Increase Longevity with Exercise, Diet, and a Healthful Environment by Julie Peterson* Like their ancestors in the wild, dogs love to “roam” in “packs.” ©LuckyBusiness/iStock Some pet lovers may find this surprising, but lifestyle medicine is not just for humans. A growing body of research shows that dogs and cats, just like Homo sapiens, thrive when their daily lives include healthful foods and activities along with preventive care. And while pets are never with their humans long enough, people are looking less these days at increasing their pet’s lifespan and leaning more toward boosting their pet’s “health span”— the years of life lived in good health and vitality—to ensure the best life for their beloved fur babies. Pets come with genetics that may influence their lives, but lifestyle and environmental factors, largely controlled by humans, are equally important. In 2025, the Journal of Veterinary Science published a scientific review on aging in companion animals, finding that lifestyle factors such as physical activity, nutrition, obesity prevention, gut health, environmental conditions, and stress management play major roles in canine and feline aging outcomes. The study’s findings coincide with an increasing demand for veterinarians who practice integrative or lifestyle medicine using practical, science-backed approaches. The American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association (AHVMA) states that Integrative Veterinary Medicine (IVM) looks at the “whole patient—body, mind, and spirit”—including the pet’s relationship with humans and the environment. Exercise Body and Mind Cats love windows with a view. Photo Credit: Savannah Westby Hess Research consistently links physical activity with healthier aging in companion animals. A 2022 nationwide research study, published by GeroScience, looked at more than 11,500 companion dogs enrolled through the Dog Aging Project to better understand factors that impact health span and lifespan. The study concluded that “physical activity was the only lifestyle factor that was robustly associated with reduced risk of cognitive dysfunction” in dogs. Dogs and cats have instinctive behaviors built around primal needs. When these needs are met, caregivers support their pets and build a more mindful relationship with them. Dogs flourish when they can explore, connect socially, and be active in purposeful ways, as did their ancestors in cooperative, roaming packs. Cats instinctively want to hunt, enjoy vertical spaces with a view, and prefer to choose when they engage. Dogs may benefit from agility exercises, scent games, swimming, and other exercises adapted to breed. Cats love to climb, stalk, play with toys, or join their humans in interactive games. Activity boosts a pet’s mood immediately, further contributing to that all-important health span. A dog enjoying a swim at a beach in Rio de Janeiro. ©Murilo Fonseca/Pexels The study concluded that “physical activity was the only lifestyle factor that was robustly associated with reduced risk of cognitive dysfunction” in dogs. In play and exercise, think about incorporating your pet’s natural talents—like sniffing, listening, hunting, or pouncing—into daily activities. Cats will exercise inside when given vertical territory such as cat trees, tall scratching posts, or wall shelves to encourage jumping and climbing. They benefit from interactive play and will use their stalk-and-chase skills to pounce on laser pointer dots (give them a real toy to pounce on at the end of the game to prevent frustration), wand toys with dangling feathers, or a ball of yarn. Some cats will even play fetch with lightweight toys. “Toys should be hidden so the cat can discover the toy in the course of the day,” says Suzanne Denk, animal enrichment specialist at Animal Friends, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “Toys should be rotated so they stay new and interesting.” Dogs like to play hide and seek. ©Ольга А/Pexels Dogs enjoy a game of hide-and-seek in the house. Combine teaching “stay” with their hunting drive, memory skills, and social needs. Put them in a sit-stay, go to another room to hide, call the dog to come, and watch their delight when they find their target. It’s a reunion that will bring out the tail wags every time. When venturing outside, dogs are usually fine with a fitted collar, but cats can wiggle out. “It’s very important to use a harness, not just a collar, and to let your cat get accustomed to short periods of time wearing the harness indoors before going outside,” says Shelby Neely, VMD, at Banfield Pet Hospital. Make sure your cat wears a harness outdoors and doesn’t eat chemically-treated grass. ©Baramyou0708/iStock “It’s very important to use a harness, not just a collar, and to let your cat get accustomed to short periods of time wearing the harness indoors before going outside.” A pet’s brain also needs exercise. The 2025 Journal of Veterinary Science review states, “Environmental enrichment, including cognitive stimulation, social interaction, and stress reduction, supports cognitive function and overall well-being in aging pets.” Fortunately, there are many ways to engage pets in mentally stimulating activities that keep them sharp. Feed for Life An obese cat. ©Panini!/Wikimedia CC0 Pet obesity is increasingly common. The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) warns that excess weight contributes to arthritis, diabetes, cardiovascular strain, reduced mobility, and shortened lifespan in pets. A 2025 assessment of dietary strategies relating to aging in dogs and cats stated: “The expression of an animal’s maximum health potential can be achieved by nutrition tailored to its needs.” Most pet foods come with a “feeding chart” that indicates how much an animal should eat based on age and/or weight. But every pet has unique nutrient needs for long-term health outcomes, which is why it’s essential that a veterinarian considers any health conditions and provides an individualized, breed-specific, evidence-guided nutritional assessment for canine and feline patients. AAHA weight management guidelines stress that obesity prevention should be a priority for companion animals, which involves measuring food portions and limiting treats. Quality food is also important. Pet owners can make more educated choices in food and treat purchases by reading about ingredients used in commercial pet foods at Clean Label Project and by better understanding ingredient labels. Pet owners can make more educated choices in food and treat purchases by reading about ingredients used in commercial pet foods at Clean Label Project. Take Away Toxins A clean, toxin-free environment around your pet is also important. A simple mistake in choosing cleaners could result in extreme irritation or even a dangerous health hazard. For example, synthetic fragrances and other ingredients in carpet cleaning powder, liquid cleaning solutions, or laundry products may be too harsh for pet respiratory systems or skin and could cause vomiting or other illnesses. According to Michelson Found Pets, essential oils are especially dangerous: “Many oils are basically poisonous or toxic, because their reactions mess up a pet’s natural body chemistry. Human bodies can process a lot of weird stuff, but animals are often much more limited in what is safe for them.” This can be true, even if the oils are diffused in the air or mixed into mop water. A cat sleeping near an essential oil diffuser might not be a good idea. ©Ekaterina Fedulyeva/iStock Pesticides on lawns are another danger. A product may be advertised as safe for people and pets, but pets are more sensitive to toxins than previously realized. The chemicals may not do obvious harm in the short term, but long-term accumulation has been shown to cause cancer and myriad health issues. It’s worth researching, and for the benefit of pets, people, and pollinators, it’s advised to go organic. Integrative Veterinary Care Pet parents can control many lifestyle factors, but finding the root of their pet’s illness is what integrative veterinarians are trained to do. The American Veterinary Medical Association says that IVM is “a comprehensive approach to animal health care that combines conventional veterinary practices with complementary and alternative therapies, such as acupuncture and chiropractic care.” Other modalities may include herbal medicine, kinesiology, or laser therapy. Some IVM practitioners use acupuncture as a treatment. ©humonia/iStock “With conventional medicine, we tend to treat the symptoms versus treating the root cause of disease, which is why a majority of the time, the symptoms return when the drug is finished. However, when you use a holistic approach to your pet’s health, we are looking for the root cause of disease,” says veterinarian Katie Woodley in Fort Collins, Colorado, who blogs at TheNaturalPetDoctor.com. “With a holistic approach, we look at the nutrition, gut health, and how all the systems are connected and resolve the imbalance.” Holistic veterinarians in the US must have the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree prior to pursuing optional holistic training. It’s a choice that can require a great deal of time and effort, which is one reason IVM clinics are difficult to find. Supply is definitely behind demand for IVM, and pet parents may need to travel an hour or more for an appointment. To find a practitioner, AHVMA has a search-by-state feature that also lists the modalities of each veterinarian. Woodley and many IVM practitioners also offer telehealth when possible. In lieu of finding an IVM clinic, some DVM clinics follow a similar approach, without the extra modalities such as herbal medicine. The AHVMA states that the holistic approach is “gentle, minimally invasive, and incorporates patient emotions and well-being. Holistic thinking is centered on love, empathy, and respect.” Certainly, many veterinarians use a holistic approach while administering conventional medical techniques. Our pets are often unaware of the choices we make for them. By supporting their well-being and quality of life, we will be part of furthering a world where more mindful relationships with other living beings is the norm. We can elevate pet care to conscious stewardship, guided by empathy and rooted in respect and the awareness that a pet’s health span depends on us. *Julie Peterson writes science-based articles about holistic health, environmental issues, and sustainable living.

