Earth and Human Activity
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- Fossils
Downsized dinosaurs
Island living may have led to miniature versions of giant dinosaurs.
By Emily Sohn - Tech
Cold house, hot house, green house
Saving energy at home requires paying attention to the building's windows, walls, and roof.
By Emily Sohn - Climate
A dire shortage of water
Parts of the southwestern United States are in the middle of the worst drought in at least 500 years.
By Emily Sohn - Environment
A newspaper’s hidden cost
Getting a newspaper electronically would be much better for the planet than receiving the paper version.
By Emily Sohn - Earth
Distant quake changes geyser eruptions
An Alaskan earthquake changed the timing of geysers thousands of miles away.
By Emily Sohn - Environment
Alien invasions
Around the world, plants, animals, fungi, and other life forms are ending up in places where they don't belong.
By Emily Sohn - Environment
An ocean view’s downside
Population growth in coastal areas could threaten shoreline ecosystems.
By Emily Sohn - Tech
Drawing energy out of wastewater
Microbes in a fuel cell can generate electricity from plant and animal waste in water.
By Emily Sohn - Environment
A vulture’s hidden enemy
Vultures may be getting a deadly dose of medicine from the carcasses they feed upon.
- Plants
City trees beat country trees
Cottonwood trees grow better in New York City than in rural places around the state.
By Emily Sohn - Humans
Digging for ancient DNA
Soil has yielded identifiable DNA of animals and plants that lived up to 400,000 years ago.
By Emily Sohn - Environment
Cliff snails and rock climbers
Rock climbers can accidentally wipe out communities of cliff snails.
By Emily Sohn