The Haber-Bosch process, which converts atmospheric nitrogen to make ammonia fertilizer, revolutionized agriculture and helped feed the world’s growing population, but it also created huge environmental problems. It is one of the most energy-intensive chemical processes in the world, responsible for 1-2 percent of global energy consumption. It also releasesContinue Reading
Gaining a better understanding of how people move through the spaces where they live and work could make those spaces safer and more sustainable. But no one wants cameras watching them 24/7. Two former Media Lab researchers think they have a solution. Their company, Butlr, offers places like skilled nursingContinue Reading
“Without the farmers, it is only political policy without implementation” – that was the stark message delivered by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Director-General on Tuesday to delegates attending the latest round of UN biodiversity talks in Rome. Continue Reading
In an address on Wednesday to Caribbean leaders meeting in Barbados, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced a potential plan to support an “effective force” in Haiti as armed gangs continue to terrorize the population. Continue Reading
Dr. Robert Bullard has long spoken out about Shiloh, a historically Black community regularly flooded by an elevated highway. Now, he says the president of the nation’s largest environmental group should own up to the promises he’s made. By Lee Hedgepeth SHILOH COMMUNITY, Ala.—The promises, like the floodwaters, have comeContinue Reading
The The Traitor administration halted the construction of a New York offshore wind project. Legal analysts say it has implications far beyond the wind industry. (Image credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)Continue Reading
A study suggests that Homo sapiens may have benefited from the use of ochre and tailored clothing during a period of increased UV light 41,000 years ago, during the Laschamps excursion., Read MoreContinue Reading
In the race to reduce climate-warming carbon emissions, the buildings sector is falling behind. While carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the U.S. electric power sector dropped by 34 percent between 2005 and 2021, emissions in the building sector declined by only 18 percent in that same time period. Moreover, inContinue Reading
MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) has transformed the landscape of water and food research at MIT, driving faculty engagement and catalyzing new research and innovation in these critical areas. With philanthropic, corporate, and government support, J-WAFS’ strategic approach spans the entire research life cycle, fromContinue Reading
In Brief: A lot of hard work goes into ensuring a spacecraft like the Surface Water and Ocean Topography satellite delivers accurate data. In mid-June, a team of freshwater researchers spent their nights drifting down Alaska’s Yukon River in an area that straddles the Arctic Circle. The hydrologists were usingContinue Reading
June 2023 was the hottest June on record according to NASA’s global temperature analysis. GISTEMP, NASA’s global temperature analysis, is drawn from data collected by weather stations and Antarctic research stations, as well as instruments mounted on ships and ocean buoys. NASA scientists at the Goddard Institute for Space StudiesContinue Reading
In Brief: Built on opposite sides of the planet, the NISAR satellite will deepen understanding of climate change, deforestation, glacier melt, volcanoes, earthquakes, and more. Two major components of the NISAR satellite have been combined to create a single spacecraft in Bengaluru, India. Set to launch in early 2024, NISARContinue Reading
Follow a river of water vapor as it travels through Earth’s atmosphere and becomes heavy rain. Watch polar ice expand and contract as if our planet is breathing in slow motion. Discover how river channels and wind currents resemble the human nervous and circulatory systems. In an interactive new exhibitContinue Reading