Month: September 2026

  Protecting existing Amazon rainforest from fire and logging may deliver greater biodiversity and carbon benefits than planting new trees, according to a study that compared different conservation strategies across millions of hectares in Brazil’s Pará state. Researchers examined land-use changes across about 3 million hectares in Pará between 2010 and 2020. They modelled what the landscape could have looked like if different forms of forest damage had been prevented, comparing forest protection, avoided deforestation and restoration. The analysis found that preventing fire and logging in standing forests could have avoided 68.5% of the biodiversity loss recorded in the study area. Preventing deforestation could have avoided 28% of biodiversity losses. For carbon however,...

  Researchers at Virginia Tech have developed a chemical recycling method that converts waste polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into a synthetic lubricating oil, potentially offering a new way to handle one of the most difficult plastics to recycle. Published in Nature in August 2026, the study describes a process that avoids the conventional steps of sorting, melting and remolding PVC. Instead the researchers dissolve the plastic and chemically remove its chlorine before converting the remaining material into polyalphaolefin (PAO) a type of synthetic oil used in engine and gearbox lubricants. PVC is produced at a global scale of about 60 million tonnes a year but only a small fraction is recycled. In the United States less than 5,000 tonnes of the approximately 840,000 tonnes of PVC ...

  US clean tech startup Fluxnium has developed a technology designed to extract uranium from seawater potentially opening up a vast additional source of fuel for the nuclear power industry. The startup, which had been operating in stealth, has licensed chemistry developed at US Department of Energy national laboratories and is working to reduce the cost of extracting uranium from seawater. Fluxnium recently raised $7 million in a seed funding round led by Congruent Ventures, with participation from Active Impact Investments and Constellation Energy which operates the largest nuclear power fleet in the United States. The development comes as the US seeks to expand nuclear power capacity. However rising uranium prices and the concentration of global production in a relatively s...

The massive 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai volcano appears to have triggered a previously unrecognized chemical process that destroyed methane in the atmosphere according to a study published in Nature Communications. Researchers detected unusually high concentrations of formaldehyde in the volcanic plume using satellite observations. Because formaldehyde is produced during the atmospheric breakdown of methane and remains present for only a few hours, its sustained presence provided evidence that methane oxidation continued inside the plume for more than a week. The Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted beneath the South Pacific on January 15, 2022 sending a huge mixture of volcanic material and seawater into the atmosphere. Researchers estimate that the eruption ...

  ZERO44 has launched a new Carbon Insetting module designed to help ship operators manage FuelEU Maritime compliance while assessing whether emissions reductions from low carbon fuels could generate greater value through carbon insetting. Carbon insetting enables shipping companies to transfer verified emissions reductions from the use of cleaner fuels to cargo owners seeking to reduce supply chain emissions. However, operators must avoid double counting, as emissions reductions sold as voluntary insetting certificates cannot simultaneously be counted towards a vessel’s FuelEU compliance target. ZERO44 new software uses bunker delivery notes and proof of sustainability documents already collected for FuelEU reporting. It evaluates the current value of each fuel volume as eit...

  The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has advised the Delhi government and governments of states in the National Capital Region (NCR) to avoid scheduling physical sports activities and competitions during November and December 2026, citing the air quality conditions typically observed during these months. In an advisory dated September 10, the commission said competitions already scheduled for November and December may be rescheduled. The move follows concerns raised by the Supreme Court over children's exposure to poor and severe air quality while participating in physical sports competitions organised by schools. The matter came up during the hearing of the MC Mehta vs Union of India & Ors case. The Supreme Court subsequently asked the CAQM to issue appropr...

Florida has returned more than 500,000 tonnes of discarded oyster and clam shells to the Gulf of Mexico over the past 16 years turning seafood waste into the foundation for new oyster reefs and supporting the recovery of damaged coastal ecosystems. Between 2007 and 2024 shells collected from seafood restaurants and processing businesses were placed back into Gulf waters as part of efforts to restore oyster habitats. The shells provide a hard surface where young oysters can attach, grow and gradually form new reefs. Oyster populations along the Gulf Coast have suffered major declines over the years. NOAA Fisheries has reported that historic oyster populations in the Gulf have fallen by 85% or more, with overfishing, storms and events such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill contributin...

Greenland and Antarctica have lost a combined 11,309 billion tonnes of ice between 1979 and 2023 contributing 31.4 millimetres to global sea level rise, according to a new international assessment by polar scientists. The assessment, led by researchers at Northumbria University with support from NASA, brings together observations from 42 independent satellite surveys covering 27 satellite missions. Researchers used satellite records dating back to 1972 for Greenland and 1979 for Antarctica to examine changes in the two major ice sheets over several decades. Greenland accounted for the larger share of the overall loss, while Antarctica contributed approximately 13.3 millimetres to global sea level rise during the study period. Glaciers Responsible for Most Ice Loss A key finding...

  A team of Chinese and Swiss researchers has demonstrated solar cells capable of generating electricity at a depth of around 10 metres underwater potentially opening new possibilities for powering submerged sensors, cameras aquaculture monitoring systems and offshore communications equipment. Published in the journal joule the study addresses a major challenge for underwater solar power: sunlight is rapidly weakened and its spectrum changes as it passes through water. Conventional solar cells have generally been tested only at very shallow depths of around two metres. The researchers developed lead-halide perovskite solar cells whose light absorption is matched to the spectrum available underwater at greater depths. Laboratory experiments showed that the cells could effectiv...

A monumental banyan tree in Munger, Bihar, believed for generations to be centuries old, has now been scientifically dated to at least 700 years according to a Cambridge University study. The finding makes it the oldest accurately dated Ficus benghalensis (banyan) tree reported so far. Published on April 26, 2026 the study used advanced radiocarbon dating to determine the tree’s minimum age. Researchers analysed wood samples from its secondary trunk and primary branch, providing scientific evidence for an age that had previously been based largely on local folklore and historical accounts. The development was also officially recognised by the Department of Science and Technology on July 3, 2026, which confirmed that the Munger banyan’s age had been established through radiocarbon met...