ZAQS.ORG

Tuesday, May 26, 2026 5:06 PM ET

The Conversation - Environment

The US is seeing stronger storms, so why are droughts getting worse? David Boutt, UMass Amherst

5 hours ago

California's salmon fishery is reopening after a population crash led to a 3-year closure, but that doesn't mean all is well -- Eric Palkovacs, University of California, Santa Cruz and Steven T. Lindley, University of California, Santa Cruz

2 hours ago

Shutting down federal bee labs threatens bees, beekeepers and the US food system -- Jennie L. Durant, University of California, Davis

5 hours ago

How natural selection helps design antennas, cancer treatments and adhesives -- Owen D. Jones, Vanderbilt University

5 hours ago

Rice feeds billions of people – but its role in fueling climate change is growing -- Hanqin Tian, Boston College; Jingting Zhang, Boston College; Pep Canadell, CSIRO, and Shufen (Susan) Pan, Boston College

2 days ago

Why Corpus Christi faces a looming water shortage, and what might help -- Michelle Hummel, University of Texas at Arlington

5 hours ago

Formula 1 racing shows the hard part of reaching net-zero carbon emissions isn't the engineering -- Caitlin Grady, George Washington University and Sachi Nandurkar, George Washington University

4 days ago

Hurricane forecasts have improved dramatically, saving lives, but federal cuts threaten to stretch NOAA resources to breaking point -- Brian Tang, University at Albany, State University of New York

5 days ago

The US Constitution and laws do not protect oil companies from being sued over the harm they cause to the climate -- Alejandro E. Camacho, University of California, Los Angeles and Robert Glicksman, George Washington University

5 days ago

EPA is sidelining its independent chemical referee – and that endangers public health -- H. Christopher Frey, North Carolina State University

6 days ago

We designed the turf for soccer's biggest World Cup ever – here's how we created the same playing experience across 3 countries -- John N. Trey Rogers, Michigan State University; Jackie Lyn A. Guevara, Michigan State University; John Sorochan, University of Tennessee, and Ryan Bearss, Michigan State University

12 days ago

A 'super El Niño?' Why it's too early to forecast one with certainty, but not too soon to prepare -- Pedro DiNezio, University of Colorado Boulder

8 days ago

How much is a bat worth? Protecting these tiny insect-eaters isn't just good for farms – their deaths cost taxpayers and the wider economy -- Dale Manning, University of Tennessee; Anya Nakhmurina, Yale University, and Eli Fenichel, Yale University

12 days ago

Suspending federal gas tax wouldn't save drivers as much as they might hope – here's what goes into the price of a gallon of gas -- Robert I. Harris, Georgia Institute of Technology

14 days ago

The missing link in America's critical minerals push isn't mining – it's processing expertise -- Hélène Nguemgaing, University of Maryland and Alan Collins, West Virginia University

14 days ago

Read our latest Environment + Energy stories

1 year ago

In your inbox every week

1 year ago

When oil prices spike, where does the money go? -- Matthew E. Oliver, Georgia Institute of Technology and Tibor Besedeš, Georgia Institute of Technology

1 month ago

Why the Persian Gulf has more oil and gas than anywhere else on Earth -- Scott L. Montgomery, University of Washington

1 month ago

Hormuz closure threatens the global food supply – why grocery price hikes are coming -- Aya S. Chacar, Florida International University

1 month ago

War in the Middle East made the case for renewables – what's happening in each country tells a harder story -- Ezgi Canpolat, Harvard University

1 month ago

Wars destroy lives and the climate. Why aren't we counting military emissions? -- Tamara Krawchenko, University of Victoria

21 days ago

Read more about war and energy

2 months ago

A huge landslide tsunami in Alaska sent a wave 1,580 feet up the fjord walls – and left clues for building a warning system -- Michael E. West, University of Alaska Fairbanks and Ezgi Karasözen, University of Alaska Fairbanks

20 days ago

A quiet Alaska fault is missing the fluids scientists expected – and it's changing what we know about earthquake zones -- Yinchu Li, Georgia Institute of Technology

22 days ago

Your local storm forecast is likely based on weather miles away – mesonets can help bridge that gap -- Chris Vagasky, University of Wisconsin-Madison

13 days ago

Sixth year of drought in Texas and Oklahoma leaves ranchers facing wildfires and bracing for another tough year -- Joel Lisonbee, University of Colorado Boulder and William Baule, Texas A&M University

3 months ago

Why the Southeast is burning – extreme drought is only part of the cause -- Zachary Handlos, Georgia Institute of Technology

28 days ago

Read more about extreme weather

1 year ago

Why Trump's $2 billion buyoff to cancel offshore wind farms is a bad deal for American taxpayers and the US energy supply -- Christopher Niezrecki, UMass Lowell; Ben Link, Johns Hopkins University, and Zoe Getman-Pickering, UMass Amherst

15 days ago

How balcony solar can help renters and homeowners save money -- Moncef Krarti, University of Colorado Boulder

21 days ago

As government privatization efforts grow, lawsuits against federal contractors get more difficult -- Steph Tai, University of Wisconsin-Madison

21 days ago

UAE's OPEC exit has been long in the works – and may mark the beginning of a Gulf realignment -- Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Rice University

27 days ago

Washington DC's 240 million-gallon sewage spill is a symptom of nationwide trouble -- Marccus D. Hendricks, University of Maryland

1 month ago

Read more about energy

4 months ago

Using diesel generators to power the AI revolution would kill hundreds of Americans a year -- Peter Adams, Carnegie Mellon University

20 days ago

Data centers don't have to be a burden on local communities – and can even support them by generating power and repurposing waste heat -- Gregor Henze, University of Colorado Boulder and Sean Shaheen, University of Colorado Boulder

