theodore J. Kury, University of Florida

1 month ago

AI's ballooning energy consumption puts spotlight on data center efficiency -- Divya Mahajan, Georgia Institute of Technology

4 months ago

AI has a hidden water cost − here's how to calculate yours -- Leo S. Lo, University of Virginia

2 months ago

How your electric bill may be paying for big data centers' energy use -- Ari Peskoe, Harvard University and Eliza Martin, Harvard University

2 months ago

Read more stories about AI

1 month ago

Climate engineering would alter the oceans, reshaping marine life – new study examines each method's risks -- Kelsey Roberts, Cornell University; UMass Dartmouth; Daniele Visioni, Cornell University; Morgan Raven, University of California, Santa Barbara, and Tyler Rohr, University of Tasmania

11 days ago

Viruses aren't all bad: In the ocean, some help fuel the food web – a new study shows how -- Steven Wilhelm, University of Tennessee and Joshua Weitz, University of Maryland

15 days ago

How facial recognition for bears can help ecologists manage wildlife -- Emily Wanderer, University of Pittsburgh

21 days ago

The US used to be really dirty – environmental cleanup laws have made a huge difference -- James Salzman, University of California, Santa Barbara; University of California, Los Angeles

22 days ago

Where the wild things thrive: Finding and protecting nature's climate change safe havens -- Toni Lyn Morelli, UMass Amherst; U.S. Geological Survey and Diana Stralberg, University of Alberta

1 month ago

Read more about environmental issues

8 months ago

Damn the torpedoes! Trump ditches a crucial climate treaty in latest move to dismantle America's climate protections -- Gary W. Yohe, Wesleyan University

15 days ago

The battle over a global energy transition is on between petro-states and electro-states – here's what to watch for in 2026 -- Jennifer Morgan, Tufts University

21 days ago

Sea level doesn't rise at the same rate everywhere – we mapped where Antarctica's ice melt would have the biggest impact -- Shaina Sadai, Five College Consortium and Ambarish Karmalkar, University of Rhode Island

2 months ago

How the oil industry and growing political divides turned climate change into a partisan issue -- Joe Árvai, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

1 year ago

Understanding climate change in America: Skepticism, dogmatism and personal experience -- Gary W. Yohe, Wesleyan University

1 month ago

Read more about climate change

8 months ago

Trump's second term is reshaping US science with unprecedented cuts and destabilizing policy changes -- Kenneth M. Evans, Rice University

1 month ago

As US hunger rises, Trump administration's 'efficiency' goals cause massive food waste -- Tevis Garrett Graddy-Lovelace, American University School of International Service

1 month ago

Black families pay more to keep their houses warm than average American families -- George C. Homsy, Binghamton University, State University of New York and Ki Eun Kang, California State University, San Bernardino

2 months ago

Why higher tariffs on Canadian lumber may not be enough to stimulate long-term investments in US forestry -- Andrew Muhammad, University of Tennessee and Adam Taylor, University of Tennessee

3 months ago

Refinery fires, other chemical disasters may no longer get safety investigations -- Philip Steenstra, University of Michigan; Rachel O'Brien, University of Michigan, and Stuart Batterman, University of Michigan

3 months ago

Read more about environmental regulation

8 months ago

What does it mean to be a new national park? Ocmulgee Mounds in Georgia may soon find out -- Seth T. Kannarr, University of Tennessee

1 month ago

Yosemite embodies the long war over US national park privatization -- Michael Childers, Colorado State University

5 months ago

Hidden treasures of America's national parks are closer than you might think -- Jeffrey C. Hallo, Clemson University

4 months ago

National parks are key conservation areas for wildlife and natural resources -- Sarah Diaz, Coastal Carolina University and Linda Lane, Coastal Carolina University

5 months ago

Why protecting wildland is crucial to American freedom and identity -- Leisl Carr Childers, Colorado State University and Michael Childers, Colorado State University

8 months ago

Read more about national parks

6 months ago

What a US military base lost under Greenland's ice sheet reveals about the island's real strategic importance -- Gemma Ware, The Conversation

5 days ago

West Antarctica's history of rapid melting foretells sudden shifts in continent's 'catastrophic' geology -- Christine Siddoway, Colorado College; Anna Ruth (Ruthie) Halberstadt, The University of Texas at Austin, and Keiji Horikawa, University of Toyama

1 month ago

From record warming to rusting rivers, 2025 Arctic Report Card shows a region transforming faster than expected -- Matthew L. Druckenmiller, University of Colorado Boulder; Rick Thoman, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Twila A. Moon, University of Colorado Boulder

1 month ago

A walk across Alaska's Arctic sea ice brings to life the losses that appear in climate data -- Alexandra Jahn, University of Colorado Boulder

3 days ago

As mountain glaciers melt, risk of catastrophic flash floods rises for millions -- Suzanne OConnell, Wesleyan University and Alton C. Byers, University of Colorado Boulder

6 months ago

Live healthier in 2026 by breathing cleaner air at home -- Katelyn Richard, Colorado State University

18 days ago

When the world's largest battery power plant caught fire, toxic metals rained down – wetlands captured the fallout -- Ivano W. Aiello, San José State University

1 month ago

Industrial facilities owned by profitable companies release more of their toxic waste into the environment -- Mahelet G Fikru, Missouri University of Science and Technology and Jennifer Brodmann, California State University, Dominguez Hills

3 months ago

Air quality analysis reveals minimal changes after xAI data center opens in pollution-burdened Memphis neighborhood -- Chunrong Jia, University of Memphis; Abu Mohammed Naser Titu, University of Memphis, and Namuun Batbaatar, University of Memphis

4 months ago

PFAS in pregnant women's drinking water puts their babies at higher risk, study finds -- Derek Lemoine, University of Arizona; Ashley Langer, University of Arizona, and Bo Guo, University of Arizona

1 month ago

Read more about environmental health

9 months ago

Why 2026 could see the end of the Farm Bill era of American agriculture policy -- Christopher Neubert, Arizona State University and Kathleen Merrigan, Arizona State University

19 days ago

Farmers – long Trump backers – bear the costs of new tariffs, restricted immigration and slashed renewable energy subsidies -- Kee Hyun Park, Nanyang Technological University; Institute for Humane Studies and Shannon P. Carcelli, University of Maryland

2 months ago

What is Fusarium graminearum, the fungus a Chinese scientist pleaded guilty to smuggling into the US? -- Tom W. Allen, Mississippi State University

2 months ago

2 WAYS YOU CAN CONSERVE THE WATER USED TO MAKE YOUR FOOD -- Huma Tariq Malik, Colorado State University and Thomas Borch, Colorado State University

2 months ago

Agricultural drones are taking off globally, saving farmers time and money -- Ben Belton, Michigan State University and Leo Baldiga, Michigan State University

2 months ago

Read more about food and agriculture

2 months ago

Deep-sea mining threatens sea life in a way no one is thinking about, and Trump's order could clear the way for operations soon -- Alexus Cazares-Nuesser, University of Hawaii

9 months ago

Greenland's melting ice and landslide-prone fjords make the oil and minerals Trump is eyeing dangerous to extract -- Paul Bierman, University of Vermont

22 days ago

How the US can mine its own critical minerals − without digging new holes -- Yuanzhi Tang, Georgia Institute of Technology and Scott McWhorter, Georgia Institute of Technology

8 months ago

US, Ukraine sign 'economic partnership' centered on Ukraine's wealth of critical minerals – but extracting them isn't so simple -- Scott L. Montgomery, University of Washington

8 months ago

Critical minerals don't belong in landfills – microwave tech offers a cleaner way to reclaim them from e-waste -- Terence Musho, West Virginia University

7 months ago

Read more about critical minerals

7 months ago

Colorado ski resorts got some welcome snowfall from Winter Storm Fern, but not enough to turn a dry and warm winter around -- Steven R. Fassnacht, Colorado State University and Michael Childers, Colorado State University

7 hours ago

Why Philly has so many sinkholes -- Laura Toran, Temple University

8 days ago

Measuring Colorado's mountains one hike at a time -- Eric Gilbertson, Seattle University

1 month ago