New Electricity Transmission Superhighway ‘Backbones’ Are Coming By Jean Thilmany* These three-abreast electrical transmission pylons in Webster, Texas, were built to transmit high-voltage alternating current, which has far more “line loss” over long distances than does high-voltage direct current. Jim Evans/Wikipedia When you turn on your air conditioning on a hot summer day, it’s easy to forget the vast system of wires, turbines, transformers, substations, and control centers that deliver electricity capable of bringing cool air to you almost instantly. Because the process feels so effortless, it’s also easy to assume the power grid—the sprawling network that generates and delivers electricity—will always be there, largely unchanged. But the way electricity is delivered across the United States needs major updating. For more than 100 years, generated electricity has flowed in one direction only: from power plant to consumer, with no lag in between. But today, with renewable energy sources contributing 22% of US electricity generation and the nationwide addition of rooftop solar and battery storage, electricity has to flow bidirectionally and intermittently. In many ways, that transformation has already begun, although it is still in its infancy. Some experts describe the emerging system as a new kind of energy highway: a network of powerful high-voltage transmission lines capable of moving enormous amounts of electricity far more quickly and efficiently than ever before across vast distances. In this diagram of an electric power system, the power plant (left) generates the electricity, which is stepped up to many thousands of volts. It travels through the transmission system (in blue), and is then stepped down by degrees to finally be available for homes and retail businesses. US Department of Energy The need is becoming increasingly urgent. Rising electricity demand, the growth of artificial-intelligence (AI) data centers, the proliferation of electric vehicles always hungry for a charge, and the increasing electrification of homes and industries are all placing unprecedented strain on aging grids around the world. In the US, where electric lines run 700,000 miles, “75% of the grid is over 25 years old” and in need of a makeover. In the US, where electric lines run 700,000 miles, “75% of the grid is over 25 years old” and in need of a makeover, then-US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a 2024 Heatmap podcast. Bringing the System Up to Date In such an environment, where a vast electrical network that is increasingly rundown and out of sync with the current energy landscape—major portions being 70 or 80 years old—an extensive overhaul is needed. According to Ed Myszka, chief executive officer at TRC, a consulting and engineering firm that helps companies design and transition their power systems, there is opportunity here. Indeed, “every so often,” Myszka writes on the TRC website, “an industry reaches an inflection point—one of those rare moments when change doesn’t just accelerate, it fundamentally redefines the path ahead. For the utility industry, 2026 is that moment.” For more than a century, many traditional power plants sat within or relatively close to the cities they served. Today, however, much of America’s new energy comes from remote solar farms and offshore wind projects, many of which are in sparsely populated regions. That means electricity often must travel hundreds or even thousands of miles before reaching homes and businesses. Trying to move all that power over older transmission systems can be inefficient. Energy is lost as heat during transmission—a problem known as “line loss.” The farther electricity travels through conventional alternating-current transmission systems, the more energy is lost along the way. Enter HVDC Transmission Technology That challenge has pushed utilities, governments, and private developers to increasingly embrace a newer transmission technology known as high-voltage direct current (HVDC). Transmission losses in HVDC lines are approximately 2% to 3% compared to 5% to 10% or higher in high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) systems. HVDC lines can also transport larger amounts of power more precisely and efficiently. Moreover, they can connect separate regional grids that do not operate in sync with one another, improving flexibility and resilience. In its early days, the internet was called the “information superhighway” because it moved enormous amounts of information at unprecedented speed. Advocates of HVDC say the technology could become the electrical equivalent: an energy superhighway capable of transporting massive amounts of electricity more efficiently than much of today’s aging infrastructure. According to a report by JPMorgan, HVDC projects can help modernize the grid by replacing aging infrastructure and improving the management of increasingly complex power systems. Linemen in cherry pickers making repairs to electrical lines. American Public Power Association/Unsplash Traditional power systems primarily use HVAC. However, HVDC systems convert AC electricity into direct current (DC) for long-distance transmission and then convert it back to AC for everyday use in homes and businesses. HVDC technology is particularly attractive for transmitting renewable energy over long distances. HVDC technology is particularly attractive for transmitting renewable energy over long distances. Wind energy generated in Wyoming, for example, could be transmitted efficiently to California. Solar energy generated in the US Southwest could eventually help power Midwestern or Eastern cities. HVDC Not a Silver Bullet Still, experts caution that HVDC alone will not solve all of the grid’s problems. The US electrical system also needs upgraded local distribution networks, stronger substations and transformers, expanded energy storage, smarter grid-management software, and improved defenses against cyberattacks and extreme weather. Many utilities are also struggling with shortages of large transformers and long delays in permitting new transmission projects. In other words, HVDC is increasingly viewed not as a replacement for the existing grid but as a high-capacity backbone layered on top of it—a network of electrical superhighways supplementing and strengthening local and regional systems. The timing may be critical. According to the International Energy Agency, global electricity demand is expected to rise sharply—at an annual rate of 3.6%—over the next several years, driven in part by AI-related data centers, electrified transportation, air conditioning demand, and industrial growth. Data centers alone are expected to account for a significant share of new electricity consumption. HVDC Globally HVDC transmission is already being deployed in many parts of the world with large, dispersed populations, including China, India, Australia, and parts of Europe. China, in particular, has become the global leader in ultra–high-voltage transmission. According to Global Energy Monitor, China in particular has become the global leader in ultra–high-voltage transmission, building massive HVDC lines that move electricity thousands of miles from western hydroelectric, solar, and wind projects to eastern population centers. India is expanding HVDC infrastructure to connect renewable-energy projects across the subcontinent, while Europe increasingly relies on HVDC submarine cables to connect offshore wind farms and neighboring national grids. High-voltage transmission towers taking electricity from a power plant to a faraway home TV or microwave. Radik 2707/Pexels The United States has historically lagged behind, largely because of the high upfront costs and regulatory complexity involved in building long-distance transmission lines, says Bob Hobson, associate technical consultant at the engineering and construction firm Burns & McDonnell, writing in Utility Dive. Today, only approximately 1% of high-voltage lines in the US are HVDC. But that is beginning to change. Today, a handful of US HVDC projects, many with names reminiscent of train lines, are in various stages of planning and construction. Among them is the North Plains Connector, a proposed 420-mile, 525-kilovolt HVDC line connecting Montana and North Dakota while linking major regional electricity markets. The TransWest Express project, meanwhile, is expected to carry Wyoming wind power more than 700 miles into Nevada, Arizona, and California. Another major project, the 339-mile Champlain Hudson Power Express, is a mostly underground and underwater HVDC transmission line that will connect hydroelectric power from Quebec to New York City. Construction began in 2022, and the line is expected to begin operation soon. The SOO Green Renewable Rail project plans to route underground HVDC cables largely along existing railroad corridors, connecting Iowa renewable-energy generation with Illinois electricity markets. One major advantage of HVDC systems is their flexibility in routing. Unlike traditional overhead AC lines, HVDC cables can more easily be buried underground or placed underwater. Underground lines are less vulnerable to storms and can reduce visual impacts on communities and landscapes. Underground HVDC lines may lower fire risks by eliminating the exposure of transmission lines and towers to high winds and vegetation tinderboxes. Moreover, in wildfire-prone regions, underground HVDC lines may lower fire risks by eliminating the exposure of transmission lines and towers to high winds and vegetation tinderboxes. Offshore wind development is another area where HVDC technology could become increasingly important. In Europe, transmission operator TenneT has proposed large offshore HVDC hubs in the North Sea capable of linking multiple wind farms and the German and UK national grids. Similar systems may eventually play a major role in the US, as offshore wind development expands along sections of its 95,439 miles of shoreline. Challenges to Upgrades Remain Yet even as countries race to modernize their transmission systems, challenges remain. Large transmission projects can take a decade or longer to be approved and to build. Environmental reviews, local opposition, land-rights disputes, supply-chain bottlenecks, and massive construction costs can all slow progress. And while renewable energy receives much of the attention, grid modernization is increasingly being driven by broader concerns over reliability and national competitiveness. The rapid growth of AI, cloud computing, and electrified transportation is forcing governments and utilities to rethink whether current electrical systems can meet future demand. In the future, when you turn on your air conditioner, you may have little idea where the electricity powering it originated. It could have traveled locally, or it could have originated hundreds or even thousands of miles away from a wind farm, hydroelectric facility, solar installation, or offshore energy project far from your city. If today’s transmission plans move forward, electricity will likely travel farther, faster, and more efficiently than ever before—over a new generation of energy superhighways designed for a far more electrified world. *Jean Thilmany is a freelance writer living in St. Paul, Minnesota, who writes frequently about science and engineering topics.