Could Princeton Theological Seminary’s Regenerative Ag Program Be the Future of Faith? By Gordon Cairns* Rev. Dr. Nathan Stucky (rear, in white, checkered shirt) with future harvesters of food and leaders of faith-filled communities. Image courtesy of Princeton Theological Seminary For generations, seminaries have prepared future clergy in classrooms, libraries, and sanctuaries. Today, at Princeton Theological Seminary’s Farminary, many of the most important lessons begin in compost piles, vegetable beds, chicken coops, and shared meals. The New Jersey school’s Farminary—a blend of “farm” and “seminary”—is reimagining theological education by integrating regenerative agriculture with spiritual formation, ecological stewardship, and community life. The Farminary also offers an unexpected model for healing. Students learn not only theology but also how healthy soil, seasonal rhythms, food justice, and honoring the Sabbath can reshape the way future faith leaders understand ministry. Rather than treating environmental stewardship as a niche concern, the program presents care for creation as central to spiritual life: Students from diverse backgrounds are invited to rediscover their relationship with the land—and with one another. Rev. Dr. Nathan Stucky (left) leads new student orientation. Image courtesy of Princeton Theological Seminary Reviving Faith and Earth In an age marked by environmental anxiety, loneliness, and relentless productivity, could working the land become a pathway toward restoring both faith communities and the Earth? Rev. Dr. Nathan Stucky, founder and director of the Farminary, didn’t always believe so. When he moved across country with his family to begin eight years of studying theology at the venerable Princeton Theological Seminary—the nation’s second-oldest seminary—he naturally assumed he would be abandoning his life of wrestling with soil for one of wrestling with theological questions. “When I left farming in 2007 to move to the seminary to be a student, it was simply beyond my own theological or vocational imagination that [farming and theology] could go together,” he told The Earth and I via a Zoom call. “When I left farming in 2007 to move to the seminary to be a student, it was simply beyond my own theological or vocational imagination that [farming and theology] could go together.” Rev. Dr. Nathan Stucky, founder/director of Princeton Theological Seminary’s Farminary, stands in front of a barn on the program’s working farm. Image courtesy of Princeton Theological Seminary Stucky grew up on a farm in Kansas and worked in youth ministry before becoming a farmer himself. Those years were where his love of the land, farming, and his Christian faith all took root. As he studied theology, the connections between the natural world and the word of God became crystal clear to him. It was from these initial thoughts that the idea of the Farminary began to grow. As Stucky’s theological studies were concluding, he approached the president of the seminary about his idea for a Farminary, having already been offered the use of a farm in Kentucky. Although ideal in many ways, the farm in Kentucky was a 10-hour drive from Princeton. He then learned that Princeton’s seminary had its own 21-acre farm that he could use to establish his unique way of teaching future faith leaders. The Parable of the Sower Rev. Dr. Stucky speaking in front of the compost that is bringing the Farminary’s soil back to life. Image courtesy of Princeton Theological Seminary Having the land was one thing, but growing crops on land exhausted by its previous tenure as a turf farm was another. “We wanted to plant a garden, but there was no topsoil,” Stucky explained. He cited a sermon he had preached on the Parable of the Sower, found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, to show the connection between the Farminary’s land and the farmer in the parable who plants seeds on four types of ground. “I can no longer read it as a story of three failures and one success. I can only see it as one long story that encompasses countless generations, endless cycles of life, death, and new life that in time can bring about a rich harvest even from the places and spaces that today seem most lifeless,” Stucky said. “I can only see [the Parable of the Sower] as one long story that encompasses countless generations, endless cycles of life, death, and new life that in time can bring about a rich harvest even from the places and spaces that today seem most lifeless.” The physical land of the Princeton farm “bears the wounds” of previous stewards, he said. “Too many of the norms of these relationships in our world are built on the same assumptions of extraction, exhaustion and exploitation.” Fresh, healthy growth shows that the former sod farm’s days of extraction, exhaustion, and exploitation are over. Images courtesy of Princeton Theological Seminary These lessons from the land suggest that the Farminary can benefit everyone who works with it. Growing Faith Leaders, Too Over the life of the Farminary, as director of the project, Stucky said his own relationship with the word of God has altered radically: “I [now] read Christian scriptures completely differently from the way I did 12 years ago. Simply because when you read the Bible at the farm, or in the forest or with the stream, all of a sudden you recognize these are all characters in the story.” This shifting perception about the natural world helped create the Farminary’s purpose: “The mission of the Farminary is ultimately about shaping this different kind of faith and faith leader that recognizes much of what has gone wrong in the world [is] because humans have placed themselves at the top of some kind of hierarchy. Now, we are learning to reposition ourselves.” And that repositioning reframes what happens on the Farminary. The land grows tomatoes, squash, beans, and chickens, but it also impacts the people. “We hope to be growing on the farm a different kind of leader. I put myself in that pool of leaders needing to be reformed or shaped anew,” Stucky said. Future faith leaders in the classroom. Image courtesy of Princeton Theological Seminary “Our teachers are the Spirit who is ever recreating the trees and the insects and the soil and the waters,” he added. Learning from nature is emphasized on their very first day for students pursuing the Master of Arts in Theology and Ecology. They are told to find a tree to befriend, then spend time with it, observing it closely: “The exercise is how we reframe ourselves relative to these nonhuman creatures.” Learning from nature is emphasized on their very first day for students of the Master of Arts in Theology and Ecology. They are told to find a tree to befriend, then spend time with it, observing it closely. The Farminary’s chickens. Image courtesy of Princeton Theological Seminary. Not all activities are so benign. One of Stucky’s colleagues teaches a course on the theology of food ethics, which requires spending time with the farm’s chickens. When it is time for the birds to be slaughtered, the students must be on the farm as a minimum requirement and can be as closely involved in the butchering as they can handle. Finally, the class eats a communally prepared meal with those chickens as the main course. “We can sit in a library or a traditional classroom and read those texts about the theology and ethics of food, where you can learn good things,” Stucky said. “But the power of the farm makes the subject matter self-evident; it is not just about ideas in the ether but about flesh-and-blood reality. We are talking about the actual lives of creatures.” As would be expected from graduates from such a unique seminary, their destinations are not necessarily within ministry. Many go on to work for nonprofit organizations, including those that tackle food security or food justice. One graduate returned to his previous role as a landscape architect with the new understanding that all decisions are rooted in values of some kind, even if not necessarily religious. Another graduate became a minister to a Presbyterian Church that had lost its church building and now worships almost exclusively outdoors. Honoring the Sabbath As much as the Farminary is about working towards a better world, it is also about rest. As Stucky, author of Wrestling with Rest: Inviting Youth to Discover the Gift of Sabbath, explained: “Life is a pressure cooker for young people; never stop achieving, never stop producing, never stop consuming. Sabbath is the release from that. The exhaustion of people and of the land [are] two sides of the same coin; exhaustion is not God’s desire for creation.” Sharing the Farminary’s bounty and vision with guests. Image courtesy of Princeton Theological Seminary. To make a lasting difference, the power of the Farminary cannot be limited to 21 acres of farmland in New Jersey, and Stucky is enthusiastic about creating future relationships outside its boundaries. “I think the most exciting work in the next 10 years will be to get multidiscipline, multi-institutional people together with their hands in the soil, hands in the compost pile, thinking about what’s possible and how to reimagine the world.” *Gordon Cairns is a freelance journalist and teacher of English at the Forest Schools, based in Scotland.

Farmer spraying pesticides on soil and crops. Aleksander Dumala/Pexels New research suggests that the danger of pesticide use extends beyond the sheer volume of chemicals being applied. A 2026 study published in Science found that the overall ecological toxicity of pesticides has risen significantly worldwide because many of today's pesticides are more harmful to nontarget species than those they replace. The findings also coincide with growing concerns about children's health and expanding global pesticide markets. Recent reports from UNICEF and other researchers warn that children are especially vulnerable to pesticide exposure. Meanwhile, the use of pesticides is projected to intensify. Key Data More than 600 pesticides were analyzed across 65 countries, representing approximately 79.4% of the world's cropland, making the study one of the most comprehensive global assessments of pesticide toxicity to date. Researchers found that total applied toxicity (TAT) increased for six of eight major groups of organisms studied between 2013 and 2019, indicating that ecological risks are increasing despite international biodiversity goals. Toxicity affecting terrestrial insects increased by approximately 42.9%, the largest increase observed among all species groups. Toxicity toward soil organisms increased by 30.8%, raising concerns about soil fertility and ecosystem functioning. Just 20 pesticide active ingredients account for more than 90% of the global toxic impacts on insects, worms, and many other forms of wildlife, suggesting that reducing use of a relatively small group of chemicals could substantially lower ecological risks. China, Brazil, the United States, and India together account for 53%–68% of global applied pesticide toxicity, making them critical to worldwide risk-reduction efforts. Five crop groups—fruits and vegetables, corn, soybeans, cereals, and rice—generate 76%–83% of global pesticide toxicity because of the intensity and types of pesticides used in their production. Among the countries evaluated, only one—Chile—is currently on track to meet the United Nations' target of reducing pesticide risk by 50% by 2030. Global pesticide use has roughly doubled between 1990 and 2022, according to UNICEF. UNICEF identifies children under age five, pregnant women, and agricultural communities as among the populations at greatest risk. Children are listed because their developing brains and bodies are especially sensitive to pesticide exposure. A 2026 review in One Health Advances concludes that pesticide exposure continues to be associated with adverse effects on human health, biodiversity, soil organisms, pollinators, aquatic ecosystems, and food security, reinforcing calls for more sustainable pest management strategies.

