Climate and nature
Everything we have published on Climate and nature, newest first. Background, research and plain explanation — not only the headline of the day.
Two Glass Cylinders and a Missing Credit Line
Eunice Foote connected carbon dioxide with atmospheric warming in 1856, but restoring her place in science requires precision about what her experiment did—and did not—show.
The Ozone Layer Is Healing
A generation after governments agreed to remove invisible chemicals from everyday products, the atmosphere is responding. The victory is real—but it is slow, measured and still unfinished.
TB 26-04 Updates and Modernization of NASA’s Chemical Equilibrium with Applications (CEA) Code
For more information, contact Mark K. Leader, Glenn Research Center, mark.leader@nasa.gov Download the PDF version NASA’s Chemical Equilibrium with Applications (CEA) code is a foundational tool for p
Do Trees Really Talk? What the ‘Wood-Wide Web’ Can — and Cannot — Do
Fungal threads can connect plants and carry materials between them, but the evidence does not support a forest-wide social network run by generous mother trees.
The Great Barrier Reef Is Recovering Again — That Is Hope, Not an All-Clear
New coral can return quickly when conditions ease, while local teams protect the recovery; the harder question is whether each recovery window will remain long enough.
Sargassum, the smelly nemesis of beach vacations, has become a self-sustaining disaster that will keep coming back
Communities and entrepreneurs are experimenting with ways to turn this nuisance into a valuable resource.
Nepal’s community forests offer climate solutions, one leaf at a time
Women in community forest groups are transforming vulnerability into sustainable livelihoods by producing eco-friendly leaf plates, supporting environmental conservation, climate resilience, and local
French climate lawsuit offers a window into the next round of the global legal fight
A court ruling expands the options for corporate accountability efforts against oil companies in France, and it may have repercussions in the US and elsewhere.
Bountiful Roebuck Bay
Tidal and seasonal shifts leave their mark on this crescent-shaped, productive bay in Western Australia’s Kimberley region.
Wounaan Indigenous people have opposed illegal rosewood logging and centuries of exploitation with wisdom and beauty
We highlight ways to celebrate Wounaan wisdom, joy, beauty and resistance while discussing centuries of taking from Indigenous communities.
Why are some animals considered ‘pests’? It comes down to culture and convenience
Calling an animal a ‘pest’ can sometimes cause more harm to people than the animal itself.
Whose conservation, whose development? The Maasai struggle over land in northern Tanzania
Conservation has become a tool for “green grabbing”: The taking of community land in the name of environmental protection while opening space for tourism, hunting, and investment interests.
Sensing the Poles’ Hidden Heat
New animations from NASA’s PREFIRE mission reveal two years of seasonal temperature swings at the Arctic and Antarctic.
Four dams came down. The salmon went 360 miles upstream.
The Klamath's 2025 Chinook run came in at 51,277 fish against a forecast of 28,554 — and the reason is less about fish ladders than about water temperature.
HOAs are often barriers to sustainable landscaping and solar energy – here’s how they could be bridges instead
Climate change, biodiversity loss and water conservation are often framed as problems in need of national policies. However, there is an often more important level of governance: the neighborhood.
Climate change may be making us lonelier: How heat waves and extreme weather disrupt social connections everyone relies on
On extremely hot days and in the aftermath of storms, people tend to hole up inside. Losing festivals, traditions and gathering places can worsen that loneliness.