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The latest “Living Planet” report by the World Wildlife Fund and the Zoological Society of London finds that the populations of vertebrate species across the globe have decreased in size by 73% on average over the past 50 years. Factors contributing to this decline include habitat loss, overexploitation, and climate change.

The U.S. has nearly half a million school buses, and for most of them, school districts are struggling with record diesel prices. As of this fall, however, 10 new buses in East New York are plugging into chargers instead of filling up their fuel tanks.

More than 200 rivers and streams in Alaska have exhibited bright orange plumes in the water. Since 2019, researchers have found that the water was even more acidic and metallic than the water that leaches from metal mines. Many of these rivers and streams are within national parks and preserves, so these are pristine watersheds, not places where mining activities took place.

Japan is mountainous and densely populated and has little land available for large solar farms. As a result, solar developers are building solar arrays on disused golf courses.

Geothermal energy has historically tapped into natural volcanic reservoirs of heat. Such places are a source of continuous energy that can be used to generate electricity or provide heat. The problem is that these places are few and far between.

Lake Powell is the second-largest man-made reservoir in the United States. It stretches 186 miles along the Colorado River, straddling the border of southeastern Utah and northeastern Arizona. It was formed behind Glen Canyon Dam, which was built in the 1960s.

A flesh-eating fly that was once eradicated from the United States is moving north again, raising concerns for livestock, wildlife, pets, and in rare cases people.

Beaches form when waves and currents deposit loose sediment like sand, gravel, and shell fragments along a shoreline. They erode when strong wave action or rising water strips that material away. Beaches erode; it’s what they do. For them not to disappear entirely, there needs to be a continuing supply of sediment. Rivers carry sediment and sand from inland areas down to the coast. Ocean waves contribute by breaking down offshore reefs and coastal cliffs into small particles.

Extreme wildfire activity has more than doubled worldwide. Fires are becoming more frequent, more intense, and larger. Rising global temperatures, warmer nighttime lows, and prolonged droughts are driving the trend, and it is only getting stronger.

Meeting ambitious clean energy goals almost certainly requires the widespread adoption of battery energy storage to provide power on demand when sources like solar and wind power are not producing enough. California’s battery energy storage capacity now exceeds 21 GW, most of which has been installed in the past 7 years. By comparison, New York has only 80 MW of battery storage.

The series of intense heat waves over the European summer did not just result in unpleasant times for European citizens. The record-breaking heat resulted in more than 35,000 to 40,000 heat-related and excess deaths across the continent.

The world consumes over four billion tons of cement each year, making it second only to water as the most heavily consumed substance on Earth. Cement production creates roughly 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions because it involves burning lots of fossil fuels to create the necessary heat to form it as well as because heating the limestone in it releases greenhouse gases.

The warming climate poses threats to the chocolate industry. Prolonged heat waves shrivel the leaves of cacao trees while dry spells impede pod growth and dry out soil moisture. Warmer temperatures favor destructive insects. These things threaten the livelihood of over 5 million farmers. Meanwhile, raw cacao prices continue to go up and up. The price of raw cacao tripled in 2024, raising consumer prices, leading to smaller bars, and reformulation of candies containing less chocolate.

Ohio has been one of the toughest regions in country for clean energy development, particularly solar power. Permits for construction are often blocked by local political opposition rather than technical faults. Much of the opposition is based on the notion that covering fields with solar panels destroys the rural and agricultural character of local communities. Ohio residents often voice concerns that solar installations may lower home values, create glare, and cause drainage issues.

Soil supports an enormous share of life on Earth. Soil stores water, carbon, and nutrients, supports agriculture, and provides habitat for countless organisms. Scientists estimate that more than half of Earth’s biodiversity exists below the surface. But soil biodiversity is declining, threatening agriculture, food security, and the ability of ecosystems to function properly.