Global Warming Brings Mammoth Atlantic Current toward a Tipping Point By Rick Laezman* Topographic map of the Nordic seas and subpolar basins with surface currents (solid curves) and deep currents (dashed curves) that form a portion of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Colors of curves indicate approximate temperatures. R. Curry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution/Science/USGCRP/Wikipedia/CC BY 3.0 The Atlantic Ocean has a circulation system powerful enough to shape the climate of entire continents—and scientists say it is weakening. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), of which the Gulf Stream is a part, carries warm surface water northward and sends colder, denser water back toward the south through a deep-ocean pathway. Global warming—especially that aspect that’s melting the Greenland ice sheet—is believed to be disrupting the physical forces that keep this vast system moving. The stakes are global, according to computer models cited in a 2026 study. A weaker AMOC could alter European temperatures, shift rainfall and monsoon patterns, disrupt marine ecosystems and fisheries, reduce agricultural productivity, and accelerate sea-level rise along the US East Coast. Scientists disagree about how quickly the circulation could weaken and whether it will actually collapse this century. For example, researchers at Utrecht University in the Netherlands said in an August 2026 study that the AMOC “stayed strong” and could “shift with the climate” under certain circumstances. But scientists increasingly agree on one point: The AMOC is changing, and understanding where that change could lead has become an urgent climate question. The AMOC’s massive and complex pattern of circulation, part of a network of colossal ocean currents around the world, is propelled by a combination of physical properties such as water density, temperature, wind, salinity, and depth. They work together to generate the movement of ocean water over the planet. The process is difficult to measure, but its significance is global. Even some slowing of the current could have a tremendous impact on global climate, the natural environment, and human society. Like so many other powerful natural forces, however, it is vulnerable to the effects of human behavior. Scientists have been measuring the AMOC for more than 20 years. While they all do not agree on methods, models, or measurements, a consensus is clear: The AMOC is showing signs of slowing and even possibly shutting down someday. And the culprit is widely known: increased global temperatures. If or when the AMOC will shut down cannot be said for certain, but even some slowing of the current could have a tremendous impact on global climate, the natural environment, and human society. What is the AMOC? The current is a dynamic interaction of salinity and temperature that stretches from the warm tropical waters near the Equator all the way to the subpolar, North Atlantic waters off the coasts of Greenland and Iceland. The process is fueled by basic laws of physics and chemistry. Dr. Susan Lozier, a professor in Earth and atmospheric sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology, explained that “to understand the AMOC, you have to understand density.” Specifically, salty water is denser than fresh water. And cold water is denser than warm water. Both sink when encountering fresher or warmer water. An iceberg arch towers over the waters of Ilulissat fjord, Greenland. The territory’s rapidly melting glaciers are pouring fresh water into the North Atlantic daily. Filippo Salvioni/Unsplash Because of these qualities, “water becomes stratified,” Lozier said. The salinity and temperature differential “creates a convection.” In the north, cold, salty water sinks, forming what is known as the North Atlantic Deep Water. This draws warm surface water northward all the way from the Tropics and the South Atlantic. While those waters are slowly moving northward, the cold, deep water travels southward underneath. In the north, the warm water eventually becomes cold and sinks, while the cold, deep water warms and rises in the south. This fuels a continuous circulation or convection of currents in the ocean, which has been functioning for millennia. Glaciers in Greenland, Iceland, and the Arctic are melting at breakneck speed, pouring fresh water into the ocean. Now, however, as the global climate gradually warms, the same principles of density that propel the AMOC are working against it. Rising temperatures are warming the North Atlantic waters. Warmer waters do not sink. Additionally, glaciers in Greenland, Iceland, and the Arctic are melting at breakneck speed, pouring fresh water into the ocean. Fresh water is less dense than seawater, so it also does not sink. When the northern waters sink more slowly, the convection that draws water from the south is slowed. So, this confluence of increasing warmth and decreasing salinity is robbing the AMOC of the physics that enable it to circulate. The Consequences The AMOC drives water and atmospheric temperatures, which in turn impact climate, natural ecosystems, and human society and habitation globally. If the AMOC slows down or stops, these systems could be irreparably damaged, and the effects could be long lasting. Peter Ditlevsen is a professor at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, where he studies the physics of ice, climate, and Earth. He explained the correlation between oceanic and atmospheric conditions: “The top 6 meters of the ocean have a direct effect on the Earth’s atmosphere,” he said. More specifically, “ocean temperatures set atmospheric temperatures.” This, he noted, is because the top layer of the ocean holds as much thermal energy (heat) as the entire Earth’s atmosphere. The ocean absorbs heat from the atmosphere and releases it back into the atmosphere very slowly. This dynamic dictates climate, and it has implications of continental proportions. As the AMOC travels north bringing warm surface waters to the higher latitudes, warm air travels with it, creating the climate on land along the way. Fertile fields surround a town in Alsace, France. A diminished AMOC could produce such cold in Europe as to hinder farming. Armands Brandts/Unsplash For example, the AMOC is responsible for the relatively mild climate of European countries along the Atlantic. Without the AMOC, these areas would be much colder. “Scandinavia would be more like Alaska,” Ditlevsen explained. It is important to note that Scandinavia and Alaska sit at the same latitude, but their climates are very different. Alaska has much harsher and colder winters. This difference is attributable to the AMOC. If the AMOC were to slow down or stop, these warm waters and the warm air they bring would slacken or cease, and temperatures on the European continent would drop precipitously. The consequences of this could be catastrophic. “We really don’t want this to happen,” says Stefan Rahmstorf in a May 2026 interview with YaleEnvironment360. Rahmstorf is a professor of the physics of the ocean at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany. In the interview, he discussed data suggesting the AMOC experienced a similar slowdown after the last Ice Age, which ended 12,000 years ago. All the melting ice dumped huge quantities of fresh water into the ocean, which had the same effect on the AMOC that scientists are now predicting is likely to happen again. The last time the AMOC slowed down, it put much of Europe back into Ice Age–like conditions. The last time the AMOC slowed down, it put much of Europe back into Ice Age–like conditions. “The effects are among the most drastic we have seen in the paleorecord,” Rahmstorf said. The impact of similar conditions in modern times would be wide ranging, and colder temperatures would be only the least of it. A widening difference in temperatures between the regions of the Equator and the Arctic North would result in much more dramatic storms and climate instability. Shorter growing seasons and dryer conditions would drastically reduce agricultural output, leading to food scarcity in Europe. The disruption of ocean current circulation would affect marine life, causing fisheries to collapse. A shift in monsoon patterns normally fed by the AMOC would cause drought and water insecurity in Africa and Asia. As the AMOC stalled, warm water backing up in the Atlantic would accelerate sea-level rise on the eastern coastline of the United States, possibly requiring millions of people to relocate. The ‘Cold Blob’ and the ‘Tipping Point’ All of this might sound apocalyptic to skeptics. But the data is compelling. In this video, Prof. Stefan Rahmstorf, a climate scientist in Germany, explains the possible ramifications of a weakening AMOC. In 2015, Rahmstorf and several of his colleagues shared the findings of their research in an article entitled “Exceptional twentieth-century slowdown in Atlantic Ocean overturning circulation,” published in the journal Nature Climate Change. The article described the presence of a “conspicuous region of cooling in the northern Atlantic,” what many now call the “cold blob.” Rahmstorf and his colleagues described how the evidence suggests this cooling may be due to a slackening in the AMOC over the 20th century and particularly after 1970. Other efforts are underway to study the problem. Shane Elipot is an associate professor in the Department of Ocean Sciences, University of Miami. A physical oceanographer, he uses observational and modeled data to study the AMOC. “All models are pointing to a weakening of the AMOC,” he said. Elipot is a leading researcher on the project known as the Meridional Overturning Circulation and HeatFlux Array (MOCHA). The project gathers data from meters and sensors anchored to an array of moorings in the mid-Atlantic. According to Elipot, the measurements gathered by MOCHA and its partner research organizations show a 10% decrease in the AMOC over 20 years. “The good news is that the overturning [AMOC] is unlikely to collapse before 2100,” she said. However, that should not lead to complacency. Lozier, of Georgia Tech, is a leading scientist in one of those research partners. She discussed her project’s findings in a 2024 TED Talk. In it, she reassured viewers. “The good news is that the overturning [AMOC] is unlikely to collapse before 2100,” she said. However, that should not lead to complacency. The questions of when and if the AMOC will collapse revolve around the so-called “tipping point.” This is the point at which the collapse of the AMOC has begun, and from which there is no turning back. Ditlevsen describes it like the Wile E. Coyote character in the Looney Tunes Road Runner cartoons, who runs off the cliff but doesn’t realize it until he looks down. “We could be on the way already,” he says. Others are less dramatic. According to Elipot, “a collapse of the AMOC is not as certain” as is its slowing. On the subject of an actual tipping point, Elipot adds, “that is open to research.” When it comes to the AMOC, researchers generally agree there is a pattern and a problem that merits our attention. The consequences of dismissing it could be catastrophic, if not for us, then for future generations. Ditlevsen notes that “the medicine is the same as it is for global warming,” which is to reduce global CO2 emissions. Of the AMOC collapse, he says, “there is still a chance to reverse it.” *Rick Laezman is a freelance writer in Los Angeles, California. He has a passion for energy efficiency and innovation. He has covered renewable power and other related subjects for over 10 years. The author conducted interviews with Dr. Shane Elipot, Dr. Susan Lozier, and Dr. Peter Ditlevsen.