The Extraordinary Venus Flytrap Is Threatened by Loss of Habitat By Dinshaw Dadachanji* The Venus flytrap, an at-risk species, thrives in its typical damp, sunny habitat with nutrient-poor soil. Elizaveta Mitenkova/Pexels Imagine an innocent little beetle plodding across the forest floor, hunting for morsels to feed upon. Aha! It spies a cluster of bivalve leaves, each shiny red on the inside and offering an array of tantalizing nectar drops. Eager to explore, it picks its way onto one of the leaves. But the plant has been patiently waiting for this moment. The leaf’s inner red surface has a few tiny hairs, called “trigger hairs,” that are touch-sensitive. As the unsuspecting beetle brushes one of them, an electrical signal similar to a nerve impulse alerts the plant. The beetle continues its walk and trips a second hair. With sudden speed uncharacteristic of any stationary plant, the two halves of the leaf snap shut, trapping the insect. The hunter becomes the hunted! As the beetle panics and wriggles to escape, it activates the trigger hairs again and again. The plant responds by tightening its grip, releasing digestive juices, and feasting on its prey. This real-life scenario spotlights one of the most extraordinary members of the plant kingdom. The Venus flytrap is a natural marvel that blurs the line between plant and animal, inspiring awe through its highly sophisticated anatomy and complex physiology. Yet, the very ecological specialization that makes it an amazing wonder—its absolute reliance on a highly specific, fire-dependent habitat unique to North and South Carolina—has also left it dangerously vulnerable, transforming its story from one of biological brilliance to an urgent battle for conservation. Venus Flytrap’s Unique Characteristics Most plants derive their nourishment from sunlight and air to perform photosynthesis, and they absorb nutrients from the soil. While the Venus flytrap also needs sunshine and air to carry out the photosynthetic process, it has the unique ability to grow in nutrient-poor soil by trapping and digesting small prey such as flies, caterpillars, and even grasshoppers. It is also one of a very small group of plants capable of rapid movement. In a forest, the Venus flytrap is a small, evergreen plant that grows close to the ground, so it can easily go unnoticed. It is distinguished by a rosette of specialized leaves growing out of a bulblike rootstock. Each leaf consists of a flat stalk that is only 3 inches to 6 inches long with a trap at the end. The leaves rise just a few inches off the ground. Each trap has two semicircular lobes connected to a central vein that acts like a hinge. Each lobe normally has a reddish inner surface and slim, toothy projections—also called “guard hairs”—lining its edges. The inner surface has a few tiny trigger hairs that are a vital part of the trapping mechanism. A beetle caught and digested by a Venus flytrap left only its husk behind. Beatriz Moisset/Wikimedia In the warmer months, the plant produces little white flowers that bloom atop leafless stalks that stand upright, about 8 inches to 12 inches in height. The clear separation between the flowers and the traps gives room for pollinators like bees and flying beetles to cruise from plant to plant without getting trapped and consumed. The best months to observe the flowers are from July through September. During the cold winter season, the plant becomes dormant, with fewer leaves than in the summer. Scientific Name and Close Relatives The scientific name for the Venus flytrap is Dionaea muscipula, given by British naturalist John Ellis in 1768. The genus name (Dionaea) refers at once to the Greek goddess Dione and her daughter Aphrodite (in Greek mythology) or Venus (in Roman mythology). The species name (muscipula) can be attributed to either of two possible combinations of Latin words: decipula (trap) combined with either mus (mouse) or musca (fly). Only the Venus flytrap and the waterwheel plant have traps with hinged leaves that capture insects. The Venus flytrap is the only member of the genus Dionaea. It does, however, have some close relatives, such as the waterwheel plant (Aldrovanda vesiculosa) and sundews (Drosera). All of them are members of a family named Droseraceae, but only the Venus flytrap and the waterwheel plant have traps with hinged leaves that capture insects. Trapping and Feeding on Prey The electrical signals produced when an ant, spider, or other small creature trips trigger hairs are called action potentials (APs). Interestingly, the plant can “count” the number of APs produced. The first signal puts the trap on alert, but it does not shut. So, a bit of flying debris is not trapped. But if two trigger hairs are tripped within 20 seconds—or a single hair twice—the lobes of the trap snap shut with remarkable speed. The spine-like guard hairs lining the edges of the lobes interlock and seal the trap shut. This production provides dramatic close-up audio and video of flies being seized by Venus flytraps. “The … Venus flytrap can count how often it has been touched by an insect visiting its capture organ in order to trap and consume the animal prey,” said Rainer Hedrich, a biophysicist at the University of Würzburg in Germany, speaking with Cell Press. His work on the flytrap was published in the journal Current Biology. The snapped-shut leaf creates an airtight chamber, squeezing the animal in what is called an “external stomach.” The snapped-shut leaf creates an airtight chamber, squeezing the animal in what is called an “external stomach.” As the prey struggles to escape, it tickles the trigger hairs repeatedly, activating the hormone jasmonic acid. Researchers have found that it takes at least five APs to initiate the release of the hormone, which then stimulates tens of thousands of glands in the trap to produce enzymes that digest the prey. Following this, the plant absorbs the resulting soup of nutrients and, about 10 days later, the trap reopens. The leaf can catch three or four prey before it withers and falls off. The extent to which the trigger hairs are triggered give the plant a sense of the sort of animal in its trap, and lets it know how much digestive enzyme to produce. “The number of action potentials informs [the plant] about the size and nutrient content of the struggling prey,” Hedrich said. “This allows the Venus flytrap to balance the cost and benefit of hunting.” Habitat and Threats to Survival The Venus flytrap is very picky in terms of the environmental conditions in which it will grow. It needs full exposure to the sun or only partial shade, along with high humidity in the air and wet, sandy soil. In addition, it relies on occasional forest fires to clear out competing brush. Given these exacting conditions, its native habitat is confined to a small area in North and South Carolina: roughly a 90-mile inland radius surrounding Wilmington, North Carolina. It thus stands out in the unique ecosystem of the Atlantic coastal plain. It has also been introduced to a few other states, such as Florida, California, and New Jersey. However, various factors are threatening the plant’s survival in the wild. In particular, its habitat is shrinking through the expansion of human development, and the policy of suppressing wildfires is allowing the uncontrolled growth of competing plants. Of great concern is poaching, as thousands of these plants have been stolen from public and private lands. In this video, a South Carolina professor takes a trek in a boggy area to show Venus flytraps in the wild. To protect the species, it has been declared illegal to collect the plant from its natural habitat. It is federally listed as an at-risk species, and its status under the Endangered Species Act is currently being reviewed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. It is classified as Vulnerable (as of June 2000) in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Inspectors can use UV light scanners to spot poached plants, such as in nurseries. Some researchers have developed a way to tag Venus flytraps, so that stolen ones can be readily identified. If a harmless fluorescent dye is applied to the plant’s stem, the plant incorporates it into its tissue. If the plant is later exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light, the dye will cause the plant to glow. Thus, inspectors can use UV light scanners to spot poached plants, such as in nurseries. The plants can then be traced back to the protected areas where they were stolen from. In addition, on an international scale, botanical institutions such as the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens in London are actively working to regulate the trade of these plants. Venus flytrap in a nursery, showing how the traps lie near the soil while a tall stalk sprouts a white flower. The inset shows the flower itself. Maurizio CC BY-ND 2.0 Cultivars Although the population of the Venus flytrap has been declining in its native habitat, many cultivars (cultivated varieties) have been propagated in nurseries and are on sale. They differ in the size and color of the traps, the guard hairs lining the trap’s edges, and other traits. If you acquire a cultivar from a nursery, care for it by following the instructions closely. The Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox of North Carolina State University recommends using a planting mix of whole-fiber sphagnum moss or a mix of equal parts peat moss and coarse vermiculite or sharp sand. The soil needs to be kept moist, using distilled water or rainwater for irrigation, and avoiding chlorinated water and fertilizer. While the cultivars may be tame, be careful not to touch one in the wild. What if it bites? *Dinshaw Dadachanji is a freelance writer who lives in a Maryland suburb of Washington, DC. He served as research director of the HJ International Foundation for Environmental Peace, the institution that publishes The Earth & I.

