Get Stanford Earth Matters stories delivered to your inbox each month.
Summer reading: Sparking curiosity and conversations about our planet
Faculty at Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences recommend these 22 books for your summer reading.
Modeling Earth’s chemistry: Making the invisible visible
Kate Maher discusses how researchers use computer modeling to better understand the chemical reactions in Earth’s subsurface that impact water supplies, energy waste storage, climate change and more.
What to expect from wildfire season this year and in the future
The new normal for Western wildfires is abnormal, with increasingly bigger and more destructive blazes. Understanding the risks can help communities avert disaster.
Does climate change cause armed conflict?
As global temperatures climb, the risk of armed conflict is expected to increase substantially. Extreme weather and related disasters can damage economies, lower farming production and intensify inequality.
Finding and fixing natural gas leaks quickly and economically
Natural gas leaks claim lives, damage the climate and waste money. Research teams at Stanford are working on better ways to find and fix gas leaks quickly and inexpensively.
When 100% renewable energy doesn't mean zero carbon
As power grids move away from fossil fuels, companies seeking to cut out carbon emissions will have to go beyond commitments to renewables. The type and timing of renewable energy used can have a big effect on envir
A counterintuitive climate solution
A relatively simple process for converting one greenhouse gas into another could help turn the tide of climate change while also turning a healthy profit.
Mapping microbial symbioses in forests
Data collected from over 1 million forest plots reveals patterns of where plant roots form symbiotic relationships with fungi and bacteria.
What happens when schools go solar?
Rooftop solar projects at schools could reduce harmful air pollution, help the environment and enhance student learning while cutting electricity costs, a new study finds.
Climate change has worsened global economic inequality
The gap between the economic output of the world’s richest and poorest countries is 25 percent larger today than it would have been without global warming, according to new research from Stanford University.
Q&A: The potential for congressional action on climate change
The political landscape has changed, potentially opening a window for meaningful policies to combat global warming. Stanford experts discuss opportunities and prospects for change.
What will it take for California to meet its climate goals?
A panel of energy experts including former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz discuss investments and innovations that could help California get on track to meet its 2030 and 2050 climate goals.
The effects of climate change on suicide rates
In warmer temperatures suicide rates increase, leading to concerns about an uptick in suicides as the globe continues to warm. But researchers offer some hope if greenhouse gases get under control.
Green New Deal: The science behind the politics
The sweeping plan to overhaul transportation, energy and other sectors failed a recent U.S. Senate vote, but remains a political lightning rod. Stanford experts discuss the science behind the politics.
The effects of climate change on water shortages
If global temperatures continue to rise, rainfall will increasingly become a beast of extremes. As a way of exploring the future risk of water shortage in a complex environment, scientists have made a case study of Jordan, one of the most water-poor nations in the world.
What does climate change mean for world hunger?
As more of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere, leading to climate change, crops might carry fewer nutrients, like zinc and iron. Stanford researchers explored this trend and regions most likely
How does climate change affect disease?
As the globe warms, mosquitoes will roam beyond their current habitats, shifting the burden of diseases like malaria, dengue fever, chikungunya and West Nile virus. Researchers forecast different scenarios depending on the extent of climate change.
Costa Rica: A 'decarbonization lab' for the world?
In a speech at Stanford, Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada described a vision for the Central American country to phase out all carbon emissions by the year 2050.
A better brick
Inside a quest to save lives by cleaning up production of a ubiquitous building material.