A research team at the University of Birmingham has developed a nontoxic mineral catalyst that can make the cost of manufacturing “green” hydrogen competitive with other methods. MartinStr/Pixabay A novel catalyst developed by researchers at the University of Birmingham could unlock cheap hydrogen by dramatically slashing the temperatures required to split the water molecules needed to make the valuable gas. Man-made, “clean” hydrogen has long been heralded as a cornerstone fuel for a zero-carbon energy transition. The new catalyst addresses a central stumbling block in the green-energy transition: While hydrogen is a potentially vital pathway for decarbonizing heavy industry, roughly 95% of the global supply is still produced using a fossil fuel. In the latter case, superheated steam is used to split methane, the chief component of natural gas, producing what is dubbed “gray hydrogen,” so called because carbon dioxide is emitted as part of the reaction. Industry also uses electrolysis (which produces zero-carbon “green hydrogen”), but does so sparingly due to the procedure’s prohibitively high electricity costs. Green hydrogen currently accounts for only about 4% of global supply. A Better Way? There is a third hydrogen manufacturing pathway—thermochemical water splitting. But its extreme heat demands—often requiring temperatures exceeding 1,300°C (2,370°F) to operate and regenerate catalysts—have made it largely impractical. However, by reducing the required operating temperatures by roughly 500°C (930°F), this new mineral catalyst allows industrial facilities to harvest their own waste heat to generate clean hydrogen fuel on site. This method has the potential to cost far less than either “green” or “blue” hydrogen (the latter coming from steam-split methane, but with the CO2 by-product being captured and stored underground). The novel catalyst to make thermochemical water splitting potentially economical was unveiled by a research team led by Prof. Yulong Ding at the University of Birmingham’s School of Chemical Engineering. Detailed in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, the breakthrough centers on a specific oxide crystal formulation made from the elements barium, niobium, calcium, and iron, designated as BNCF. This amalgam acts as an oxygen “sponge” that absorbs and then expels oxygen atoms to split the water feedstock, releasing hydrogen—but no CO2. The optimal variant, BNCF100, enables thermochemical water splitting to generate hydrogen at temperatures ranging between 150°C and 500°C (300°F and 930°F). Further, the catalyst regenerates between 700°C and 1,000°C (1,300°F and 1,830°F), reducing operating temperatures overall by about 500°C compared to previous systems. Harnessing ‘Waste’ Heat This dramatic temperature drop creates unprecedented opportunities for industrial decarbonization. Because the process operates within a medium-temperature window, hydrogen generation can be housed at the same heavy industrial facilities—such as steel, cement, glass, and chemical manufacturing plants—that produce abundant high-temperature waste heat. Harnessing this thermal by-product as the heat input eliminates the need for a separate high-temperature heat generator. Furthermore, producing clean hydrogen on site directly overcomes the huge financial and logistical obstacles associated with long-distance pipeline transport and high-pressure storage systems for hydrogen gas. A preliminary analysis indicates that hydrogen produced via this medium-temperature BNCF pathway could be delivered at a lower overall cost than both electrolysis-derived green hydrogen and carbon-capture–paired blue hydrogen. These cost advantages are particularly strong in areas with lower renewable-energy taxes, such as Australia. In addition, the constituent materials of BNCF oxides are widely available and nontoxic, and using them avoids expensive platinum-group or rare-earth metals. This raises hopes for commercial-scale synthesis. Developed in collaboration with the University of Science and Technology Beijing, the technology is moving rapidly toward commercial scaling. University of Birmingham Enterprise has already filed a patent covering BNCF catalyst applications for medium-temperature water splitting and is actively seeking development partners across the UK and Europe to bring this clean energy innovation to market.

How Climate-Smart Architecture Is Making Urban Heat More Bearable—Naturally By Natasha Spencer-Jolliffe* Dakar, Senegal. ©iStock/Miroslav 1 With recent record-breaking summer heat waves, spiking urban temperatures have become a major concern for cities tackling climate change. Densely populated areas are warming far faster than their rural and suburban surroundings, creating dangerous “urban heat islands” that threaten public health, increase energy consumption, and disproportionately impact city dwellers with lower incomes. Meanwhile, designing buildings to protect occupants from climate extremes—while managing energy demand—has become increasingly complex, and especially challenging in the developing world. “Closing the skills and capacity gap in those markets is one of the most important levers the sector has,” Hanane Hafraoui, GlobalABC lead program manager at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), told The Earth & I. Climate adaptation now goes further than just planting more trees. Professor Mat Santamouris has spent more than four decades developing a powerful combination of climate-smart solutions. These are aimed at designing cities and buildings to stay cool naturally, entice investors, and consider the well-being of citizens from lower-income brackets. “Architectural adaptation to climate change is increasingly focused on enhancing thermal comfort, minimizing energy consumption, and improving urban resilience,” Santamouris, professor of high-performance architecture at the University of New South Wales in Australia, told The Earth & I. Keeping Cool in a Changing Climate According to UNEP’s Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2025-2026, demand for cooling in buildings has grown by 70% since 2015, driven by rising temperatures, urbanization, and population growth in tropical regions. UNEP’s Global Cooling Watch 2025 recommends minimizing cooling loads by using low-energy cooling, maximizing air-conditioning and other equipment efficiency, and then phasing down high-emission refrigerants. Building designers are responding with an increased focus on reducing heat through external shading systems, reflective surfaces, improved insulation, natural ventilation, and enhanced daylight management. Using Climate-Adaptive Tools in Urban Areas Santamouris’ research suggests there are practical ways to lower city temperatures by several degrees while dramatically reducing cooling energy demand and heat-related illness. Santamouris’ research suggests there are practical ways to lower city temperatures by several degrees while dramatically reducing cooling energy demand and heat-related illness. For instance, in Athens, Santamouris engaged in one of the world’s largest applications of cool pavements in urban areas. As part of the Flisvos project, which remains operational today, the research team installed 4,500 square meters (m²) of reflective pavement in one of the capital’s urban parks. Flisvos Park and playground at the Athenian Riviera, Greece. ©iStock/Kirk Fisher The researchers found that using cool paving materials can reduce peak ambient temperatures on a typical summer day by up to 1.9°C (3.42°F). Furthermore, applying cooling pavement dropped the surface temperature by 12°C (21.6°F) and considerably improved comfort conditions. Meanwhile, in another project in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Santamouris and his team applied climate-responsive design to help cool the capital. Riyadh presented a steep challenge due to its very high summer temperatures, intense solar radiation, low humidity, and limited vegetation. “These conditions exacerbate the urban heat island effect while also restricting the effectiveness of some conventional cooling strategies that rely on water or extensive greenery,” said Santamouris. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is one of Earth’s hottest cities. ©iStock/bennymarty The project team applied radiative coolers—specialized surfaces that radiate and/or dissipate heat—and cool materials, combined with greenery, across more than 3,000 buildings to measure the materials’ climate impact. Their application resulted in a drop in peak ambient temperature of up to 4.5°C (8.1°F). Furthermore, they found that progressive urban heat strategies improved energy conservation by up to 16%, while applying heat mitigation and energy adaptation technologies lowered cooling demand by up to 35%. They found that progressive urban heat strategies improved energy conservation by up to 16%, while applying heat mitigation and energy adaptation technologies lowered cooling demand by up to 35%. As part of the Riyadh project, researchers selected supercool materials (SCMs), namely those for roof covering. By reflecting nearly all incident sunlight and absorbing minimal heat, these SCMs reflected about 96% of the sun's energy and radiated roughly 90% of their heat directly into space. Researchers testing SCMs in Alice Springs, Australia. Image courtesy of Mat Santamouris Riyadh’s rapid urbanization, large expanses of heat-absorbing surfaces, and need to develop both water-efficient and economically feasible solutions under harsh climatic conditions presented additional hurdles. Thus, Riyadh is an ideal case study for testing innovative heat mitigation technologies and strategies at scale, the researchers said in their January 2024 article in Nature. Using ‘Passive’ Cooling for Indoors In India, Ashok B. Lall Architects has teamed up with UNEP and the Tata Steel Foundation to redevelop 44 homes in the Pragati Vihar community using passive cooling design, circular materials, and reduced concrete. They have achieved a 35% reduction in cooling loads (the rate at which energy must be extracted from a space to keep its air temperature constant) and a 16% reduction in embodied carbon per unit area (the carbon footprint of a building's materials from extraction through manufacturing and transportation—per unit of area, typically measured in kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (kg CO₂e) per square meter (m²)). Separately, in the nation of Niger, architects like Mariam Issoufou are creating buildings that draw on precolonial Sahelian construction principles, using compressed-earth bricks, passive ventilation, and orientation for shade. The Hikma Community Complex in Dandaji, created by Issoufou, a professor at ETH Zurich, reportedly stays up to 15°C (59°F) cooler than the outside air at peak summer temperatures, without air conditioning. In an interview with the Holcim Foundation, Issoufou shared the importance of drawing on local climate-smart cooling traditions. “[Our] collaboration with local masons was crucial, as they shared their knowledge of traditional techniques and materials that could be adapted to improve the building's durability and weather resistance, such as mixing the mud with natural substances like salt, Arabic gum, and shea butter,” she said. The Hikma Community Complex, codesigned by Mariam Issoufou Architects. Image © James Wang, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Santamouris applauds such innovation. “It is possible to maintain acceptable comfort conditions and significantly reduce—sometimes even eliminate—the need for conventional air conditioning, thereby improving resilience to extreme heat while lowering energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions,” he said. “It is possible to maintain acceptable comfort conditions and significantly reduce—sometimes even eliminate—the need for conventional air conditioning.” He added that using nature-based solutions, including green roofs, green walls, urban vegetation, and trees, contributes to passive cooling. “These strategies help lower ambient and surface temperatures, mitigate urban heat-island effects, improve air quality, and enhance outdoor thermal comfort,” he said. “One visible shift is the growing policy emphasis on passive design,” said Hafraoui. Approaches such as external shading, natural ventilation, cool or reflective roofing, and thermal mass reduce the heating or cooling load that a building places on mechanical systems, she explained. More Cooling Materials in Development Typha (“cattail” in the US). Em Hopper/Pexels In Senegal, UNEP and GlobalABC are supporting a pilot facility to produce