Environment Archives - Page 3 of 14

Full moon beautiful over dark sky at have tree shadow in night

A Special Lunar Eclipse, Aquatic Constellations, and More: Your Guide to the November 2022 Night Sky

November’s night sky brings us a number of aquatic constellations, Uranus at its closest and brightest, meteor showers, and a special moment Smithsonian Magazine listed as one of its top celestial events of 2022: a total lunar eclipse that happens to accompany this month’s full moon! Read on for more details on all that and […]

Roots in the Sky: London’s First Rooftop Forest Will Encourage Biodiversity and Offer “Spectacular Views” — Photos

Plans are underway to transform a 1960s London courthouse into a carbon neutral commercial and community space, featuring what will be one of Europe’s largest rooftop forests — at 1.4 acres with 125 established trees and over 10,000 plants. In 2020, real estate investment platform Fabrix was given the green light to begin development on […]

Male hand adjusting or changing the time on white clock. Time management concept.

Daylight Saving Time 2022: Inside Its History and the Push to Become Permanent

Get ready to reset the clocks: The end of daylight saving time is here again. This juncture, which takes place at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 6 in the United States and Canada, marks the moment when time will “fall back” one hour. In other words, we’ll all gain an extra 60 minutes this weekend. […]

Niagara Falls: Inside Its 115-Year-Old, “Deep Underground” Tunnel That’s Now Open to the Public

Niagara Falls State Park is the oldest state park in the U.S., stretching over 400 acres and welcoming millions of annual visitors to witness the 3,160 tons of water that flow over the falls every second. If you’ve never visited the magnificent park, located on the border of New York and Ontario, Canada, and teeming […]

Vineyard, San Vicente de la Sonsierra as background, La Rioja

How Old Spanish Vines May Bring New Hope to the Wine Industry in the Face of Climate Change

Winemaking has been around for a long time — at least 8,000 years, give or take, according to archeological evidence. As with most crop-reliant industries, climate change is starting to impact wine production due to extreme weather and rising temperatures. Increased heat has been causing grapes to mature faster, resulting in higher alcohol content and […]

Pet rats on a wooden background

Rats Bop Along to the Beat of Music Just Like Humans Do, Study Says

If you’ve ever found yourself swaying your hips to a supermarket soundtrack, you understand the power music has to, literally, move us. Now, first-of-its-kind research suggests that humans aren’t the only ones who get “into the groove.” In a new study out of The University of Tokyo (UTokyo), scientists found that rats, like humans, just […]

fantastic winter meteor shower and the snow-capped mountains. Carpathians. Ukraine, Europe

Mars at Its Brightest, Winter Solstice, and More: Your Guide to the December 2022 Night Sky

December’s night sky brings us Mars at peak brilliance, a lunar occultation, and two meteor showers to look forward to, along with Winter Solstice heralding the first official day of winter (which is actually not weather-related). Of course, we can’t forget the December night sky event: North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will begin tracking […]

Live Christmas trees in pots.

Celebrate the Holiday Season — And Mother Nature — By Renting a Living Christmas Tree

For those who celebrate Christmas, the scent of pine is inextricably linked with the holiday season. And while artificial trees have surpassed live trees as the most popular Christmas tree of choice in the U.S., there are 25-30 million real Christmas trees sold in the U.S. annually, according to the National Christmas Tree Association. With […]

Lilac-breasted roller (Coracias caudatus) perched on an Acacia tree. Ndutu region of Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania, Africa

Why Birdwatching Is Good for You: All About the “Profound” Mental Health Benefits of the Avian Pastime

Birdwatching soared in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, and interest in the pastime shows no signs of slowing. Researchers who have been investigating the science behind the hobby have discovered that it has numerous proven benefits to mental health and well-being. According to an October study published in Scientific Reports, birdwatching and its positive effect […]

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 15: A Northern Cardinal is seen during the Christmas Bird Count at Battery Kemble Park on Saturday, December 15, 2018, in Washington, D.C. The Christmas Bird Count is one of the longest-running wildlife censuses in the world where each individual count takes place in a 15-mile-wide circle and is led by a compiler responsible for organizing volunteers and submitting observations to Audubon. (Photo by Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Inside the 123-Year Christmas Bird Count, North America’s Longest-Running Citizen Science Project

Each winter, ornithologists and amateur birdwatchers come together to participate in the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count (CBC), a holiday tradition with a purpose. The count, which started on Christmas Day in 1900, is the longest-running citizen science project in North America, per Birds Canada, and involves thousands of volunteers stationed at more than […]

"Close up of wombat in Narawntapu national park, Australia"

A Long-Lost Species — the “True Giant Wombat” — Has Been Discovered in Australia

Unless you’ve visited Australia, you’ve probably never seen a wombat out in the wild. These stout quadrupedal marsupials — only found in the land down under — measure an average of about 40 inches in length and weigh between 55 and 88 pounds. The extinct diprotodon, commonly referred to as the “giant wombat,” was much […]

Close up of Nurse shark swimming in aquarium seabed. Ginglymostoma cirratum species in the family Ginglymostomatidae. Living in the Atlantic Ocean and Eastern Pacific

30-Year Shark Study Makes “Surprising” Findings About the Marine Animals’ Breeding, Longevity

A study run by scientists from New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life has found that some sharks are creatures of habit when it comes to breeding, and over a surprisingly long time span. The research, the world’s longest-running study of shark mating habits, also revealed other aspects of their mating behaviors. Published […]