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Goodbye, Clean Power Plan: Stanford researchers discuss the new energy rule
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency replaced the Obama-era Clean Power Plan this week with one that focuses on efficiency improvements at generating stations. Stanford experts discuss potential impacts.
Atmospheric rivers getting warmer along U.S. West Coast
New research shows that atmospheric rivers – plumes of moisture that deliver much of the west’s precipitation – have gotten warmer over the past 36 years.
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.
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.
New process rinses heavy metals from toxic soils
An experimental chemical bath and electrochemical filter could now extract heavy metals from the soil and leave fields safe.
Wildfire smoke worse for kids' health than smoke from controlled burns
Immune markers and pollutant levels in the blood indicate wildfire smoke may be more harmful to children’s health than smoke from a controlled burn, Stanford researchers found.
Will investors pay a premium for being green?
Despite the surging focus on environmental sustainability, a new study suggests investors still care about the old kind of green.
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.
Reassessing how to 'waste not'
Recycling is becoming harder and more expensive in the U.S. and policymakers are increasingly seeking solutions to mounting trash. Stanford experts are reassessing how we create and dispose of waste.
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.
Where will flooded fields best replenish groundwater?
Overpumping in California has depleted groundwater storage capacity and caused the land to sink. A new model could help water managers zero in on where to replenish aquifers by flooding fields.
Farming for natural profits in China
Expanding monoculture threatens valuable services from land, such as flood control and climate stabilization. A new approach promises to protect these benefits, while improving biodiversity and human livelihoods in rural areas.
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.
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.
Tunas, sharks and ships at sea
Researchers combine maps of marine predator habitats with satellite tracks of fishing fleets to identify regions where they overlap – a step toward more effective wildlife management on the high seas.