insulation boards from Typha, a cattail-like plant that aggressively grows in—and even chokes—local waterways. Working in partnership with the École Supérieure Polytechnique de Dakar, the collaboration aims to transform an invasive species into a commercially viable, low-carbon building material. “Significant progress has also been achieved through the use of advanced cool materials and passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) technologies,” Santamouris said. Prioritizing Progress in Low-Income Countries Policy changes in different regions are shaping how architecture is designed to withstand heat. For instance, California's 2025 Energy Code requires heat-reflecting “cool roofs” on new constructions. Kenya's 2024 National Building Code now mandates passive cooling strategies as a baseline requirement for new buildings. UNEP is working with Kenya’s State Department for Public Works to further integrate green building principles into the National Building Code. Kenya's 2024 National Building Code now mandates passive cooling strategies as a baseline requirement for new buildings. Around 80% of the growth in global floor area between now and 2030 will occur in low-income countries. “The majority of new construction over the coming decades will happen in Africa and Asia,” said Hafraoui. These regions are both where climate extremes are most severe and where most of the new construction will take place. Gaborone, Botswana. ©istock/poco bw GlobalABC’s Higher Education Institutions Action Group is aligning research priorities across regions, with a review paper due in 2026 mapping the most critical knowledge gaps. In India, UNEP is working with RMIT University and the Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council to train architects, policymakers, and developers to use climate-responsive design and sustainable materials in practice. Yet, according to data from the UN’s Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2025-2026, the sector remains significantly off track. Buildings' energy intensity has improved by just 8.5% since 2015, roughly half the reduction needed to achieve net zero by 2050, with resilience considerations poorly embedded in the building codes of most countries. “We want to see climate-responsive design become the baseline expectation everywhere,” said Hafraoui. “It means recognizing that compelling, scalable answers are already being developed in many of the most climate-exposed parts of the world—in Senegal, India, Niger, and beyond—and that those solutions deserve to travel,” she added. Supporters are calling for embedding climate-responsive design in building codes, teaching it in architecture schools, and supporting it through long-term-performance financing measures. Future architecture is increasingly combining passive cooling, advanced materials, urban greening, and climate-informed design principles to ensure comfortable and sustainable living environments in a changing climate. “The challenge is no longer a lack of solutions, but rather the speed and scale at which we implement them,” Santamouris concluded. *Natasha Spencer-Jolliffe is a freelance journalist and editor. Over the past 10 years, Natasha has reported for a host of publications, exploring the wider world and industries from environmental, scientific, business, legal, and sociological perspectives. Natasha has also been interviewed as an insight provider for research institutes and conferences. Editorial notes Sources: Interview with Hanane Hafraoui, GlobalABC Lead Programme Manager at UNEP Interview with Mat Santamouris, Professor of High Performance Architecture at the University of New South Wales, Australia

A 7-Day Diet Change Significantly Reduced Plastic-Associated Chemicals in the Body Bell peppers covered with plastic film. ©iStock/Maliflower73 Plastic food packaging, kitchenware, and personal care products expose people to chemicals such as phthalates and bisphenols, which have been linked to hormone disruption and cardiometabolic disease. A new randomized controlled trial from Australia found that reducing everyday contact with plastics—even for just one week—can substantially lower several of these chemicals in the body without changing calorie intake. Researchers say the findings provide some of the strongest evidence yet that everyday lifestyle choices can rapidly reduce exposure to certain plastic-associated chemicals, although more research is needed to determine whether these reductions translate into measurable health benefits. Key Data A cohort of 211 healthy Australian adults participated in the observational PERTH study that measured exposure to plastic-associated chemicals through blood tests, urine samples, diet, lifestyle, and survey questions. All participants in the observational study had detectable plastic-associated chemicals in their bodies, with at least six different chemical types detected in every participant on any given day. Sixty participants were enrolled in a seven-day randomized, controlled trial, receiving combinations of low-plastic food, plastic-free kitchenware, and low-plastic personal care products, while a control group made no changes. Researchers partnered with more than 100 food producers to supply foods that minimized plastic contact from production through packaging and preparation. Participants who followed the low-plastic intervention reduced dietary plastic exposure significantly while maintaining their normal daily energy intake. After just seven days, urinary levels of mono-n-butyl phthalate fell by 37.5%. Levels of monobenzyl phthalate decreased by 53.5% following the intervention. Bisphenol A (BPA) concentrations declined by 59.7% after participants switched to foods with minimal plastic contact. According to the study team, broader intervention groups that combined low-plastic foods, kitchenware, and personal care products achieved reductions of more than 44% in phthalates and more than 50% in bisphenols overall compared with controls. Why it Matters The researchers concluded that limiting plastic contact with food—from production and packaging to cooking and storage—can measurably reduce exposure to selected plastic-associated chemicals in as little as one week, even though background environmental exposure remains constant. Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-026-04324-7

How Paiute Singers and Runners Used Heart and Ancestral Wisdom to Survive By Joanne Urioste* The author and her husband, Jorge, sitting on the rim of a 20-foot-diameter “bowl” of volcanic rock inscribed with ancient Paiute petroglyphs near the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Photo courtesy of Joanne Urioste Long before modern maps, the Native peoples of the Mojave Desert in the southwestern US survived by singing their terrain—passing multiday songs down through the generations, songs that detailed every hidden spring and treacherous pass across hundreds of miles. Centuries later, having been unexpectedly swept from the East Coast into the desert’s harsh embrace, I found myself on a sort of vision quest that paralleled ancient Paiute spirituality and Indigenous “runners’ guilds.” Through runs up to 100 miles, some of which were solo and trailless, and friendships with the local Paiute, I learned that the desert still speaks to those willing to listen to its rhythm, and that every person, if he or she tries, can come to feel intimacy with even an unforgiving environment. I was born among the civilized cities on the East Coast and raised near its well-watered, mossy forests. Yet, at the age of 22, I moved to a drastically different setting, where Joshua trees and cholla cactus predominated. How did that ever happen? A ‘Biblical’ Experience At the age of 15, I had a “biblical moment” where I felt “called” to become a rock climber. This was not just a passing fancy. Rather, I developed a raging passion—at a time when climbing dangerous mountains was rarely done by women. My climbing partner, Jorge—a Jesuit priest from Bolivia—later exited the priesthood to marry me. We moved to Las Vegas, where he landed a job as an anthropology professor. I hated the environment there for two years. So hot. So dead. So harsh—or so I thought. The author in the midst of a portion of the Mojave Desert at Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park, so called due to its many red sandstone formations. Photo courtesy of Joanne Urioste Back in the 1970s, there were no recreational trails in the deserts surrounding Las Vegas, so in order to stay fit for rock climbing, I jogged dry creek beds, ran along remnants of wagon train ruts, and often simply went cross-country through the sharp brush, despite shredding my legs. While trotting through the rocky canyons and basins, the desert beauty gradually began to penetrate my consciousness—especially at sunset—at that magic hour when light seems to emanate from the crimson rocks and the sky is an eruption of colors. I came to feel a deepest sense of awe on a daily basis. Cross-country foot travel brought me face to face with signs of those who’d been here before me: petroglyphs, archaic hunting blinds, smashed pottery and turquoise atop remote passes. Cross-country foot travel brought me face to face with signs of those who’d been here before me: petroglyphs, archaic hunting blinds, smashed pottery and turquoise atop remote passes—ancient gifts from desert peoples to the gods—places that had been forgotten by modern man. Anasazi. Paiutes. I even stumbled upon sections of prehistoric footpaths, which I matched up with historical US Geological Survey maps from the late 1800s. The author’s daughter Susi standing by a rock wall covered with petroglyphs at Gold Butte National Monument in southeastern Nevada. Photo courtesy of Joanne Urioste A Seminal Book Because my husband was teaching anthropology at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas—and even studying and recording the Paiute language in 1975—I rubbed elbows with experts in the field of Mojave Desert ethnohistory. This led me to find a copy of Carobeth Laird’s seminal book The Chemehuevis, which I devoured. Laird, born in 1895, was a trained ethnohistorian and linguist. She ended up marrying her Chemehuevi/Paiute informant, George Laird, who was born in 1871 and had grown up within the Paiute culture just as it was starting to wither from the impacts of settlers’ westward movement across the American continent. She wrote several other books, and when she was 80, she published a well-received autobiography, Encounter with an Angry God. Water is the most critical resource for desert hunter–gatherers, so when the wagon trains began traversing the Mojave, their stock animals drained and sullied the meager springs. Less water meant less game; less game meant less life. To survive, Native peoples intermixed with the newcomers, adopting their words but losing some of their ways and the richness of their own language. Carobeth, with her disciplined academic training, was able to capture—with her typewriter—the ways of life, the migration patterns, and the spiritual beliefs of her husband’s culture, traditions that had been practiced for over a thousand years. Mojave Desert peoples stored their information in protracted songs—songs that literally took days to sing in their entirety. I was particularly fascinated with her chapter on songs. Mojave Desert peoples stored their information in protracted songs—songs that literally took days to sing in their entirety—because they recorded migration routes and hunting strategies in great detail. These songs were passed from father to son, empowering the next generation to “know the land” even though they had never set foot in an unfamiliar mountain range or valley. Some typical plant growth in the Mojave Desert. The spiny cactus at left is the cholla. Photo courtesy of Joanne Urioste Two big categories were the "deer songs" and the "mountain sheep songs," which were sung presumably to assign different parcels of hunting terrain to young men in order to decrease rivalry and avert the possibility of war. The "salt songs" described important migration and salt-trading routes. Salt was necessary for survival in this land of relentless heat. One day, I hiked to an ancient salt mine near Lake Mead, a huge body of water near Las Vegas, and actually saw an entire salt hill hollowed out with ancient tunnels. In a museum there, I saw the small bricks of salt that had been used for barter up until the 1800s. The Way of the Shaman One of the hurdles to becoming a shaman was going on a vision quest to “dream” a new version of his inherited song. This would typically involve spending three