Greenhouse Gas Emissions

A climate report projects that the world's carbon emissions are on track to hit an all-time high this year, despite major advances in green tech and adoption of measures to curb pollution from the use of fossil fuels.

And now for a spot of good news for our planet: the protective layer of ozone continues to heal, with the hole in our stratospheric shield having shrunk to a smaller size in 2024 than in the period between 2020-2023.

Seaweed washing onto sandy shores does more than rot. A new study found that it fuels oxygen-tolerant microorganisms that pump methane into the air, overturning a long-held scientific assumption about coastal ecosystems and their climate role.

Methane is awful for the atmosphere. It's a major byproduct of many industrial processes, and we now know it also comes from a surprising and seemingly innocuous source – ships passing through shallow waters.

A 3,775-year-old log discovery has lent credence to the idea of burying wood to sequester the carbon it contains. Known as a wood vault, the concept helps keep CO2 out of the atmosphere while allowing the soil to be used for crops and other purposes.

In case you haven't heard, the methane in cow burps is a major source of greenhouse gases. There may be a new way of addressing that problem, however, as a recent study shows that feeding cows clay reduces their methane emissions by over 30%.

According to some estimates, the generation of the heat used to produce traditional portland cement is responsible for 5% to 8% of all human-made CO2 emissions. A new substance known as C-Crete, however, is claimed to be a much greener alternative.

Coming as no surprise to the millions who sweltered through a Northern Hemisphere summer, the season that has just passed was Earth’s hottest since records began in 1880. The steamy baton is expected to now be passed on to the Southern Hemisphere.

Move over, cow burps. A team of scientists has shifted gears from the front to the back end of these methane-production powerhouses, using algae to curb gas emanating from their poop. It's a crap gig, but nature's best methane inhibitor is on the job.

The health benefits of a meat-based versus a plant-based diet are often hotly debated. A new study adds another checkmark to the plant-based column though, as it loops in the environmental impacts of choosing paleo or keto diets over veganism.

While crops do sequester some atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) via photosynthesis, they could always use a bit of help. California startup Andes is aiming to provide that help, by putting carbon-capturing microbes in the soil of farmers' fields.

Researchers have identified 27 feedback loops demonstrating how one effect of climbing temperatures leads to events that further reinforce global warming and the initial event itself. The findings make immediate climate action even more crucial.