Life
Fog — it’s alive!
Low-lying fog clouds host living microbes. That may be good news, because some of them can remove toxic air pollutants, such as formaldehyde.
By Lily Burton
MS-ESS3-4
Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems.
More Stories in MS-ESS3-4
- Climate
An ancient log shows how burying wood can fight climate change
A blanket of clay soil helped the wood hold onto the carbon it had absorbed — for thousands of years.
- Climate
Let’s learn about how much climate change is to blame for extreme weather
Scientists can find out whether a natural disaster was more frequent or severe due to human-caused climate change. Here’s how.
- Earth
Many natural underground stores of freshwater are shrinking
A lot of these aquifers are quickly disappearing due to climate change and overuse. Fortunately, there is growth in some of the world’s major aquifers.
- Environment
Bottled water hosts many thousands of nano-sized plastic bits
The finding emerges from tests of a new tool that identified smaller-than-ever tiny plastic bits in three brands of bottled water.
- Artificial Intelligence
To ‘green’ AI, scientists are making it less resource-hungry
Energy demands of ChatGPT and similar AI tools can threaten Earth’s climate. So researchers have begun redesigning how to run data centers and build AI.
- Climate
Let’s learn about why summer 2023 was so hot
Human-caused climate change has played a big role in this summer’s historic heat.
- Oceans
Summer 2023 is when the ocean first turned ‘hot tub’ hot
Unfortunately, scientists worry that this atypical sea warming may actually be the beginning of an unwelcome new ‘normal.’
- Climate
For greener toilets and air conditioning, consider saltwater
Using saltwater would allow coastal cities to save their freshwater for drinking and to reduce their carbon footprints. Some could save money, too.
- Environment
Fungi help rescue crops being harmed by microplastics
Microplastics in the soil hinder plant growth. But two finalists at Regeneron ISEF found that fungi and farm waste can reduce the harm.