days in a cave—one that was considered to have supernatural power—and ingesting hallucinogenic plants like western jimson weed to trigger their dream. Such dreaming was considered essential to impart the power to heal and invoke the positive forces of nature. Thus, the songs were not only a practical way of storing knowledge, but at times they spilled over from the physical plane into the spiritual. A shaman cave in the Old Woman Mountains, a range in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California. Photo courtesy of Joanne Urioste As I continued jogging in the Mojave Desert—over many years—my runs got longer. The longer the miles, the more hypnotic my head space became. I began taking on highly challenging itineraries, like running across the Grand Canyon—and back—in 10.5 hours. I built up to 50 miles, then to 100 kilometers, then to 100 miles—all in mountainous settings—along with the added risk of mountain weather and dangerous terrain. This hypnotic head space developed into much more than a simple distraction—“it” seemed to “learn” how to help me through these challenges. An example is Mile 80 during the Hardrock 100-mile race, where for many miles I hallucinated invisible helpers running alongside me, which actually helped me continue. The author, after she finished her ultrarun across the Grand Canyon and back. Photo courtesy of Joanne Urioste The Paiute Runners’ Guilds This is why Carobeth’s chapter on “The Runners” was particularly meaningful for me, because I myself had become an ultradistance desert runner, similar to the ancestral Paiutes. Why did they run? Running was necessary for their survival—for delivering messages among distant groups, for hunting over vast terrain, for scouting and trade. Running was necessary for [the Paiutes’] survival—for delivering messages among distant groups, for hunting over vast terrain, for scouting and trade. Carobeth described the runners as a spiritual “guild”—swift and fit—where those who had learned “the old way” could invoke magic for assistance. Her husband even swore that he knew a young runner who could teleport 100 miles instantly. Although most modern readers would quickly dismiss this as fantasy, my own supranatural experiences while ultrarunning give me a different stance: I feel curious—and speechless. And I couldn’t help but read the chapter several times. My work as a registered nurse in the field of rheumatology brought me into contact with several patients from the Moapa Reservation near Las Vegas who came to be my friends. They educated me on a wide variety of issues, from the horrors of the Indian Schools, to the rituals at Paiute death ceremonies today, which demonstrate that modern Paiutes still value “humanity being one with the land.” The Funeral Salt Song I learned that a condensed form of the salt song is typically sung in Paiute at a funeral during the nighttime hours, starting at midnight, with the culmination at dawn. The “trail” of the deceased spirit starts in southwestern Utah and traces its way southward, through the Las Vegas Valley, looping its way eastward around Avi Kwa Ame of the Spirit Mountains, and across the Colorado River into Arizona. It then swings northward, following the western edges of the Hualapai Mountains, all the way to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The song describes every pass, every wash, every valley—every little creature that greets you along the way. The song describes every pass, every wash, every valley—every little creature that greets you along the way. At what landmarks do you take a turn leftward? Where is the best place to ford the river? Which petroglyphs will be your landmarks? By the time the Grand Canyon blocks progress, the deceased has run over 150 miles, is tired and hungry, but yet must summon the monumental strength to bridge the enormous chasm. In taking this leap, he is borne upward into the sky, into the spiritual world from which he originated. Modern life often takes us to cities—away from the earth. By enduring the Mojave hardpan, I found a connection to the land that used to be abundantly clear to those who came before me. I am grateful for learning this history, and I value the wisdom of my countless elders. *Joanne Urioste is author of her recently published autobiography, Collages of Rock & Desire—Re-imagining Climbing in Red Rock, Risk in the Andes, & Running into Dreams, Wild Turkeys Press, 2025, available on Amazon. She has had worldwide influence in rock-climbing first ascents. In addition, she is a registered nurse and freelance author living in Las Vegas, Nevada.

A microbial disease researcher works in a lab biosafety area. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/Unsplash For decades, global conservation efforts have focused almost exclusively on visible wildlife—from majestic mammals to endangered plants. Yet microscopic organisms, often termed the “invisible 99%” of life, drive the essential biological and chemical processes that keep Earth functioning. In response to growing threats from climate change, human disruption of terrestrial ecosystems, and pollution, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has formally established the Microbial Conservation Specialist Group (MCSG) within its Species Survival Commission. Cochaired by Prof. Jack Gilbert and Prof. Raquel Peixoto, this first-of-its-kind coalition marks a fundamental shift toward holistic planetary health. Rather than treating microbes as inconsequential or harmful, the MCSG elevates bacteria, fungi, archaea (a bacteria-like group of organisms), and microscopic algae to the same conservation priority as macroscopic plants and animals. Microorganisms form the foundational networks that regulate carbon sequestration, soil fertility, marine productivity, and animal and plant host health across all ecosystems. “This is the first global coalition dedicated to safeguarding microbial biodiversity, which is the ‘invisible 99% of life,’ to ensure that microbes are recognized as essential to the planet’s ecological, climate, and health systems,” Gilbert said in a news release announcing the coalition. “I think this reframes conservation from saving individual species to preserving the networks of invisible life that make visible life possible—a paradigm shift toward planetary health. It also gives us a really good look into the microbial tools that can support conservation action so that we may use microbiology to solve the world’s biggest problems,” he said. Action Plan for Protection To bring microbial diversity into mainstream environmental planning, the MCSG has outlined an ambitious action plan structured around five key pillars: assessment, planning, action, networking, and policy communication. Among its primary milestones, the coalition aims to establish a standardized Microbial Red List framework by 2027 to evaluate vulnerable microbial communities and ecosystems. The plan also includes publishing global maps of microbial hot spots across terrestrial, aquatic, and host-associated environments. The initiative also advocates for practical microbial solutions to bolster climate resilience and ecosystem recovery. Proposed interventions include deploying coral-reef probiotics to prevent bleaching, utilizing specialized soil microbiomes to enhance carbon storage, and leveraging bioremediation to clean contaminated environments. Initial mapping and biobanking archival efforts are supported by funding from the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation alongside institutional contributions from Applied Microbiology International and the International Society for Microbial Ecology. Beyond scientific metrics, the MCSG emphasizes the necessity of policy integration and public engagement. The group has set a 2030 goal to have microbial indicators incorporated into national biodiversity strategies, UN conservation targets, and global frameworks. This includes the “30 by 30” government initiative to designate 30% of Earth’s land and ocean area as protected areas by 2030 to curtail biodiversity loss and mitigate climate change. Through public awareness campaigns with slogans such as “Invisible but Indispensable” and “Tiny but Mighty,” the coalition seeks to reshape how society perceives microbes, moving from a mindset of eradication to one of stewardship and preservation. By safeguarding the microscopic engine of the biosphere, the IUCN is trying to establish a crucial baseline for the future of global life support systems.

The Legendary Dorado and How Humans Are Collapsing Its 7,200-Mile Aquatic Highway By Jana Perez-Angelo* A dorado catfish in the western Amazon Basin. The species is named for the golden sheen of its scaleless skin. M. Goulding, from Barthem et al./Wikipedia CC BY 4.0 Every year, when the rains return to the western Amazon, the great rivers rise and the water changes character. This part of the basin—the vast lowland floodplain fed by tributaries pouring off the Andes—becomes a world in motion. Channels deepen. Currents quicken. Streams that ran shallow through the dry season swell into broad, brown corridors. Somewhere in that turbid dark, a fish with silver‑gold skin and long trailing whiskers—the dorado catfish—turns toward the mountains and begins to swim. Its journey starts here, in the western Amazon lowlands, and carries it upriver toward the Andean foothills in the west, where the species’ spawning grounds lie. Its marathon round trip of thousands of miles makes it the most accomplished traveler in fresh water anywhere on Earth. Far downstream, the eastern Amazon spreads into a different world entirely: a widening river that becomes an immense estuarine system as it approaches the Atlantic. But the dorado’s migration does not begin in that eastern, tide‑influenced region. It begins in the flooded forests and meandering channels of the western basin, where the rains transform the landscape and signal the start of its long ascent toward the Andes. The dorado catfish (Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii), known as the dourada in Brazil and the zúngaro dorado in Colombia and Ecuador, is a goliath among freshwater fish. It commonly reaches 6 feet and 200 pounds. Over a lifespan of roughly 12 to 15 years, it crosses the width of South America and comes back: a round trip of about 11,600 kilometers (7,200 miles), from the Andean headwaters to the Atlantic estuary and home again. Map of the Amazon Basin with the Madeira River highlighted. Kmusser/Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0 That highway is now being cut into pieces by hydropower dams and degraded by river channelization, dredging, deforestation, and riverbank hardening where cities are expanding. And in March 2026, for the first time, the governments that share the Amazon agreed to do something about it together. A Continent Crossed in a Single Lifetime For most of the 20th century, nobody could say where the dorado went. Ronaldo Barthem, a biologist at the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi in Belém, Brazil, kept hauling juveniles out of the Amazon estuary and finding almost no adults among them. The adults had to be somewhere, but finding out where took most of a career. In 2017, Barthem, aquatic scientist Michael Goulding of the Wildlife Conservation Society, and a team of collaborators published the dorado migration map in Scientific Reports. They found that adults spawn in or near the Andean foothills. The larvae, only centimeters long, drift thousands of kilometers downstream to the estuary, where the river meets the Atlantic. There, in some of the most nutrient-rich water on the planet, the young fish feed and grow for two to three years. Then they turn around, an upstream leg that alone can take one to two years against the current. It was a record nobody expected a catfish to hold. Salmon, the textbook long-distance migrant, was displaced. Over a lifespan of roughly 12 to 15 years, the dorado crosses the width of South America and comes back. “We are just beginning to understand these migrations,” Barthem told National Geographic in 2025. The dorado is not simply a curiosity of endurance. As an apex predator, it structures the food web across an enormous stretch of river, and its movements stitch together habitats that would otherwise function as separate worlds—Andean headwater, floodplain, estuary. Genetic work suggests the species may even, like the salmon, return to spawn in the tributary stream where it hatched. That makes the dorado an unusually honest indicator. A fish that must use the entire basin to complete a single life cycle cannot survive a basin that has been chopped into segments. Whether