Warming Sea Water May Be Threatening the Collapse of the Antarctic Thwaites Glacier By Jaqueline Sordi* The outflow of the Thwaites Glacier (from right to left), where it reaches the sea and breaks apart. ©Ted Scambos One of the challenges of global warming is that its consequences are happening faster than expected. A few years ago, scientists claimed that big changes would happen within centuries, but now they are warning that the climate crisis already has observable effects on the environment. Ted Scambos, the U.S. lead coordinator for the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC), is one of those experts who’s been testifying to how a warmer planet is already changing the landscape in Antarctica, and he is worried: “In a few parts of Antarctica, there are huge changes due to climate warming; large (city-sized) areas of ice are simply gone; and many glaciers have shrunk in thickness and length.” For years, Scambos has been studying Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier, a massive glacier considered the widest in the world, part of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). The area of WAIS is approximately 3,435,000 km. Now, he and a group of scientists are warning that its ice shelves—braces that help prevent the glacier's total collapse—may only last a few more years. When this happens, sea levels could start to rise by several feet, putting millions of people living in coastal cities in danger zones for extreme flooding. Because they are so distant and in remote areas, people usually don’t pay attention to glaciers, but they play an important role in maintaining the stability of our planet. Glaciers are keystones of life on Earth. As giant freshwater reservoirs, they support the planet’s life systems and influence our day-to-day lives, even for communities who live far from them. “Glaciers are important for many reasons. They are natural reservoirs of fresh water, which is important for agriculture in many arid but mountainous countries. But perhaps more importantly, glaciers and ice sheets represent large amounts of water stored on land, and as such they can be a component of sea level rise,” explains Scambos. Those massive areas of ice are formed from falling snow. In cold regions, this snow persists, gets thicker, and is compressed by the new snow that falls on top of it, slowly crushing it into ice. When they are about 40 to 60 meters (43-65 yards) thick, they begin to move and generally reach either a warmer climate at lower elevation—where the front of the ice flow melts—or the sea. The formation of a glacier takes millennia, and its size varies depending on the amount of ice it retains throughout its lifespan. They can range from ice that is several hundred to several thousand years old and provide a scientific record of how climate has changed over time. Since the early 1900s, many glaciers around the world have been rapidly melting, and human activities are at the root of this phenomenon. “Because of global warming, glaciers are shrinking—not just mountain glaciers but the large ice sheets in Antarctica, Greenland, and Patagonia as well. The reason, in general, is warmer air temperatures, warmer ocean temperatures, and in a few areas the reason is less snowfall,” says Scambos. Scientist Chris Kratt working on a station that measures climate, ice and ocean conditions. ©Chris Simmons In a recent study, a team of scientists from the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration project discovered that the Thwaites Glacier, one of the largest of its kind in Antarctica—covering an area of 192,000 square kilometers (119,303 square miles), almost the size of Florida or Britain—could collapse soon. One third of this massive area consists of large floating ice platforms, or ice shelves. Increasingly, however, these platforms have been fracturing as a warming ocean slowly erases the ice from below. The Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf, the area of most concern, acts like a dam for the rest of the glacier. According to the team of scientists, within the next three to five years, this 45-kilometer-long (27.9 miles) ice shelf segment could shatter and break like a car window and spell the beginning of the end of the Thwaites glacier. “This will start a long process of rapid flow, thinning, and retreat into the interior of West Antarctica (the main part of Antarctica in the Western Hemisphere); and, since the ice is thicker in the interior, the ice will flow even faster, and thin faster, in a kind of run-away process,” explains Scambos. Global warming, or the warming of the sea to be specific, is to blame for that. Warm water flowing beneath the ice shelves has caused large sections to thaw, forming glacier caves. This melting process has accelerated tremendously over the past thirty years. If it leads to a collapse, it will have a significant impact on the ocean. Today, the ice shelf contributes up to 4% of global sea level rise, but when it collapses, its contribution to sea level rise could increase by as much as 25%. If the whole glacier collapsed, it could raise sea levels by “2 feet” or more within the next decades or centuries. “This process is thought to be similar to something that occurred around 110,000 years ago during the warmest period between the ice ages. We are already about as warm as that period; and so, this may be the beginning of a long process that will eventually take away most of the ice sheet we call ‘West Antarctica’,” says Scambos. Sun behind clouds high on the Antarctic Ice Sheet near the WAIS Divide camp. ©Gabriella Collar Barrios The good news is that the worst impacts of this process can still be mitigated depending on how humans respond in coming decades. “It’s unlikely that humans can actually prevent the eventual loss of a large area of Antarctica’s ice sheet, but models of how the ice will evolve consistently show that if we address greenhouse gases and climate warming in the next few decades, by the end of the century we will be slowing the process of Thwaites’ retreat,” explains the scientist. “In the fastest version of the runaway, the rate of sea level rise becomes hard to manage, hard to adapt to with sea defenses or rebuilding port areas or simply moving people away from the most vulnerable areas. If the rate is too fast, then it is also too expensive. And there would be more disasters and damage as a result.” However, Scambos says that we can make the process so slow that it will be relatively easy to adapt to, pushing much of the disaster a thousand years or more in the future. *Jacqueline Sordi is a Brazilian journalist and biologist, specializing in science and environmental journalism. She has a master’s degree in environmental journalism at UCLA and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in communications at Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. Source: Thwaites Glacier Facts

Multiple Disciplines Collaborate to Turn Sewage Sludge into Renewable Energy By Deborah Harvey* Washington State University Prof. Birgitte Ahring demonstrating two fermentation reactors used to convert pretreated sludge to biogas. The next step uses specialized bacteria to turn the CO2 contaminating the biogas into high-quality natural gas. Photo courtesy of Washington State University Some of the most important scientific breakthroughs begin with a simple realization: One field of expertise is not enough. Such a recognition isn’t just a win for the environment, it’s a blueprint for the future of innovation. By shattering boundaries between chemical engineering, microbiology, waste management, and energy science, researchers at Washington State University (WSU) have developed a groundbreaking process that converts smelly, messy sewage sludge into high-quality, pipeline-ready renewable natural gas. Their breakthrough has yielded 200% more gas than conventional methods, even as it slashes municipal disposal costs by half. The WSU breakthrough also proves that solutions to society’s dirtiest problems lie not within a single scientific discipline but at the exact intersection where they connect. A History of ‘Siloed’ Disciplines For much of modern history, right up to the present day, scientists and engineers worked largely within their own specialties, also known as a siloed approach. Chemists focused on chemistry. Biologists studied living organisms. Engineers designed systems and infrastructure. Each discipline made remarkable advances on its own. But today’s problems rarely respect those boundaries. A problem that starts with waste can quickly become an energy issue. An environmental concern can turn into an engineering challenge. The challenges facing modern society are often integrally connected, which is why researchers are increasingly stepping beyond the limits of their own specialties and working together to find solutions that no single field could achieve alone. More and more, scientists are discovering that the best ideas often emerge when different fields engage. More and more, scientists are discovering that the best ideas often emerge when different fields engage. When experts bring together different ways of thinking, they can sometimes solve problems that would remain stubbornly out of reach if each discipline worked alone. The recent WSU breakthrough provides a fascinating example of this approach in action. While the technology itself is impressive, the larger story may be what it reveals about the future of scientific progress. Sewage: Out of Sight, Out of Mind At first glance, sewage sludge may seem like an unlikely source of inspiration—most people never think about what happens after wastewater disappears down a drain. But waste management is a complex industry that never sleeps: Hidden beneath cities and towns is an extensive network of pipes and pumps connecting to urban treatment facilities that quietly process millions of gallons of wastewater every day and then spill the cleaned water into adjacent waterways. For decades, the goal has been straightforward: Clean the water, manage the sludge, and dispose of it as safely as possible. The sludge left behind has traditionally been viewed as a costly by-product. Cities spend substantial sums processing, transporting, treating, and disposing of it. In many cases, it ends up in landfills or is otherwise managed as waste. This wastewater treatment plant in La Crosse, Wisconsin, is typical of the industry. Wikideas1/Wikipedia At the same time, wastewater treatment facilities consume enormous amounts of energy. Pumps move water through treatment systems around the clock. Aeration equipment continuously supplies oxygen needed for biological treatment processes. The entire operation requires significant resources. Keeping everything running smoothly demands a surprising amount of energy. Researchers at WSU looked at these challenges and saw an opportunity: What if wastewater treatment could become something more than a waste management operation? What if the same material that cities pay to dispose of could instead become a source of renewable energy? Answering that question required expertise from several different fields. The process begins in the world of chemical engineering, using high heat and high pressure to break down long, complex organic molecules in the waste to shorter ones more easily digestible by bacteria. Using Microbiology to Turn Waste into Gas Once the sludge has been chemically disintegrated, microbiology takes center stage. “Carbon dioxide is something you have to remove if you want to put the [bio]gas into the gas grid.” Microorganisms have long played an important role in turning waste into biogas. But there is a problem with biogas. “Biogas is 60% methane and around 40% carbon dioxide,” said Dr. Birgitte Ahring, a professor in WSU’s Bioproducts Sciences and Engineering Laboratory, in a WSU news release announcing the project. “And this carbon dioxide is something you have to remove if you want to put the gas into the gas grid.” It's at this point that the chemistry partner joined hands with the microbiology partner. Ahring and her team achieved a crucial breakthrough, discovering a previously unknown bacterial species that converts carbon dioxide into methane—though hydrogen gas must be added for the reaction to proceed. This allowed the WSU team to treat carbon dioxide as a valuable resource, not just a bothersome by-product. The new bacterium they found, Methanothermobacter wolfeii, vastly increased the amount of CO2 converted to usable fuel by the system. In a way, the researchers created a bridge between biology and energy engineering. Living microorganisms perform the conversion, but the result is a fuel that can be integrated into the modern energy infrastructure. Describing the newly discovered bacterial strain, Ahring said, “This bug doesn’t need anything. It is a workhorse. It doesn’t need organic additives or a lot of nursing.” The results surprised even experienced researchers. According to project findings, the process generated roughly 200% more renewable natural gas than conventional treatment methods while reducing sludge disposal costs by nearly 50%. The resulting fuel reached methane purity levels approaching 99%, making it suitable for pipeline-quality applications. The new bacterium they found, Methanothermobacter wolfeii, vastly increased