Tropical marine low clouds play a crucial role in regulating Earth’s climate. However, whether they mitigate or exacerbate global warming has long remained a mystery. Now, researchers from the School of Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have developed a groundbreaking method that significantly improves accuracy in climate predictions. This led to a major discovery – that tropical cloud feedback may have amplified the greenhouse effect by a staggering 71% more than previously known to scientists.

A recent study has unveiled the genetic blueprint behind flowering time in olive trees, a crucial trait for fruit production that is increasingly under threat from climate change. 

There has been a noticeable shift in the Canadian media landscape toward solutions journalism over the past decades, and leading that transition are the country’s independent alternative media outlets.

In a paper published in the journal Environmental Communication, two Concordia researchers study the frequency of solutions journalism in environmental reporting in seven Canadian alternative media outlets. Through content analysis and interviews with reporters, the researchers found that the practice requires strong institutional support, even when climate journalism is an integral part of a given outlet’s coverage.

Austrian researchers have successfully converted a by-product of wood gasification into high-quality activated carbon. The material, known for its ability to capture micropollutants, was produced by physical activation using hot gases that create fine pores. Their method increased the adsorption capacity by 11 times, outperforming commercial alternatives. With growing demand in water treatment, this discovery offers a renewable alternative to fossil-based activated carbon.