it still arrives is a plain measure of whether the Amazon still works as one connected system. Where the Highway Ends The clearest breaks in that system sit on the Madeira River, the Amazon’s largest tributary and a principal corridor for migrating catfish. The Santo Antônio and Jirau hydroelectric dams, built in cascade near Porto Velho and brought online in the early 2010s, were fitted with fish passages. For large catfish, they have not worked. The Santo Antônio hydroelectric plant under construction on a river the dorado travels. Reginaldo Rodrigues/Wikimedia Commons CC BY SA 3.0 The consequences show up in the catch. A 2019 study in Neotropical Ichthyology, comparing commercial fishing about 1,500 kilometers upstream in Bolivia before and after the dams closed, found gilded catfish had fallen below 10% of their baseline catch rates, from 5.5% of local landings to 0.4%. The authors recommended the species be treated as endangered in the upper Madeira. A separate analysis led by French researcher Fabrice Duponchelle reported a 93% loss of dorado in the Upper Mamoré, and research coauthored by Brazilian fisheries official Carolina Doria found landings at fishing ports down by half after the Madeira complex came online. Omar Orellana, who leads a Bolivian fishers association in the upper basin, told delegates at this year’s UN migratory species conference that the decline set in during the 2000s, and that by 2014 the fish had “disappeared completely.” A fish that must use the entire basin to complete a single life cycle cannot survive a basin that has been chopped into segments. More infrastructure is planned. Peru has begun reviewing dam proposals in the Andean foothills, precisely where the dorado spawns, and Brazil and Bolivia are advancing a binational plant on the Mamoré. Goulding warned about this pattern when the 2017 paper appeared, naming “headwater infrastructure development in the Andes” among the gravest threats to the species. An area in the Amazon Basin of Peru, deforested and polluted by illegal mining. Peruvian Ministry of Defense/Wikipedia CC BY 2.0 Dams are only the visible barrier. Illegal gold mining has pushed mercury through Amazonian waterways, where it converts to methylmercury and concentrates as it climbs the food chain, putting a large, long-lived predator like the dorado near the top of the exposure curve. A 2023 study of 1,010 fish sold in Amazonian city markets found 21.3% carried mercury above Brazil’s regulatory limit. Nor does that pressure arrive alone. Alongside the mercury, the dorado contends with: heavy commercial fishing on adults already en route to spawn dredging of the Madeira to move soy freight toward export markets shifting rainfall that scrambles the flood cues the fish reads to time its departure. A Fish in the Market, a Fish in the Diet None of this is abstract for the roughly 47 million people who live in the Amazon region. Migratory species account for about 93% of the region’s catch and generate an estimated $436 million a year, according to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS). At Belém’s Ver-o-Peso market, dourada arrive by boat and move through the stalls the way a staple does. Some 400 Indigenous groups live in the basin, many of them dependent on fishing for protein. “If we disrupt their migratory patterns and habitats,” said Amy Fraenkel, CMS executive secretary, “we will also disrupt our own economies and well-being.” This video gives an overview of the dorado catfish, the threats it faces, and what is being done to protect it and its spawning pathway. A Model That Did Not Exist a Decade Ago In March 2026, in Campo Grande, Brazil, the parties to the CMS approved a Multi-species Action Plan for Amazonian Migratory Catfish, proposed by Brazil, adopted unanimously, and binding six range states to a five-year program of protected migration corridors, harmonized fishing rules, and joint monitoring. It arrived alongside a sobering CMS assessment: Of 15,000 fish species reviewed, 325 migratory species were flagged as needing international protection, and populations of migratory freshwater fish have fallen 81% since 1970. Zeb Hogan, the University of Nevada biologist who led that assessment, framed the stakes in human terms. The dorado, he told CNN, “is incredibly important to people living all along the Amazon River.” When the way opens, the fish tend to return faster than anyone expects. He is also cautiously hopeful. Fish ladders can be redesigned, obsolete dams removed, and new projects sited with migration in mind from the start. And when the way opens, the fish tend to return faster than anyone expects. Fishers and market vendors across the basin are already logging catches into Ictio, a citizen-science database built by the Amazon Waters Alliance. The dorado has been making this journey since long before anyone was counting. Whether it keeps making it now depends on a question the Amazon’s governments have only just started answering together: whether a river is a series of assets, or a single living thing. *Jana Perez-Angelo is a Denver-based writer and multidisciplinary creative and digital strategist passionate about brand storytelling and purpose-driven content. Her work has been featured in Relevant Magazine, Medium, and Faithful Life.

Interfaith Leaders Need to Unite to Create a Global Consensus on Ecological Morality By Dr. Iyad Abumoghli* Dr. Iyad Abumoghli meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on October 3, 2025. Photo courtesy of Iyad Abumoghli For decades now, humanity has possessed enough scientific evidence to know that our current relationship with the Earth is unsustainable. We know what is happening to our climate. We know what is happening to biodiversity, and we know what is happening to our soils, forests, rivers, and oceans. And yet despite unprecedented scientific knowledge, environmental degradation continues. This raises an uncomfortable question. If science has already told us what is happening, why are we still unable to change course? After more than four decades working at the intersection of environment, policy, and faith, I have come to believe that the answer lies not in a lack of information but in a crisis of worldview or what I have been calling a crisis of “moral responsibility.” The environmental crisis is not only an ecological crisis. It is a crisis of values, a crisis of meaning, and a crisis of our understanding of who we are and our place in the web of life. The environmental crisis is not only an ecological crisis. It is a crisis of values, a crisis of meaning, and a crisis of our understanding of who we are and our place in the web of life. Commodifying the Natural World For centuries, modern civilization has been largely shaped by a materialist worldview that measures success primarily through economic growth, consumption, production, and accumulation. This worldview has generated extraordinary achievements. Yes, it has advanced science, technology, medicine, and human prosperity. But it has also carried a hidden assumption that nature exists primarily as a resource for human use. Forests become timber. Rivers become water supplies. Animals become commodities. Land becomes an asset. And the Earth, therefore, becomes a warehouse. When viewed through this lens, exploitation becomes normal, protection becomes secondary, and stewardship becomes optional. Today, however, we are witnessing the limits of this paradigm. The ecological crises facing humanity are forcing us to ask deeper questions. What if the Earth is more than a collection of resources? What if value cannot be measured only in monetary terms? What if human flourishing depends not only on domination of nature but on harmony with it? These questions invite us toward what many scholars describe as a postmaterialist worldview. A worldview that recognizes that meaning, ethics, spirituality, relationships, compassion, and responsibility are not secondary to human development but are central to it. Science can tell us how ecosystems function. Faith can help us understand why they matter. And this is where faith traditions have an indispensable contribution to make. Not because faith replaces science, not because faith provides technical solutions, but because faith speaks to the dimensions of a human existence that science alone cannot address. Science can tell us how ecosystems function. Faith can help us understand why they matter. Science can measure the concentration of carbon dioxide. Faith can inspire the moral courage to reduce it. Science can explain interdependence, but faith can transform interdependence into responsibility. Dr. Abumoghli greets King Charles III at an environmental conference at the Vatican on October 3, 2025. Photo courtesy of Iyad Abumoghli Throughout my career at the UN Environment Programme, I have witnessed this transformative power firsthand. When I first began engaging faith communities on environmental issues, many people—even within the UN—questioned whether religion had any role to play in sustainability. Environmental policy was viewed as the domain of scientists, economists, and governments. Faith communities were largely absent from the global environmental conversation. Yet, I had seen something others often overlooked. Faith traditions reached into the hearts of people in ways that institutions and policies alone cannot. They shape values. They influence behavior. They create moral communities, and they answer the question not only of what we should do but why we should do it. Bridging Science and Religion This understanding led us to build bridges between environmental science and religious wisdom. One of the most inspiring examples was the Confluence of Conscience summit that I organized in Abu Dhabi in 2023. At that conference, faith leaders from diverse traditions came together not to debate theology but to affirm a shared moral responsibility toward the Earth. What struck me most was how quickly differences dissolved when the conversation shifted from doctrine to responsibility. Different religions used different languages. Some spoke of stewardship, others of trusteeship, others of sacred interconnectedness, but the message was remarkably similar: The Earth is not ours to exploit. It is ours to protect. Humility, compassion, justice, moderation, responsibility, gratitude, care for future generations. All of these are not merely religious values. These are ecological necessities. This experience reinforced a profound lesson. The world’s faith traditions may differ in belief, but they converge around ethical principles that can guide humanity toward a more sustainable future: humility, compassion, justice, moderation, responsibility, gratitude, care for future generations. All of these are not merely religious values. These are ecological necessities. In my work on the role of ethics in environmental governance, I argued that environmental challenges cannot be solved solely through laws, regulations, or economic incentives. Yes, policies are essential, science is essential, technology is essential, but without ethical foundations, they remain insufficient because every environmental decision ultimately reflects a moral choice. Who benefits? Who bears the cost? What responsibilities do we owe future generations? And what obligations do we have toward other living beings? Ethics provides the compass that allows policy to move in the right direction. Without ethics, governance can become efficient but directionless. With ethics, governance gains purpose. Ecology, Spirituality, and Policy Perhaps the most important environmental frontier is not external but internal. The greatest transformation we need may not be technological. It may be psychological and spiritual. This realization became particularly clear through my work with the University of Connecticut on mindfulness for the Earth. The project explored a simple but profound idea: The environmental crisis is connected to the way we perceive ourselves. When we see ourselves as separate from nature, exploitation becomes easier. Interfaith participants take a break at the Fourth Session of the UN Environment Assembly, held in Nairobi, Kenya, at the UN Environment Programme headquarters. Photo courtesy of Iyad Abumoghli When we experience ourselves as part of an interconnected living system, care emerges naturally. Mindfulness cultivates awareness. Awareness nurtures empathy. Empathy strengthens responsibility, and responsibility inspires action. This is not abstract philosophy. It has practical implications because many of the behaviors driving environmental degradation are rooted in unconscious habits of