the amount of CO2 converted to usable fuel by the system. “This technology,” she said, “basically converts up to 80% of the sewage sludge into something valuable. If we can replicate this work on other organic materials, we’ll have a waste treatment technology that is world-class when it comes to efficiency.” ‘Convergence-Driven Innovation’ The project’s gains are impressive on their own. But they also highlight one of the central strengths of convergence-driven innovation: No single discipline produced the outcome. Chemical engineering improved biological performance. Microbiology enhanced energy production. Wastewater treatment expertise provided practical application. Energy science helped transform the final product into a usable fuel source. A wastewater treatment facility serving Ankara, Turkey. Selim Arda Eryilmaz/Unsplash Each field contributed part of the solution. Together, they created something far more powerful than any one discipline could have achieved independently. Working across disciplines is not always easy. Engineers, biologists, and chemists often approach the same problem from very different perspectives, and finding common ground can take time. Different methods, priorities, and even terminology can create challenges along the way. Yet many researchers believe the effort is worthwhile because some of today’s most complex problems simply cannot be solved by a single field alone. Engineers, biologists, and chemists often approach the same problem from very different perspectives, and finding common ground can take time. The WSU project reflects a much broader shift occurring throughout science and technology. Many researchers now believe that some of the most important breakthroughs of the 21st century will emerge at the intersection of disciplines rather than within them. Increasingly, some of the most exciting breakthroughs are happening when experts from different fields bring their knowledge together. What one discipline sees as a problem, another may see as an opportunity, and that combination is often where innovation begins. Collaborations in Other Systems The WSU project is not the only place where this kind of teamwork is paying off. Similar partnerships are helping shape everything from smarter farming technologies to advanced batteries and carbon-capture systems. The details may differ, but the idea is the same: Some of the most exciting breakthroughs happen when people from different fields bring their expertise together. Universities and governmental institutions are beginning to reflect that reality. Traditional boundaries between departments and agencies are becoming less rigid as researchers from different disciplines increasingly collaborate on shared challenges. The same shift is happening in wastewater treatment. Researchers are exploring ways to transform treatment plants into facilities that recover valuable resources while also producing energy and reducing environmental impacts. For something most people rarely think about, wastewater is suddenly finding itself at the center of some surprisingly forward-looking conversations. And the possibilities may extend well beyond sewage sludge. Researchers believe similar approaches could eventually be applied to food waste, agricultural waste, and other organic materials that often end up in landfills. What once looked like separate challenges, such as waste management, renewable energy, and environmental protection, are increasingly being viewed as parts of the same larger system. It is not hard to see the bigger picture emerging. For generations, sewage was simply something people wanted out of sight and out of mind. Today, scientists are beginning to see something different hidden inside the sludge flowing beneath modern cities: energy, resources, and opportunity. Perhaps the most remarkable part of the story is not that researchers found a better way to make natural gas. It is that they found it by bringing different worlds of science together. And that may ultimately be the lesson reaching far beyond wastewater treatment plants. Some of the most important breakthroughs of the future may emerge not from a single field of expertise but from the places where disciplines meet. *Deborah Harvey is a writer and researcher focused on science, technology, sustainability, and global innovation. Her work explores how emerging ideas shape the future of energy, infrastructure, and the environment.

How Science, AI, and Smart Engineering Can Create Safer Cities By Dhanada K. Mishra* Porto Alegre, capital of Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state, was flooded in 2024 when massive rainstorms overfilled the adjacent Guaíba Lake. Wikipedia In April and May 2024, relentless rain turned Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul into a vast inland floodplain, pushing families onto rooftops and into crowded shelters as roads, bridges, and power lines failed around them. The floods killed 181 people, displaced 775,000, and affected 2.4 million residents. It cut electricity and water to hundreds of thousands of households, exposing how badly 20th‑century infrastructure can perform under 21st‑century extremes. Massive storms have occurred in recent years, from Storm Daniel’s dam‑burst floods in Derna, Libya (a 2023 cataclysm that killed as many as 24,000 people), to Cyclone Mocha’s landfall, also in 2023, on already vulnerable communities in Myanmar and Bangladesh. Deadly flash floods have drenched communities in the United States, throughout Africa, and Central Europe. These extraordinary storms can be seen as global stress tests for drainage systems, dams, and early‑warning chains. The core challenge is no longer to ask whether the next storm will come but whether our science, technology, and engineering can adapt as fast as the risks are shifting. Pushing Around the Planet's Hot Spots El Niño and La Niña are well-known phases of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a natural climate pattern centered in the tropical Pacific Ocean. They do not conjure storms from nowhere; they move the hot spots of heavy rain, drought, and cyclone activity around the globe. In some years, regions that are normally dry suddenly face months of above‑normal rainfall while others swing into drought; the pattern often reverses as the cycle evolves. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) now highlights how recent ENSO phases have contributed simultaneously to severe drought in the Amazon, drier‑than‑normal conditions in parts of Mexico and southern Africa, and wetter‑than‑normal conditions in Central Europe, East Africa, and parts of Asia. WMO’s leadership has warned that climate change is driving more intense floods and storms worldwide, with “no end” in sight to water‑related extremes. Crucially, these swings now play out on a warmer baseline. WMO’s leadership has warned that climate change is driving more intense floods and storms worldwide, with “no end” in sight to water‑related extremes as global heating continues. Scientists with the World Weather Attribution organization said the 2024 Rio Grande do Sul event shows that human‑driven climate change and El Niño together made the extreme rainfall more than twice as likely and increased its intensity compared with a cooler climate, according to Reuters. According to the World Weather Attribution group, the news article added, the heavy rainfall “was an ‘extremely rare’ event expected to occur only once every 100 to 250 years” but that this event “would have been even rarer without the effects of burning fossil fuel.” A panoramic view of the Mediterranean city of Derna, Libya, in 2020. In September 2023, Storm Daniel caused two upstream dams to burst, sending a wall of water down the narrow wadi around which the city is built, destroying a large portion of the metropolis. Maherlink/Wikipedia Dhrubajyoti Samanta, a climate scientist and associate editor of Geophysical Research Letters, stresses that the real problem is the speed of these shifts. “It is not just about whether we are on El Niño or La Niña anymore,” he told The Earth & I. “It is about how fast conditions swing between extremes and how those swings amplify flood and storm risks.” That volatility means yesterday’s “safe” region can become tomorrow’s flood zone, while climate change turns up the intensity of whatever storms do form. When Infrastructure Fails the Storm Test Rio Grande do Sul is not alone in revealing how fragile infrastructure can magnify disaster. In September 2023, Storm Daniel delivered unprecedented rainfall over the Wadi Derna watershed in Libya. The failure of two aging dams released a destructive surge that killed thousands and obliterated parts of the city. A detailed reconstruction found that even intact dams would have struggled under such extreme runoff, but decades of neglect and inadequate risk management dramatically worsened the outcome. In the Bay of Bengal, powerful Cyclone Mocha struck Myanmar and Bangladesh in May 2023 as a Category 4 storm, threatening some of the world’s most vulnerable coastal communities. However, thanks to accurate forecasts and community‑based early‑warning efforts, Bangladesh was able to evacuate large numbers of people in advance, significantly reducing casualties compared with previous cyclones in the region. Meanwhile, 2024 and 2025 saw record and near‑record floods across Central Europe, East Africa, and parts of China, again overwhelming drainage systems and flood defenses designed for gentler rainfall patterns. These disparate events share a common thread: extreme rainfall or storm surge interacting with infrastructure that is outdated, poorly maintained, or built in the wrong places. In Rio Grande do Sul, floodwaters overwhelmed drainage, inundated low‑lying neighborhoods and cut off health care and essential services, with informal settlements and poorer communities facing the longest and hardest recovery. “Storm fear,” in this sense, is fear that the systems meant to protect people will not hold. Forecasts and AI The good news is that climate information is increasingly being used before storms hit. Samanta notes that across Asia and the Pacific, ENSO forecasts are helping governments manage reservoirs and warn the public months ahead, and he points to India and Bangladesh as examples where better cyclone forecasting has saved lives. “Fear often comes from uncertainty,” Samanta says, and adds, “Better seasonal forecasts and ocean observations help replace that uncertainty with time to act.” “Fear often comes from uncertainty,” Samanta says, and adds, “Better seasonal forecasts and ocean observations help replace that uncertainty with time to act.” New AI tools are strengthening that bridge between science and action. In March 2026, Google announced AI‑driven flash‑flood forecasts for urban areas on its Flood Hub platform, claiming the system can predict local flash‑flood risk up to 24 hours in advance. The model uses Gemini to process millions of historical flood reports and create geotagged datasets, then blends them with weather and hydrological forecasts to pinpoint where water is most likely to rise. For city managers facing ENSO‑amplified downpours, this offers a tactical advantage: They can preposition mobile pumps to address water surges, close flood-prone underpasses, protect electrical substations, or adjust traffic in the specific districts where risk is highest. At the same time, the tool still depends on internet connectivity and news reporting, so it complements rather than replaces national hydrological services and community‑based early‑warning systems, particularly in data‑sparse regions. Planning for Variability, Not Averages If storms are now stress tests, how should cities and coasts be redesigned? Samanta offers a simple rule of thumb for planners: “Plan for variability, not averages, because ENSO keeps shifting the risks. “Its swings are becoming stronger with climate change,” he continues, “and we’re now seeing that major El Niño events can carry real human and economic costs, so infrastructure needs to be flexible and ready for more extreme climate events.” In practice, this means sizing drains and culverts for deluges—not just “average” rainfall—and designing bridges, embankments, and power substations for “perfect storm” scenarios of above-average rainfall, river flow, and water surge. It also includes treating seasonal forecasts as triggers for preemptive maintenance rather than just background information. A rain garden in Wheaton, Maryland, during winter. Rain gardens reduce storm runoff, helping to mitigate flooding. Moreau1/Wikipedia David Ng Chew Chiat, cofounder and executive director of One Smart Engineering, translates that principle into concrete design strategies from Singapore’s experience. “One of the key measures carried out extensively to mitigate the risks of flash flooding is incorporating Active‑Beautiful‑Clean [ABC] water features such as pockets of rain gardens along the sides of the canal and river … as a temporary detention pond to prevent overloading of the water body during storm,” Ng told The Earth & I. This approach is flexible enough for many Southeast Asian cities, he added. Another rain garden, this one at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, New York, US. D.A. Sonnenfeld/Wikipedia Using the 2024 Brazilian disaster as