Read the full story from the University of Illinois. After more than a year of planning, our team is finally ready to launch a new phase of research. We’ve designed and built two small “islands” of wetland plants that will float on Lake Decatur. These living laboratories will help us investigate how floating wetlands may affect nutrient levels and sediment dynamics in lake systems nationwide.

Read the full story at Grist. If there is one image that encapsulates COP30, this year’s global climate change conference in Belém, Brazil, it might be this: Indigenous activists, in traditional clothing and regalia, storming past security into a secure zone made for international negotiators and preapproved delegates. The action occurred on the second day of COP30 and underscored how this conference would be different from others.

Read the full story at Undark. How do individual scientists approach their work? These stylistic differences can influence the process of discovery.

Read the full story at Waste Dive. The federal agency, which is facing pressure to clean up hundreds of contaminated sites, is partnering with technology companies such as Aquagga, ECT2, Revive Environmental and others.

Read the full story at Inside Climate News. This season’s drought shows that the effects of climate change are real, but it’s not as black and white as wet or dry.

Read the full story at Bridge Michigan. The small farming community of Saline Township is set to host Michigan’s first hyperscale data center, a hulking facility made up of three buildings the size of 28 football fields. The deal shocked residents with its speed, dividing a community where life has long revolved around corn and soybeans. It’s a debate set to play out in towns across Michigan as the tech industry makes rapid inroads.

Listen to the podcast from 404 Media. This week we have a conversation between Sam and two of the leaders of the independent volunteer archiving project Save Our Signs, an effort to archive national park signs and monument placards.

Read the full story at Inside Climate News. With Trump’s budget knife still poised over NOAA’s climate research operations, international researchers see a reduced role for the nation that pioneered CO2 measurement.

Read the full story at Stateline. Washington Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove discusses public land sales, funding cuts, wildfires and more.

Erdle, L. M., Fulfer, V., Anderson, L., Cowger, W., & Eriksen, M. (2025). Commercial clothes dryers: A source of microfiber emissions to air. Environmental Research Communications, 7(11), 111002. Abstract                            Background Microfibers from textiles are a major source of microplastic pollution, yet emissions from dryers are poorly studied.              Objectives This study quantifies microfiber emissions from commercial dryers and explores deposition around laundromats.             

Read the full story at Medpage Today. The CDC is responsible for creating unified federal responses to countless public health problems. For the CDC to fulfill its duties, knowledge gaps -- known unknowns -- must be filled. How many American kids have epilepsy? Are men being asked the right questions when considering whether to receive prostate cancer screening? The answers guide national priorities and policies.

Read the full story from the University of Kansas. See also: Nichole A. Ginnan, Valéria Custódio, David Gopaulchan, Natalie Ford, Isai Salas-González, Dylan H. Jones, Darren M. Wells, Ângela Moreno, Gabriel Castrillo, Maggie R. Wagner. Precipitation legacy effects on soil microbiota facilitate adaptive drought responses in plants. Nature Microbiology, 2025; 10 (11): 2823 DOI: 10.1038/s41564-025-02148-8 Researchers discovered that soil microbes in Kansas carry drought “memories” that affect how plants grow and survive.

Xia, J. (2025). Temporal shifts in retraction reasons. Journal of Documentation, 1–15. Abstract Purpose This study analyzes 58,033 retractions from the Retraction Watch Database via Crossref to identify trends in retraction causes across time. Design/methodology/approach A dual-date framework distinguishes between the year of retraction to detect patterns and the publication year to trace origins. Statistical analyses include slope calculations for misconduct trends and a structural break test to examine the impact of potential policy or practice shifts, such as retraction awareness campaigns.

Read the full story at Trellis. The company’s new 2030 strategy targets a 15% cut in freshwater use and 40% water reuse across its supply chain. A 27% reduction fell short of its 2019 goal to halve water use in high-stress regions by 2025 . New initiatives will focus on watershed restoration in supplier communities, including Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Read the full story at Trellis. A former Nike exec is betting that he can find the winning formula for nontoxic, sustainable leggings before big brands dare to try. Äktiiv double-tests its materials, both yarns and the finished fabric after knitting, dyeing and finishing. The company’s proprietary textile combines plant-derived and faster-degrading nylons with the only Cradle to Cradle Gold elastane for stretch.

Read the full story at Food Business News. Cargill is supporting regenerative agriculture practices in 16 countries through a range of programs and partnerships, according to the company’s latest annual report.

Read the full post at The Scholarly Kitchen. I argue here that the total number of submissions a journal receives each year has long ceased to be a useful performance indicator. In fact, chasing ever more submissions is having a serious deleterious effect on our industry, and we need to stop counting rising submissions as success as soon as possible.

Read the full story at Azo Materials. AZoM sat down with two experts from LECO Corporation at the forefront of this soil analysis revolution. They explained how new testing methods are helping farmers improve yields, supporting researchers in addressing climate change, and enabling governments to better monitor carbon sequestration efforts.

Read the full story from MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen. See also: Dominik Hülse, Andy Ridgwell. Instability in the geological regulation of Earth’s climate. Science, 2025; 389 (6767) DOI: 10.1126/science.adh7730 Earth’s climate balance isn’t just governed by the slow weathering of silicate rocks, which capture carbon and stabilize temperature over eons. New research reveals that biological and oceanic feedback loops—especially involving algae, phosphorus, and oxygen—can swing the planet’s temperature far more dramatically.

Download the report. This ActionAid report analyzes the support for "just transition" in climate finance flows, advocating for a people-centered approach amidst escalating climate and economic crises. It reviews policies and quantitatively assesses funding proposals from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and Climate Investment Funds (CIF). Findings reveal that a "shockingly low 2.8%" (US$630 million over a decade) of multilateral climate finance for mitigation has supported just transitions, indicating significant underfunding.

Read the full story at Inside Climate News. The Cetacean Translation Initiative is using artificial intelligence to help understand sperm whale communications. Lawyers think the discoveries could galvanize the world to recognize whales’ legal rights.

Read the full story from Pew Research. A category of widely used chemicals has been found to disrupt the human endocrine system. Research indicates that this disruption can increase the risk of health problems such as reproductive disorders, cancer, diabetes, and more. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) interfere with the hormones that regulate our varied and essential bodily functions. These artificial chemicals exist in many everyday products.

Read the full story at Biocycle. Biochar can do a number of things, but one we hadn’t thought of was making it an alternative to a lump of coal for holiday gift-giving gags. “The coal-for-Christmas tradition goes back generations, and there’s something charming about its simplicity,” explains Bobbie Armstron, Co-Founder of Char in a Jar™. “With Char in a Jar™, we wanted to keep that humor and nostalgia while giving it a modern, sustainable twist.

Read the full story at Trellis. Recent policies have made the U.S. one of the worst places to manufacture in the world. While tariffs aren’t categorically a bad thing, the way they’ve been implemented has caused the cost of domestic production to rise. To get back on track, the U.S. needs a highly-skilled workforce that’s appropriately trained for better productivity or produces exceptional craft that improves product quality.

Read the full story at The Guardian. Pattie Gonia, the drag queen and environmentalist, arrived in San Francisco on Friday afternoon and crossed the Golden Gate Bridge with $1m more than when she set out on her journey last week. The diversity and inclusion advocate completed the 100-mile trek from Point Reyes national seashore to San Francisco in full drag with her voluminous red wig and smokey eye.