1 month ago

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

4 months ago

Data centers told to pitch in as storms and cold weather boost power demand -- Nikki Luke, University of Tennessee and Conor Harrison, University of South Carolina

3 months ago

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

4 months ago

Read more stories about AI

5 months ago

Many of the Caribbean's most important reefs are going unprotected -- Sara M. Melo Merino, Smithsonian Institution; Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), and Steven Canty, Smithsonian Institution

14 days ago

Recreational fishing in the US catches far more fish than previously estimated -- Matthew Robertson, Memorial University of Newfoundland

19 days ago

Don't just plant trees, plant forests to restore biodiversity for the future -- John Parker, Smithsonian Institution and Justin Nowakowski, Smithsonian Institution

1 month ago

It's OK to love all the bees (the honey bees, too) -- Christina Grozinger, Penn State; Andony Melathopoulos, Oregon State University; Clare Rittschof, University of Kentucky; Harland Patch, Penn State, and Jay Evans, Agricultural Research Service, USDA

1 month ago

It's a sing-off! Myth-busting about birds and sex when it comes to defending the nest -- Benjamin Freeman, Georgia Institute of Technology and Shreyas Arashanapalli, Georgia Institute of Technology

1 month ago

Read more about environmental issues

1 year ago

A deep-ocean climate plan wins rare EPA approval, but is sinking plants in the sea the answer? -- Wil Burns, American University School of International Service

14 days ago

Trump's new 'Coalie' mascot and myth of 'clean, beautiful coal' have a long history in advertising -- Annie Persons, University of Virginia

18 days ago

Water conservation works, but climate change is outpacing it: Phoenix, Denver and Las Vegas offer a glimpse of the future -- Renee Obringer, Penn State and Dave White, Arizona State University

1 month ago

Pollen allergies are brutal this year – a doctor explains why, and how to find relief -- Levi Keller, University of Colorado Anschutz

20 days 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

Read more about climate change

1 year ago

When you don't have the facts, argue the law: How Trump's EPA is limiting its own ability to protect public health far into the future -- Janet McCabe, Indiana University

15 days ago

Trump's 'God Squad' pits energy vs. endangered species, but it's a false choice – protecting wildlife can be good for business -- Dan Salas, University of Illinois Chicago

1 month ago

How California's war on smog and its ambitious car pollution rules made everyone's air cleaner -- Ann E. Carlson, University of California, Los Angeles

1 month ago

EPA removal of vehicle emissions limits won't stop the shift to electric vehicles, but will make it harder, slower and more expensive -- Alan Jenn, University of California, Davis

3 months ago

Trump's EPA decides climate change doesn't endanger public health – the evidence says otherwise -- Jonathan Levy, Boston University; Howard Frumkin, University of Washington; Jonathan Patz, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Vijay Limaye, University of Wisconsin-Madison

3 months ago

Read more about environmental regulation

1 year ago

Supreme Court considers how much states can protect consumers when federal agencies won't -- Sarah J. Morath, Wake Forest University

25 days ago

Research at Chernobyl and Fukushima shows how radioactive materials move in the environment -- Eduardo B. Farfán, Kennesaw State University

1 month ago

Toxic dust from California's shrinking Salton Sea is harming children's lung growth – we tracked the impact in 700 kids -- Jill Johnston, University of California, Irvine; University of Southern California and Shohreh Farzan, University of Southern California

1 month ago

Mosquitoes carrying malaria are evolving more quickly than insecticides can kill them – researchers pinpoint how -- Jacob A Tennessen, Harvard University

1 month ago

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

4 months ago

Read more about environmental health

1 year ago

Winter's alarmingly low snowpack offers a glimpse of the changing rhythm of water in the western US -- Imtiaz Rangwala, University of Colorado Boulder

1 month ago

Coffee crops are dying from a fungus with species-jumping genes – researchers are 'resurrecting' their genomes to understand how and why -- Lily Peck, University of California, Los Angeles

3 months ago

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

4 months ago

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

4 months ago

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

4 months ago

Read more about food and agriculture

6 months ago

Alaska's glacial lakes are expanding, increasing the risk of destructive outburst floods -- Dan McGrath, Colorado State University

2 months 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

4 months 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

4 months 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

5 months 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

5 months ago

The race to mine critical minerals for AI and clean energy is creating 'sacrifice zones' that harm water and health of world's poor -- Abraham Nunbogu, United Nations University and Kaveh Madani, United Nations University

26 days ago

In its hunt for critical minerals, the US is misconstruing what is and is not America's -- Coalter G Lathrop, Duke University

2 months ago

Mining the ocean floor: 5 deep-sea sources of critical minerals essential to technology, and the fragile marine life at risk -- Leonardo Macelloni, University of Mississippi

2 months ago

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

1 month 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

1 year ago

Read more about critical minerals

11 months ago

You're not going to be alone in national parks this summer – enjoy the company -- Will Rice, University of Montana and Bing Pan, Penn State

1 month 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

5 months ago

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

9 months ago

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

8 months ago

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

9 months ago

Read more about national parks

10 months ago

Detroit's water affordability crisis is tied to the uneven distribution of stormwater management costs – a fraught history explains why -- Nicole Van Lier, Loyola Marymount University

13 days ago

Research shows overlooked cost to recreation from wildfires -- Kyle Manley, University of Colorado Boulder

20 days ago

Hurricanes devastated Florida's East Coast – then seagrass made an unexpected comeback -- Stephanie Insalaco-Wyner, Southwestern University and Hannah V. Herrero, University of Tennessee

1 month ago

How a new mapping tool helps Florida planners protect wildlife corridors as the state grows -- Sarah Lockhart, University of Florida and Thomas Hoctor, University of Florida

1 month ago