an example, Ng said that ABC‑style rain gardens and detention spaces would have slowed and absorbed rainfall, buying time and reducing peak flows before they hit critical bottlenecks. This nature‑based design also cools urban spaces and improves public amenities—an important extra benefit as heat waves intensify, he said. Rethinking Coasts and Equity Ng further argues that conventional coastal protection—building massive seawalls and then reclaiming land behind them—can be material‑intensive and carbon‑heavy, paradoxically reinforcing the very warming that drives sea‑level rise. Instead, he advocates the following, some of which are being implemented in the island of Singapore: Construction of new buildings with “adaptive foundation” systems. These are specialized foundations designed to adjust to new environmental conditions, such as uneven soil settlement or shifting groundwater, which can occur during flooding. Building multi‑use structures on coasts that can intercept rising seas, plus host food and energy production activities. Examples of these structures, which are beginning to be constructed worldwide, include porous sea walls, lakes and ponds for temporary storage of floodwater, agricultural portions either underwater or on floating platforms designed for shellfish farming or even dairy production, and tidal or wave-powered energy plants. Using the kinds of concrete that can actively trap and store carbon dioxide within its structure, either during production or throughout its lifespan. It’s helpful if city planners use newly developed permeable concrete and asphalt in strategic areas. These paving materials have cracks or pores built in to allow rainwater to filter through and be absorbed by the soil beneath. The core idea is not that every city should copy Singapore’s specific model, but that future defenses must be flexible, multifunctional, and climate‑aligned. Both experts highlight a persistent equity gap. Samanta points out that while weather forecasts are improving, “they don’t always reach communities in a form they can use or trust,” especially in smaller cities and poorer neighborhoods in the Global South. Bridging this gap requires investing in better models and AI, and also in communication, local capacity, and partnerships, he says. In this way, climate and ENSO information can drive decisions about where people live, how clinics and schools are built, and which streets or shelters are prioritized for upgrades. Samanta and Ng both say that simple, low‑cost measures—ABC‑style rain gardens, elevated community centers, reinforced clinics, basic flood‑proofing for schools—may save more lives than elite megaprojects if they are deployed where vulnerability is highest. Prime targets for these innovations include Brazilian favelas to riverine settlements in East Africa and outer neighborhoods in South and Southeast Asian cities. Returning to Brazil Families in Rio Grande do Sul will long carry the memory of 2024’s flood and how the river rose into their streets, the days spent in crowded shelters, and the slow return to mud‑caked homes. Yet their experience, and that of communities in Derna, in coastal Bangladesh and Myanmar, and in flood‑hit parts of Europe, Africa, and China, offers a blueprint for change. This blueprint includes treating ENSO forecasts as early triggers, and installing AI‑driven flood tools and robust local warning systems to give people time to act. City planners can proactively embed rain gardens, detention spaces, and adaptive foundations that can resist flooding in their districts. If the most vulnerable communities are upgraded first, then the next time extreme rain falls on Rio Grande do Sul or any other storm hot spot, water may still spread, but it will be more likely to pool in well-designed parks and basins than in people’s living rooms, the experts say. “The climate risk isn’t going away; rather, it’s evolving and increasing,” Samanta says. “The real issue is, where we choose to invest and prioritize today will determine how much we lose tomorrow.” If that question guides our choices, storm fear can become a driver of renewal, turning each new ENSO cycle into an opportunity to save more lives and protect more homes than the last. *Dhanada K Mishra is a PhD in civil engineering from the University of Michigan and is currently working as the managing director of a Hong Kong-based AI startup building technology for the sustainability of built infrastructure (www.raspect.ai). He writes on environmental issues, sustainability, the climate crisis, and built infrastructure.

New Research Shows Felt ‘Connections’ Inspire Pro-Environmental Action By Yasmin Prabhudas* Children with their pet rabbits. istock Whether it is weeding one’s garden, hiking a forest trail, taking recycling to a center, or picking up trash in a waterway, when people interact with nature, they are cultivating their nurturing hearts toward the planet. For decades, researchers have reported that a person’s conscious or “felt” connection with nature is key to rallying efforts to address environmental challenges. However, such genuine connections are not guaranteed. As one 2023 study put it, there is “a large degree of societal disconnectedness from the natural world.” Still, social science is showing that when people believe they are part of nature, they will strive to protect it. A 2019 meta-analysis of 37 studies, involving 13,237 participants, found a significant association between a connection to nature and pro-environmental behavior. What more can be done to encourage the idea that humanity and nature are interconnected—and nature sometimes needs human nurture? Felt connection. istock It’s a Relationship There is a common, research-supported idea that when people take care of nature, both benefit as a result. Marianna Drosinou. Image courtesy of Marianna Drosinou “Connectedness to nature more broadly … includes having positive feelings towards nature, such as love and care and acting to protect it,” Marianna Drosinou, a PhD researcher at the Faculty of Medicine, Discipline of Psychology at the University of Helsinki, Finland, tells The Earth & I. She measures connectedness to nature by examining "the degree to which individuals include nature into their sense of self, that is, the degree to which they feel a sense of oneness with the natural world." Drosinou’s work includes a 2025 study, “Everything is connected: Reminders of environmental and social connectedness strengthen environmental attitudes” and a 2023 study, “Modeling levels of eco-conscious awareness.” Armando Prata, a researcher at the Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention at the University of Coimbra in Portugal, finds that immersion in nature influences mental well-being and pro-environmental behavior. He outlined such findings in his 2025 study, “Compassion Towards Nature and Well-Being: The Role of Climate Change Anxiety and Pro-Environmental Behaviors.” Speaking to The Earth and I, Prata says: “When we are connected with nature, we see nature as a part of our identity.” “When we are connected with nature, we see nature as a part of our identity.” There is a “relationship-like quality” between people and nature, says Hiroko Kamide, program-specific associate professor at Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Law in Japan. She and her colleague Tatsuo Arai examined individuals’ relationship to everyday objects and how they connect them to the natural world in their 2024 study, “Human–object interaction, connectedness with nature, and life satisfaction: a cross-sectional study.” Hiroko Kamide. Image courtesy of Hiroko Kamide Kamide told The Earth and I that people’s connection with nature is interactive and personal. “It is a way of experiencing nature, not as something completely external and separate from oneself, but as something one belongs to and participates in.” “In modern urban life,” she adds, “people are often surrounded by highly artificial environments, and nature can start to feel distant—as if it only exists somewhere else, in the mountains or by the sea. “But in reality, we ourselves are part of nature, and even the objects we use every day are linked to nature through their materials and their production processes. From that perspective, connectedness with nature does not have to arise only in special places. It can also be cultivated through ordinary daily life.” Awareness of Nature Impacts Behavior According to findings from Drosinou’s 2023 paper, individuals who develop a personal connection to nature are more likely to engage in environmentally conscious behavior, such as buying environmentally friendly products or limiting use of goods that rely on scarce resources. “Recognizing the interconnectedness of the world makes moral considerations more apparent and environmental engagement more likely,” says Drosinou. “Recognizing the interconnectedness of the world makes moral considerations more apparent and environmental engagement more likely.” Prata suggests that acquiring compassion towards nature means people not only lower their anxiety levels but behave more positively towards the environment. “[…] we know when we spend time in nature, it's natural that we feel like a part of nature, which could lead to pro-social behaviors,” he says. Armando Prata. Image courtesy of Armando Prata Kamide also found an association between caring for everyday objects and a stronger sense of connectedness with nature and pro-environmental behavior. Actions included separating recyclables from trash, carrying items in reusable bags, and adopting an attitude to use water without wasting it. Kamide builds on this thought: Climate communication must make sure that the subject is not distant from people’s everyday lives. “At certain moments—especially when people are deeply immersed in making or working with something—they may no longer feel entirely separate from the object in front of them,” she explains. “There can be a sense of unity or deep absorption. In our paper, we relate this kind of state to the Buddhist idea of samadhi, and also note its similarity to what psychology describes as ‘flow.’ “When that happens, caring for the environment no longer feels like sacrificing for something completely outside oneself. It can begin to feel more like caring for the world that sustains and includes oneself. In that sense, pro-environmental motivation may arise less from external pressure and more from an inwardly felt sense of connection.” According to Kamide, “Environmental cooperation is not only about isolated individuals making good choices. It is also shaped by a shared sense of what ‘we’ value and how ‘we’ live with objects and nature.” In “Robotics and the Teaching of the Buddha” (in Japanese), published in 2018, she and Masahiro Mori highlighted the Japanese practice of repairing a torn shoji (a traditional paper sliding screen) by placing an autumn leaf over the damaged area to create a new design. This kind of attentive repair can become “part of a shared cultural meaning: a sense that ‘this is how we relate to things,’” she says. Such “shared cultural meaning can support environmental cooperation.” Shoji with autumn leaf motif. Image courtesy of Hiroko Kamide Facing Human Fears of Nature Of course, the physical world carries many real dangers, and many people seek to avoid the unpredictable “wilderness” as much as possible. Scholar P. Wesley Schultz wrote about this estrangement in 2002 with his article, “Inclusion with Nature, The Psychology of Human-Nature Relations.” “We are all a part of nature … as a species, our survival depends on an ecological balance with nature,” Schultz said. Still, especially as people living in industrialized nations, “we spend our lives trying to escape from nature” by virtually hiding in buildings, cars, stores, and other safe, man-made structures. Environmental education can help people reconnect with nature “by changing the perception that people are separate or superior to nature,” says Drosinou. Environmental education can help people reconnect with nature “by changing the perception that people are separate or superior to nature.” Kamide feels this could happen through ordinary life, as people notice how they are all “sustained by other beings, materials, systems, and relationships”—including one with nature. For those with anxiety about nature, Prata believes there are small steps they can take to begin to connect to nature. For instance, he cites the Bussaco National Forest in central Portugal—a certified therapeutic forest inspired by the Japanese philosophy of “shirin-yoku” or “forest bathing”—as a place where a love of nature could be cultivated. Bussaco National Forest in central Portugal. istock Kamide urges a nature-appreciation approach as well. “Rather than taking the people, objects, natural resources, and social systems around us for granted, we can pause and ask: Where did this come from? What supports it? What does my life depend on that I normally do not see?” she says. The Japanese word “arigato” (thank you) relates to the idea that something is precious because it is not guaranteed or easily given, she adds. Gratitude is “a form of awareness of connection.” *Yasmin Prabhudas is a freelance journalist working mainly for nonprofit organizations, labor unions, the education sector, and government agencies.

Carefully Constructed Gardens Replace Cement, Prevent Flooding and Attract Pollinators *By Gordon Cairns A rain garden in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. ©Maureen Flynn-Burhoe/Wikimedia/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) A movement is afoot to beautify cities and populated areas by removing substantial amounts of excess cement and planting greenery that is aimed at reducing stormwater runoff and flooding. Water-absorbing “rain gardens” are popping up around the world and are part of the “Soak Up the Rain” effort by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Individuals can make rain gardens on their own properties while communities can create this green infrastructure in their cities and public areas. Historical Fights Against Flooding In the Middle Ages, the Dutch dealt with the encroaching waters of the North Sea by building dikes, dams, and a canal system to stop, then harness the sea. Since then, countries across the world have been using innovative methods to combat the catastrophic risk of flooding. In Jakarta, Indonesia, for instance, the government plans to build a 20-mile artificial island in Jakarta Bay—in the shape of its national emblem, the eagle-like Garuda bird—to protect its capital city from storm surges. Meanwhile, in the borough of Enfield, London, 80 hectares (about 197 acres) of empty land has been transformed into a natural defense system against flooding in nearby towns. New woodlands have been planted that contain 50 ponds to absorb rainwater. Excess stormwater and flooding can be a common problem in modern population centers. For instance, in the United States’ Great Plains states, its great swaths of prairie grasses and woodlands would have once absorbed the rush of water from heavy rainstorms. But today, when the clouds open up over a typical Midwestern city, the gushing water has less soft soil to slow down its flow, and it instead races over roofs, parking lots, sidewalks, and roads. Runoff is then funneled towards storm drainage systems into rivers, lakes, and streams, even though this can increase the risk of flooding. The Natural Solution A rain garden retaining rainwater. ©Monolito Nimbus (CC BY-SA 4.0) Rain gardens are a beautiful solution to mitigate impervious, man-made, urban landscapes. Rain gardens return the land to something approximating its naturally porous state; it can again capture and filter stormwater before it runs off into storm drains, thus reducing the risk of flooding. Moreover, not only are rain gardens beautiful to look at but maintaining them is good for the gardener’s health. Rain gardens are not just a garden. They are designed to collect water in shallow hollows in the yard that have been filled with appropriate vegetation. This practice, also known as bioretention, is designed to mimic the mechanisms of natural systems that reduce water volume and pollution removal. The rain water is encouraged to slowly seep into the ground. By reducing the velocity of the flow, this process reduces the potential for erosion as well as cutting the amount of pollutants pouring from a yard into a storm drain and waterways. Bioretention next to roads in Greendale, Wisconsin. ©Aaron Volkening/Flickr Another benefit of rain gardens is their help in refilling groundwater in aquifers; they capture runoff in the shallow hollows of up to 2 feet deep to avoid soil compaction and then let it soak deeply into the ground. Furthermore, their design helps them act as a pollution and sediment filter by catching almost the first inch of runoff, which contains the highest concentration of pollutants. Thus, rain gardens transform stormwater from a destructive carrier of pollution into a source of sustenance for plant and wildlife habitats—the plants thrive on nitrogen and phosphorus that is picked up by their roots. Thus, rain gardens transform stormwater from a destructive carrier of pollution into a source of sustenance for plant and wildlife habitats—the plants thrive on nitrogen and phosphorus that is picked up by their roots. Although conventional gardens on one’s property are a valuable asset, they are not a rain garden unless stormwater runoff is directed into the garden. Rain gardens can be difficult to maintain because it is necessary to have a proper grasp of all planted species throughout all seasons to ensure none are accidentally weeded. There are also additional upfront costs, such as the size of a rain garden being 5 to 10% of area where stormwater comes from. Rain gardens also incur additional costs if drainage is needed instead of soil as the filtration medium. Sample diagram of a rain garden. ©Melbourne Water (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) Six Components of a Rain Garden A rain garden typically has six basic components (see image above)—growing medium, vegetation, rock trench, perforated drain, above-ground storage zone, and overflow—according to Kerr Wood Leidal, a Canadian engineering consulting firm. The growing medium supports plant growth and holds water. Vegetation promotes the regeneration of the infiltration surface and supports evaporation and transpiration. A rock trench holds water and releases it after a rainstorm, while a perforated drain protects plant roots from flooding and maintains adequate oxygen in the space. The storage zone above ground holds rainwater after a heavy downpour until the growing medium is able to accept the water. Finally, the overflow protects any nearby buildings when heavy rainfall or freezing of the ground overwhelms the rain garden by safely steering the water to a nearby location. Growing One’s Own Rain Garden If the deep-rooted plants in the rain garden are native to the region, they will not need special attention once they are established. Rain garden plants may be trees, shrubs, and perennials depending on their tolerance to wet or dry soils. Plants may include hornbeam, birch, red and black chokeberry, and big bluestem, depending on the growing zone or region. Of course, non-native plants can be used, provided they are also pest-free and not invasive. The best soil type is sandy soil that drains well, but rain gardens can even be built within gardens with less permeable soils, such as clay, as long as they can absorb the stormwater runoff from the house or garage. The best soil type is sandy soil that drains well, but rain gardens can even be built within gardens with less permeable soils, such as clay, as long as they can absorb the stormwater runoff from the house or garage. A rain garden installation in progress in front of a home. ©Tricia J/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Potential rain gardeners can test the infiltration abilities of their soil by digging a hole 8 inches wide by 8 inches deep and filling it with water. If the water level recedes at 1 inch per hour, then the area is perfect for a rain garden without any extra soil preparation. The size of the garden will be determined by the amount of storm runoff that needs to be absorbed and the permeability of the soil, with a sandy soil rain garden needing less space than a clay soil garden. During a rainstorm, watch the flow of the water to find the best place for the garden, bearing in mind it should be at least 10 feet from building foundations and 25 feet away from septic system drain fields. Call the local services provider beforehand to avoid digging into buried cables and pipes. Although a rain garden might look unkempt compared to an immaculate lawn, they do need a degree of maintenance, including regular weeding. A newly planted rain garden should have a mulch, such as wood chips or compost between the plants, to help prevent weeds and erosion, and reduce watering needs. The mulch needs to replenished as necessary and spread by hand to avoid damaging the plants. The Front Yard Initiative A rain garden as part of the Front Yard Initiative. ©Urban Conservancy The City of New Orleans is working to cope with runoff. After a heavy rainfall, the water in this growing metropolis on the Mississippi River delta has few places to go, due to the extent of development. To resolve its runoff problem, New Orleans is helping residents get rid of excess garden paving and encouraging the creation of rain gardens. The city has “had a problematic, unhealthy relationship with water,” according to Dana Eness, executive director of Urban Conservancy (UC), a nonprofit organization that fosters environmental and economic resilience in a warm weather climate. Eness said that after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the city started a conversation with water experts from the Netherlands, a country with water management expertise developed after the devastating North Sea Flood of 1953. The Dutch experts encouraged the city to look for natural solutions to support their infrastructure problem. “They told us what they have learned, which is you can’t engineer your way out of this situation. You have to look at biodiversity, you have to take your lead from Mother Nature by identifying a nature-based solution,” she said. As the city looked for ways to support the green infrastructure, UC started hearing complaints from residents about too much paving in neighbors’ yards, causing water to flood their properties, and so the Front Yard Initiative (FYI) was born. The program encourages people to remove excessive paving and replace it with their own rain gardens. FYI pays residents $2.50 per square foot of paving they lift from their front yard in an initiative designed to let water seep into the ground and reduce the risk the city faces from further flooding. FYI pays residents $2.50 per square foot of paving they lift from their front yard in an initiative designed to let water seep into the ground and reduce the risk the city faces from further flooding. Pavement in front of a house is replaced by a rain garden. ©Al Duvernay In the last 10 years, UC has provided financial and technical assistance to over 150 homes and lifted more than 93,000 square feet of paving from front yards. This allows, at a conservative estimate, 125,000 gallons of water to be diverted from the city’s pumping system and streets and instead absorbed into the ground after a heavy rainfall. This adds up to 4 million gallons annually. Eness explained: “For the individual on their lot and their neighbors, it can be a major quality of life changer. They can now use their backyard that might have held water for three days and can walk from their car to their house without getting their ankles wet due to rainstorm water. “That is a dramatic and immediate improvement,” she said. Eness added that rain gardens also expand the biodiversity of the area: When heat-reflecting pavement is replaced by lush greenery that cools the environment, it attracts butterflies and bees. The runoff in neighborhoods is improved by even one rain garden in the area; this encourages others to build their own bioretention spaces, creating a virtuous circle. Pavement by a road is replaced with a rain garden with various plants. ©Urban Conservancy While the level of water absorption in rain gardens is small compared to a citywide scale—the city’s pumping system has to deal with 450 million gallons in the first hour of a rainstorm—rain gardens keep significant amounts of water out of the system at an important moment. “What this is doing in a volume scale is dwarfed but in that first critical hour, every drop counts,” Eness explained. *Gordon Cairns is a freelance journalist and teacher of English and Forest Schools based in Scotland.

