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Environmental science is the multidisciplinary study of all aspects of the Earth’s physical and biological environments. It encompasses environmental chemistry, soil science, ecology, climatology, vegetation cover, marine and freshwater systems, as well as environmental remediation and preservation, and agriculture and land use.
Evidence from a multi-country analysis of 9.2 million cancer deaths suggests that traffic-sourced PM2.5 might contribute to the short-term PM2.5-related cancer mortality burden to a much greater extent than would be expected from its share of total PM2.5 concentration.
Since 2020, snowfall has largely counterbalanced the melting of the Antarctic ice sheet. The atmospheric effect that causes this has been identified — and it’s temporary.
Ecologists have long wondered why some tropical forests store more carbon than others. A global satellite survey offers an explanation.
Sea ice modulates the energy exchange between the atmosphere and ocean through complex, time-varying processes. This Review describes changes in Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice properties and processes, discusses the future sea-ice environment and provides recommendations to improve understanding of sea ice and its role in Earth’s changing climate.
GLP-1 receptor agonists have transformed metabolic care, yet their influence extends far beyond direct human health. Appetite-suppressing drugs alter not only how people eat, but also how societies impact food production and resulting greenhouse gas emissions, land and water use, and nutrient pollution. We explore the potential environmental benefits of population uptake of these drugs and contend that planning a sustainable future requires accounting for the ecological outcomes driven by advances in medicine.
A reconstruction of Pacific Ocean sea surface temperatures adds to the evidence that human-caused warming is boosting El Niño events.
Fission facilities that fit in a truck could provide portable power where it’s needed — but some people question whether it’s worth the cost, safety compromises and the risk of sending the raw materials for bombs into communities.
Shadowed by past disasters, nuclear engineers are developing different types of reactor, fuel, coolant and material that could help to make fission the zero-carbon energy technology of choice.
Oversight agencies suddenly face pressure to rapidly assess a range of relatively untested reactor designs.