Phys.org-Environment

Jun Zhang and colleagues have published a new article in Urban Geography arguing that urban AI should not be understood as a single, inevitable next stage of the smart city. Instead, it shows that AI […]

This past winter, the Rocky Mountains experienced an historic snow drought, a worrying development for the tens of millions of people in the arid American West who depend on snowmelt for water. Now, a new […]

Across much of the Western United States, winter 2026 was the year the snow never came. Many ski resorts got by with snowmaking but shut down their winter operations early. Fire officials and water supply […]

Potentially harmful chemicals can contaminate untreated water used in recycling plants to clean plastics before they’re processed into new products, according to a new study by an Iowa State University research group. Researchers from Iowa […]

Levels of toxic “forever chemicals” in New Jersey’s public water systems dropped by as much as 55% after the state moved to limit the contaminants in drinking water, according to a Rutgers Health researcher who […]

Fires are a recurring phenomenon in central South America, often intensified by drought and deforestation. In 2024, wildfire activity reached its highest levels in 20 years, affecting vast areas of the Amazon rainforest and the […]

Extreme climate impacts on people and the environment are often associated with very high levels of global warming (3 or 4°C). A new study led by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) shows that […]

The economic damage yet to come from carbon dioxide emitted decades ago far exceeds the harm it has wrought so far, according to a new Stanford University study. The research, published in Nature, puts a […]

Across much of the Rocky Mountain West, a winter of record-breaking high temperatures and historically low snowfall has forced people to think about having less water this spring. But it could also mean more severe […]

Billions of dirty diapers end up buried or burned every year in Japan—more from seniors than babies—but a recycling breakthrough has given them a new lease on life, one hot mess at a time.This post […]