consumption, competition, and disconnection. Inner transformation and outer transformation are therefore inseparable. The environmental movement has often focused on changing systems. Faith traditions remind us that lasting change also requires changing hearts. Today, I believe humanity stands at an important threshold. We possess remarkable scientific knowledge. We have sophisticated technologies. We understand environmental risks more clearly than ever before. What we need is now wisdom. Wisdom to align knowledge with values. Wisdom to align power with responsibility. And wisdom to align progress with purpose. This is where the nexus of ethics, science, and policy becomes so important. Science tells us what it is. Ethics helps us to determine what ought to be, and policy translates both into collective action. Science without ethics can become detached from human values. Ethics without science can become disconnected from reality. None of these dimensions can succeed alone. Science without ethics can become detached from human values. Ethics without science can become disconnected from reality. And policy without either can become ineffective. But when these three work together, they become transformative. This integration represents one of the greatest opportunities of our time, and faith communities have a unique role to play in this process—not as observers, not as critics, but as partners, partners in cultivating ecological consciousness, partners in nurturing moral leadership, and partners in reminding humanity that the Earth is not merely an economic asset but a sacred trust. The transition from exploitation to protection is ultimately not about changing our relationship with nature. It is about changing our understanding of ourselves. When we recognize that we are part of a larger living community, protection ceases to be a sacrifice. It becomes an expression of who we are. Faith traditions have preserved this wisdom for centuries. Science increasingly now confirms it. The challenge before us is to translate it into policy or institutions and to our daily life. Ecological Upsurge among Faith Communities My hope comes from witnessing something remarkable over the past three decades. When I started this journey, faith communities were largely absent from environmental discussions. Today, they are among the most dynamic and influential voices calling for ecological responsibility. Around the world, churches, mosques, temples, monasteries, Indigenous communities, and faith-based organizations are mobilizing millions of people to care for creation. Faith leaders at the Confluence of Conscience summit in 2023, joining together to raise awareness about global warming. COP28/Wikipedia CC BY 4.0 This gives me hope because it suggests that humanity is beginning to understand that environmental crisis is not merely about carbon or biodiversity or pollution. It is about consciousness. It is about values. It is about the kind of civilization we wish to become. And if we can draw upon the moral wisdom of our faith traditions, the insights of science, and the tools of good governance, then I believe we can help shape a future where humanity no longer sees itself as the owner of the Earth but as its caretaker. A future where exploitation gives way to protection. A future where material progress is balanced by moral progress. A future where development is measured not only by what we accumulate but by what we preserve and, perhaps most importantly, a future where we rediscover that caring for the Earth is not merely an environmental obligation but a sacred responsibility. *Dr. Iyad Abumoghli is founder and chair of Al Mizan, an organization that connects pro-environmental values with Islamic teachings, urging all people to value and protect nature. He is also former director of the UN Environmental Programme's Faith for Earth Coalition, and a member of the Advisory Council of the United Religions Initiative. The text presented here was an address by Dr. Abumoghli at an International Media Association for Peace webinar in June 2026.

US Scholars Find Hope in Collaboration and Innovation as the Danger Grows By Mark Smith* In May 2021, water levels of Lake Oroville, California, dropped to 38% of capacity. ©Frank Schulenburg/Wikimedia CC BY-SA 4.0 Some environmental concerns seem further away than others, but few are as immediately alarming as drought. The impact on humans can be devastating. From a lack of drinking water and dying crops to the spread of diseases, there are few areas of human suffering that drought does not touch. Indeed, a global assessment by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the National Drought Mitigation Center found that over a 30-year period, extreme drought events directly affected 1.83 billion people worldwide. And there is no question that the danger posed by drought is growing. A study led by researchers at Beijing Normal University and published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment found that nearly 30% of the Earth's land surface was gripped by drought, while the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reported that 37% of global land has experienced “significant soil moisture loss” since 1980, with droughts being responsible for 34% of disaster-related deaths. Collecting water from a well in Niger. ©NigerTZai/Wikimedia CC BY-SA 4.0 The Real Causes of Drought But what causes drought, and is it simply a case of “not enough rain”? "Scientifically, drought is a deficit in water availability relative to what is normal or needed for a given place and time," said Dr. Amir AghaKouchak, an internationally recognized expert on drought based at the University of California, Irvine. "It can begin with below-normal precipitation, but it often becomes more complex as it affects soil moisture, rivers, reservoirs, groundwater, ecosystems, agriculture, and human water supplies," he said. In other words, drought is not just a weather event but a disruption in what AghaKouchak calls the "water balance." While a lack of rain is the most obvious culprit, poor water management is a critical issue that he said can "turn a dry period into a crisis" or even create drought-like conditions when rainfall is near normal. AghaKouchak told The Earth & I: "If we overallocate rivers, drain reservoirs too aggressively, expand water demand beyond sustainable limits, or fail to protect groundwater, then the system becomes vulnerable even without a major rainfall deficit." "If we overallocate rivers, drain reservoirs too aggressively, expand water demand beyond sustainable limits, or fail to protect groundwater, then the system becomes vulnerable even without a major rainfall deficit." He noted this is closely related to the concept of "anthropogenic drought," where human activities—such as water withdrawals, land-use changes, water diversion, the overbuilding of dams, or inefficient management—cause or intensify drought impacts. While we mostly equate water in nature with rainfall, groundwater—water buried beneath the Earth’s surface—is another primary source, particularly in drier parts of the globe. Pumping too much of it out can play a major role in causing drought. This underground water supply is an asset that AghaKouchak likens to a "water savings account." "During dry periods," he said, "we often rely on it as a backup when rainfall, rivers, or reservoirs are not enough. But when we pump groundwater faster than aquifers can naturally recharge, we are spending more water than we are saving or receiving as income." Over time, he said this leads to a form of "water bankruptcy." "Water tables decline, wells go dry, pumping becomes more expensive, land can subside, and rivers and wetlands that depend on groundwater can lose flow," he explained, adding that in many regions, groundwater depletion shows that drought risk is not only about climate, but also about whether human water use exceeds the long-term capacity of the system. Mitigation Measures Despite the increasing threats of drought, work has been done to successfully mitigate some of its challenges. Dr. Elizabeth Koebele is an environmental governance researcher at the University of Nevada who works extensively on the Colorado River Basin. She noted that in the western US, the municipal sector has made major strides in adapting to drought risk. The iconic Horseshoe Bend in the Colorado River in Arizona, in February 2023. ©Charles Wang/Wikimedia CC BY-SA 4.0 "In many cities across the Colorado River Basin, water use has essentially become decoupled from population growth over the last few decades, meaning that adding more people does not increase water use proportionately," Koebele said. "In many cities across the Colorado River Basin, water use has essentially become decoupled from population growth over the last few decades, meaning that adding more people does not increase water use proportionately.” She pointed out that in Las Vegas, for example, the population has grown by over 800,000 residents in the last 25 years, yet overall consumptive water use has decreased by nearly 30%. "This is largely due to indoor water efficiency improvements," she said. "Nearly half of all water is used inside homes, casinos, hotels, etc. Thanks to efficiency upgrades, about 99% of this water is captured, recycled, and returned to the reservoir that supplies the city’s water." A high drought line can be seen above Lake Mead, the reservoir that supplies Las Vegas with water. US Geological Survey/Wikimedia Public domain While outdoor water use is often harder to reduce, Las Vegas has taken strong measures to remove water-intensive turf and transition regional landscaping. As a result, Nevada has reduced its reliance on the strained Colorado River by 40%. However, Koebele warned that drought response is significantly more challenging in other sectors, such as agriculture. In the Colorado River Basin, approximately 80% of consumptive water use occurs in agriculture. Water is diverted for “flood irrigation” of crops in Arizona. Jeff Vanuga/Wikimedia Public domain While the challenges posed by drought show no signs of lessening, both experts agree that societies can take proactive technological and policy measures to reduce long-term impacts. From a policy and planning perspective, Koebele hopes that future drought impacts can be minimized through continued partnerships and collaboration across different sectors and geographies. "For example," she said, "inland areas in need of water may partner with coastal areas to invest in desalination technology. Cities may jointly fund water recycling efforts that mutually benefit their entire region. Agricultural users may engage in programs to conserve and lease water to others in times of need." She added that designing such programs and policies to actually produce the intended outcomes was “perhaps the most pressing challenge” in the basin, concluding “it will require governance reform alongside an infusion of funding at multiple levels.” Technology as a Solution Alongside policy and planning, technology is also a pillar on which many hopes for tackling drought are pinned. And while AghaKouchak cautions that no single technology will completely solve water insecurity, he said several approaches can still provide significant benefits. This includes things such as better monitoring via satellites, sensors, and predictive models that can reveal emerging risks much earlier. He highlights managed aquifer recharge—which stores water underground during wet periods for use during dry periods—as a prime example. He also highlighted water reuse, stormwater capture, leakage reduction, demand management, and more flexible reservoir operations as vital methods for making modern infrastructure resilient. He added: "The most promising strategies are those that combine technology with better governance and water demand management, because water security depends as much on decisions and institutions as on infrastructure." A New Normal With rising temperatures now increasingly viewed as a "new normal" by climate experts, it is clear that drought will continue to have far-reaching impacts on the global population. They warn that technology alone will not ride to the rescue. Instead, a combination of infrastructure tools and modified human behaviors will be required to ensure that where there is water, not a single drop is wasted. *Mark Smith is a journalist and author from the UK. He has written on subjects ranging from business and technology to world affairs, history, and popular culture for the Guardian, BBC, Telegraph, and magazines in the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia.