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Mental Health Benefits of Parks Dimmed by Safety Concerns
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Mental Health Benefits of Parks Dimmed by Safety Concerns

No matter how close parks are to home, perceptions of park-centered crime may keep New Yorkers from using them. Researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine found that New Yorkers are more likely to exercise in a park if they believe they live very close to it. In turn, they feel less anxious and less...

Overconsumption and Growth Economy Key Drivers of Environmental Crises
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Overconsumption and Growth Economy Key Drivers of Environmental Crises

A group of researchers, led by a University of New South Wales (UNSW) sustainability scientist, have reviewed existing academic discussions on the link between wealth, economy and associated impacts, reaching a clear conclusion: technology will only get us so far when working towards sustainability – we need far-reaching lifestyle changes and different economic paradigms. In...

When Planting Trees Threatens the Forest
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When Planting Trees Threatens the Forest

  Campaigns to plant huge numbers of trees could backfire, according to a new study that is the first to rigorously analyze the potential effects of subsidies in such schemes. The analysis, published on June 22 in Nature Sustainability, reveals how efforts such as the global Trillion Trees campaign and a related initiative (H. R. 5859)...

Planting New Forests Is Part of but Not the Whole Solution to Climate Change
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Planting New Forests Is Part of but Not the Whole Solution to Climate Change

The large-scale planting of new forests in previously tree-free areas, a practice known as afforestation, is hailed as an efficient way to remove excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – a so-called natural climate solution. But a new study led by a Colorado State University biology researcher finds that the carbon-capture potential of afforestation may...

Helping to Protect the Most Illegally Trafficked Mammals in the World
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Helping to Protect the Most Illegally Trafficked Mammals in the World

As China upgrades pangolins to the highest protected status level, an alternative approach to using long standing forensic methods is helping wildlife crime investigators disrupt poachers and animal traffickers in an effort to bring them to justice. A team of scientists and experienced investigators from the University of Portsmouth have joined the battle to stop...

Environmental Conditions Found to Affect Stability of Virus That Causes COVID-19
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Environmental Conditions Found to Affect Stability of Virus That Causes COVID-19

A new study led by Marshall University researcher M. Jeremiah Matson found that environmental conditions affect the stability of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in human nasal mucus and sputum. Matson, the lead author on a study published earlier this month as an early release in Emerging Infectious Diseases, the journal of the...

Cash Me Outside: Transfers to the Poor Linked to Eco-Benefits
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Cash Me Outside: Transfers to the Poor Linked to Eco-Benefits

In a new study, researchers recently discovered that Indonesia’s national anti-poverty program reduced deforestation by about 30%. The study’s findings were published in Science Advances. “Two of the great global challenges of the 21st century are to reduce poverty and slow deforestation. Unfortunately, the solutions to those challenges are often perceived as conflicting with each...

Rewilding: Rare Birds Return When Livestock Grazing Has Stopped
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Rewilding: Rare Birds Return When Livestock Grazing Has Stopped

After a particularly long week of computer based work on my PhD, all I wanted was to hike somewhere exciting with a rich wildlife. A friend commiserated with me – I was based at Newcastle University at the time, and this particular friend wasn’t keen on the UK’s wilderness, its moorlands and bare uplands, compared...

Climate Change’s Toll on Freshwater Fish: A New Database for Science
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Climate Change’s Toll on Freshwater Fish: A New Database for Science

Scientists have created a new database to help track the impacts of climate change on fish living in rivers, lakes and other inland waters throughout the world. The Fish and Climate Change Database — or FiCli (pronounced “fick-lee”) — is a searchable directory of peer-reviewed journal publications that describe projected or documented effects of climate change on...

A Europe Covered in Grasslands or Forests: Innovation and Research on Climate Models
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A Europe Covered in Grasslands or Forests: Innovation and Research on Climate Models

Forestation is one of the main strategies recommended by the scientific community for climate change mitigation. But, would a European continent completely covered in forests be any cooler than one without forests? Asking these kinds of questions is fundamental to developing an understanding of the real effects of solutions that have been recommended by the...