Smoke from indoor cooking can pose a serious health risk. Pexels Air pollution continues to be one of the most serious—and often invisible—threats to human health worldwide, says the State of Global Air Report 2025: A Report on Air Pollution and Its Role in the World’s Leading Causes of Death. The State of Global Air (SoGA) report is widely considered one of the most reliable and authoritative sources of air quality data in the world. The SoGA 2025 report, published by the Health Effects Institute and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s Global Burden of Disease project, says polluted air is not just an environmental issue—it is a major driver of chronic disease, premature death, and reduced quality of life across the globe. Drawing on 2023 data, the report highlights how exposure to fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅), ozone, and nitrogen dioxide affects billions of people daily. There is progress: Between 2013 and 2023, 13 countries reduced their average ambient levels of fine particulate matter, while seven countries saw increases. Regarding average annual exposure to nitrogen dioxide between 2013 and 2023, 11 countries improved while nine countries saw increases. However, globally, the average exposure to ambient ozone pollution has increased steadily since 1990, the report says, adding that “the largest health burdens” are seen in low- and middle-income countries.” Key Data Points Almost 8 million deaths in 2023 were linked to air pollution—roughly 1 in every 8 deaths worldwide, making it one of the leading global risk factors for mortality. Eighty-six percent of those deaths (6.8 million) were caused by noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, lung disease, and dementia. Air pollution contributed to 232 million years of healthy life lost globally, reflecting long-term illness and disability—not just early death. Ninety-five percent of air pollution–related deaths among adults over age 60 are tied to chronic diseases, underscoring pollution’s role in aging-related health decline. More than 625,000 deaths in 2023 were linked specifically to dementia associated with air pollution; dementia is a newly added category in this year’s report. Thirty-six percent of the global population is exposed to PM₂.₅ levels above even the least strict international guideline (35 μg/m³). Nearly 2.6 billion people (about one-third of humanity) are still exposed to household air pollution from burning solid fuels like wood, charcoal, and dung for cooking. Ambient PM₂.₅ alone accounts for about 4.9 million deaths, making it the single largest air pollution risk factor. Low- and middle-income countries bear the greatest burden, accounting for roughly 90% of air pollution deaths, due to higher exposure and fewer health protections. Why It Matters Air pollution is no longer just about smoggy skies—it is deeply intertwined with the global rise of chronic diseases. The report makes clear that tackling air pollution could significantly reduce rates of heart disease, diabetes, dementia, and other major illnesses. At the same time, solutions are well known: cleaner energy, improved cooking technologies, stricter emissions standards, and better urban planning. The challenge is scaling these solutions quickly and equitably—especially in regions where the health stakes are highest. Sources: State of Global Air Report 2025 https://www.healthdata.org/news-events/newsroom/news-releases/new-report-shows-nearly-9-10-global-air-pollution-deaths-are https://www.healtheffects.org/announcements/new-state-global-air-2025-report-shows-nearly-nine-ten-global-air-pollution-deaths-are

How Big Is Its Footprint? A Google data center in Dalles Oregon. Wikimedia Artificial intelligence (AI) systems—from chatbots to advanced scientific modeling—run inside vast buildings filled with specialized computers called data centers. These facilities store data, run internet services, and train powerful AI models. As the digital economy expands, so does the physical infrastructure needed to support it. But the AI revolution comes with a growing environmental footprint. Data centers require enormous amounts of electricity to power servers and water to cool them, since high-performance computers generate intense heat while operating. Recent research shows that the energy and water demands of these facilities are rising rapidly as AI becomes more widespread. Below are key data points that help explain the scale of the environmental footprint associated with AI and the global data-center industry. Key Data Points Data centers in the United States consumed about 183 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in 2024, representing more than 4% of all U.S. electricity use. (A terawatt-hour equals 1 trillion watt-hours—enough energy to power tens of thousands of homes for a year.) Analysts estimate that electricity use by US data centers could climb to 426 TWh by 2030, more than doubling current levels as AI workloads expand. Worldwide, data centers already use around 360 TWh annually, comparable to the total electricity consumption of some mid-sized countries. Research modeling future growth suggests AI server expansion in the United States could generate from 24 million to 44 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year between 2024 and 2030, depending on how rapidly AI infrastructure grows. Cooling servers requires large volumes of water, especially in facilities using evaporative cooling towers. Estimates suggest data centers used about 140 billion liters of water in one year worldwide alongside their electricity consumption. US data-center water use rose from 21.2 billion liters (5.6 billion gallons) in 2014 to 66 billion liters (17.46 billion gallons) in 2023. This rapid increase reflects the expansion of cloud computing and AI infrastructure over the past decade. A single large data center may require about 300,000 gallons of water per day Depending on climate and cooling technology, some facilities consume hundreds of thousands of gallons daily to remove heat from servers running continuously. Hyperscale data centers can use up to 5 million gallons of water per day The largest facilities—often used by major cloud providers—may require water volumes comparable to the daily consumption of 30,000 to 50,000 people. Medium-sized data centers can use about 110 million gallons of water annually Cooling infrastructure in a typical facility may consume water equivalent to the yearly usage of roughly 1,000 households. Global AI operations may have a carbon footprint comparable to a major city Estimates suggest that the total emissions from AI systems and related infrastructure could approach those of large metropolitan areas such as New York City, underscoring the scale of the industry’s environmental impact. Why This Matters The growth of artificial intelligence highlights a paradox of the digital age: The more virtual the world becomes, the more physical infrastructure it requires. Massive computing facilities—along with the electricity grids, water supplies, and land needed to support them—are becoming central to the global economy. For policymakers, researchers, and technology companies, the challenge is to ensure that the next generation of AI infrastructure is built with energy efficiency, renewable power, and water-saving cooling technologies in mind. As AI expands into nearly every sector of society, its environmental footprint may become one of the defining sustainability challenges of the digital era. Sources: https://news.mit.edu/2025/explained-generative-ai-environmental-impact-0117 https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/10/24/what-we-know-about-energy-use-at-us-data-centers-amid-the-ai-boom/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666389925002788 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-025-01681-y https://www.eli.org/vibrant-environment-blog/ais-cooling-problem-how-data-centers-are-transforming-water-use  https://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2026/01/11/americas-ai-boom-is-running-into-an-unplanned-water-problem/ https://www.fwpcoa.org/content.aspx https://newatlas.com/environment/google-data-center-texas-water-cooling

Pilot Study Shows Lifestyle Medicine Program Rapidly Improved Cardiometabolic Health Plant-forward diets and exercise are integral parts of a Lifestyle Medicine regimen. istock A 2025 pilot study published in the International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention evaluated whether a short, immersive lifestyle medicine program could produce clinically meaningful improvements in cardiometabolic health among adults with chronic disease. The results were promising. For little more than three weeks, 12 participants followed a structured program centered on whole-food, plant-based nutrition, daily movement, stress management, and physician-led education. Despite its brief duration, the study at the Institute for Healthier Living in Abu Dhabi, found statistically significant improvements across multiple cardiometabolic, inflammatory, and body-composition markers, as well as substantial reductions in prescription medication use. These findings highlighted how quickly lifestyle shifts can improve individual health while reducing the environmental impact and financial strain on healthcare systems. Key Data Points Systolic blood pressure fell by nearly 30 mmHg. Mean systolic blood pressure dropped from 148.7 mmHg to 118.8 mmHg (p < 0.01). Participants lost an average of 5.1 kg (11.2 lbs). Mean body weight decreased from 112.0 kg to 106.9 kg (p < 0.001), despite no calorie or portion restrictions. Body mass index declined significantly. Average BMI fell from 39.2 to 37.4 kg/m², a reduction of 1.8 BMI units in just three weeks (p < 0.001). Visceral fat decreased by over 130 grams (4.6 ounces). Estimated visceral adipose tissue dropped from 826.8 g to 693.7 g (p < 0.05), indicating reduced cardiometabolic risk. Waist circumference shrank by more than 7 cm (2.6 in). Mean waist size decreased from 120.9 cm to 113.7 cm (p < 0.05), reflecting central fat loss. Fasting blood glucose improved significantly. Average fasting glucose fell from 5.88 to 5.29 mmol/L (p < 0.01), even among participants with type 2 diabetes. Systemic inflammation was cut roughly in half. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) dropped from 5.98 mg/L to 3.04 mg/L (p < 0.01). Atherogenic LDL particle number declined. LDL-P decreased from 1,544 to 1,365 nmol/L (p < 0.05), suggesting reduced cardiovascular risk beyond standard cholesterol measures. Medication use fell dramatically. Of participants taking chronic medications at baseline, 70% discontinued at least one prescription during the three-week program. Complete discontinuation of antihypertensives occurred in 30% of participants. Three participants stopped all blood-pressure medications, and one participant discontinued all diabetes medications. Eighty percent of medicated participants experienced deprescribing or dose reduction. Changes included discontinuation of statins, proton-pump inhibitors, gout medications, and appetite suppressants. Why This Matters Beyond Individual Health This study demonstrates that rapid physiological change is possible through lifestyle-based interventions, even among individuals with advanced cardiometabolic disease, obesity, and multimorbidity. From an environmental perspective, the resulting reductions in medication dependency, clinical interventions, and long-term healthcare utilization could decrease material, pharmaceutical, and energy burdens on health systems. While larger, long-term trials are necessary, these findings strengthen the case for lifestyle medicine as a high-impact, low-resource strategy at the intersection of human health, preventive care, and planetary sustainability.   Sources: Osório TG et al. (2025). Feasibility and Efficacy of a Three-Week Lifestyle Medicine Immersion for Cardiometabolic Markers and Body Composition: A Pilot Study. International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention, 7(2), 11–20. DOI: 10.22230/ijdrp.2025v7n2a599

Booming Demand Seen in Food, Pharmaceutical, Textile Industries Traditional seaweed farming in Bali, Indonesia. istock Seaweed aquaculture—the farming of marine macroalgae such as kelp, nori, and wakame—is increasingly viewed as one of the most environmentally sustainable forms of food production, according to government and market analysts. Seaweed grows entirely in seawater and relies on sunlight and naturally dissolved nutrients, meaning it requires no freshwater irrigation, fertilizers, or pesticides. As seaweed grows, it absorbs carbon dioxide and excess nutrients from the surrounding ocean, helping improve water quality and support marine ecosystems. Meanwhile, global demand for seaweed products—from food and animal feed to fertilizers, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and biomaterials—is expanding rapidly, says the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Market analyses from Cognitive Market Research and The Business Research Company suggest the seaweed sector could become a major component of the emerging “blue economy,” combining environmental benefits with significant economic growth potential. Key Environmental and Market Data Points Every year, about 35 million metric tons of seaweed are produced globally, making seaweed one of the largest sectors of aquaculture worldwide. The global seaweed cultivation market was valued at approximately $19.29 billion in 2024. The sector is projected to expand at a 10.34% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2024 and 2031. North America accounted for a tiny slice—about 4.05%—of the global seaweed cultivation market in 2024. This indicates significant room for expansion of seaweed farming along US and Canadian coastlines. The global commercial seaweed market reached approximately $24.47 billion in 2025, It is expected to grow to reach $43.1 billion by 2030, reflecting strong growth across food, agriculture, and industrial uses. The commercial seaweed sector is projected to grow at roughly 12% compound annual growth annually through the decade. Seaweed aquaculture requires no freshwater because seaweed grows directly in seawater. It also requires no pesticides or synthetic fertilizers since macroalgae absorb nutrients already dissolved in seawater. Seaweed absorbs two major nutrient pollutants—nitrogen and phosphorus—from coastal waters, helping reduce eutrophication and harmful algal blooms. Growing seaweed absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen through photosynthesis, helping support marine ecosystem health. Seaweed can be grown alongside shellfish or finfish in integrated multitrophic aquaculture systems, where it absorbs excess nutrients produced by other farmed species. Aerial view of a contemporary South Korean seaweed farm. istock Sources: NOAA Fisheries – Seaweed Aquaculture (https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/aquaculture/seaweed-aquaculture) The Business Research Company – Commercial Seaweed Global Market Report (https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/report/commercial-seaweed-global-market-report) Cognitive Market Research – Seaweed Cultivation Market Report (https://www.cognitivemarketresearch.com/seaweed-cultivation-market-report

Easy to grow and harvest, bamboo forests produce much more biomass per hectare than traditional timber forests. Simon Joseph/Unsplash Scientists have developed a new bamboo-based bioplastic that not only rivals conventional petroleum plastics in strength and durability but can also biodegrade in soil within just 50 days. The study, by Haipeng Yu and colleagues and published in Nature Communications, represents an advance that could reshape some areas of the global plastics industry. The material, often referred to as bamboo molecular plastic or BM-plastic, is made by dissolving and breaking down bamboo cellulose using a nontoxic biodegradable solvent and then chemically reassembling the component cellulose parts with the help of an ethanol solvent. The result is a dense, high-performance material that behaves much like traditional plastic—but without its long-term environmental costs. In laboratory testing, the bamboo bioplastic demonstrated mechanical strength and thermal stability comparable to, and in some cases exceeding, widely used plastics such as polylactic acid (PLA) and high-impact polystyrene. Scientists reported tensile strengths exceeding 100 megapascals (comparable to the strength of medium-carbon steel or high-strength aluminum alloys used in automotive and aerospace applications) and high resistance to heat and stress. Crucially, unlike most conventional plastics—which can persist in the environment for centuries—the new material fully decomposes in soil in under two months. As noted in a research summary by the Springer Nature publishing company, the plastic “can biodegrade in soil within 50 days,” offering a dramatically shorter life cycle. Bioplastic Outperforms the Regular Kind Researchers emphasize that the material does not sacrifice performance for sustainability. In fact, the study found that “the BM-plastic outperforms most commercial plastics and bioplastics” while maintaining rapid biodegradability and recyclability. The innovation addresses a major limitation that has long hindered biodegradable plastics: strength. Many earlier plant-based plastics lacked the durability needed for real-world use, particularly in infrastructure or manufacturing. By contrast, the bamboo-derived plastic can be molded, machined, and processed using existing industrial techniques, increasing its potential for widespread adoption. The environmental stakes are high. Global plastic pollution continues to grow, with millions of tons of plastic waste entering oceans and landfills each year. Traditional plastics, derived from fossil fuels, not only resist decomposition but also fragment into microplastics and nanoplastics that infiltrate ecosystems and human bodies. Bamboo Boon Bamboo is a fast-growing, renewable “grassy tree” that can be harvested annually and produces significantly more biomass than timber, which requires 10–50 years to come to harvestability. Beyond biodegradability, the new bamboo plastic is also recyclable, retaining up to 90% of its original strength after processing—an important feature for circular manufacturing systems. This dual capability—recyclability followed by rapid biodegradation—could significantly reduce long-term waste accumulation. Experts say scalability will determine the technology’s ultimate impact. Early analyses suggest the material could be produced at costs competitive with conventional plastics, particularly as demand for sustainable materials grows and regulations tighten around single-use plastics. If successfully commercialized, bamboo bioplastics could find applications in everything from packaging and consumer goods to automotive and construction materials—industries currently dominated by fossil-based plastics. While further testing and industrial scaling are still underway, the breakthrough signals a promising shift toward materials that align performance with environmental responsibility. In the global effort to curb plastic pollution, bamboo may prove to be one of nature’s most powerful allies.