Rare earth elements appear in more than 200 consumer products. The race is on to source these elements from abundant and environmentally damaging mining waste.
Sustainable development
Posted inFeatures
Ocean Terrain and the Engineering Challenges for Offshore Wind Farms
Deep coastal seabeds, glacial erratics, and other geophysical hurdles stand in the way of offshore wind farm proliferation. Researchers, engineers, and organizations are adapting and inventing ways to harness the breeze.
Posted inFeatures
Growing Equity in City Green Space
City residents don’t all have the same access to the benefits of green space. Addressing that inequity requires community engagement at every stage from planning to development to management.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Committed U.S. Power Emissions Incompatible with Paris Agreement
Without a significant reduction in usage, committed emissions from coal and gas plants in the United States are already incompatible with the country’s pledges under the Paris climate agreement.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Lending a Hand to Sustainability
Handprint thinking, a concept developed about a decade ago, is meant to complement ecological footprints and frame human actions in terms of how much good they can do to promote sustainability.
Posted inEditors' Vox
The Role of Earth and Space Scientists During Pandemics
Insights from Earth and space sciences are valuable for addressing the current global health emergency, and such societal challenges are best addressed by integrated and interdisciplinary research.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Mountain Ecosystems and Communities Face Challenges Worldwide
An unprecedented global assessment examines climate, economic, and governance threats to mountain systems and the benefits they provide, suggesting pathways toward sustainability.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Improving Water Resources Management with Satellite Data
An extensive review reveals that remote sensing is changing the way we manage water resources and suggests that the coming years will bring both exciting advancements and new challenges.
Posted inEditors' Vox
The Long and Winding Road: Making Resilience Real
As humans face an inherently riskier world, a special collection in Earth’s Future explores thematic, theoretical, and empirical approaches to resilient decision-making.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Strategies to Improve Urban Hydrology
Cities can reduce surface runoff and increase groundwater recharge by encouraging their residents to implement simple, hydrologic modifications on individual buildings and single-family parcels.