Fracking seems to poison groundwater within one kilometer
As people who live near hydraulic fracking have long complained, the process seems to poison their water. A new paper measures the distance prospectors should keep from water supplies.
Environment
Research roundups, tip sheets, articles and explainers related to the topic of energy and the environment
Expert Commentary
Climate change could uproot millions who live far from the sea
Two recent papers project how inland communities will be negatively affected by climate change and predict destabilizing migrations.
Expert Commentary
Obesity and weight-related deaths in 195 countries over 25 years: A new study
An estimated 603.7 million adults and 107.7 million children worldwide were obese in 2015, according to new estimates published in The New England Journal of Medicine. China and the U.S. had the highest number of obese adults.
Expert Commentary
Heat waves: Increasingly common, ever more deadly
As the planet warms, record-breaking heat waves have become a public health crisis in developing countries like India, where the heat has killed thousands in recent years.
Expert Commentary
The Clean Air Act may have made Americans more productive and richer
Being born into a world with cleaner air seems to make people more successful, a new paper finds.
Expert Commentary
Agriculture subsidies jump 59%: New report on the farm bill
Agriculture subsidies and food stamps are wrapped into one five-year law that costs taxpayers about $100 billion per year. A government report looks at how the current farm bill is faring.
Expert Commentary
Quantifying the local health effects of transporting coal
The environmental impacts of burning coal are well known. But transporting coal can also hurt the health of people living nearby, a new study shows.
Expert Commentary
Drugs in our rivers: Bugs on speed and Prozac in the food chain
When we flush, Prozac, cocaine and antibiotics trickle into the ecosystem. Researchers are just beginning to understand their effects.
Expert Commentary
Estimating future hurricane damage in the era of global warming
The changing climate is expected to breed fiercer hurricanes. As the dollar value of the damage increases, the cleanup will become harder for America to afford, a new paper forecasts.
Expert Commentary
High-fructose corn syrup and your health: Research roundup
High-fructose corn syrup is found in many foods today. We profile the latest research on the sweetener’s association with obesity, diabetes and liver disease.
Expert Commentary