What’s Driving the Drop in Overdose Deaths?

The CDC reports that drug overdose deaths have returned to pre-pandemic levels. Is the beginning of the end of the overdose crisis or just a return to the pre-pandemic trend line?

A Good Walk: Eye Movements, Heart Rates, and the Science of Serenity

In the stillness of a Japanese observation garden, your eyes slow their darting dance, your heart softens its beat, and your body begins to whisper, “I am safe.” A new study finds that this isn’t just poetic metaphor—our visual patterns and physiology reveal a...

How Trump might unwittingly cut emissions from online shopping

Read the full story from the New York Times (gift article). Fast-fashion giants like Shein and Temu have been doing booming business in the United States in recent years, in part because of a tariff exemption that’s helped to keep prices low on packages shipped from...

EREF expands PFAS Literature Review to over 1,500 resources

The Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) has expanded its comprehensive PFAS literature review to include more than 1,500 resources, providing waste industry professionals with a catalog of peer-reviewed research and technical reports. The expanded...

“Summer-Like Slug Of Heat Pushes Across Much Of North America”

“One of the most eye-popping late-spring heat waves on record made its way from the Pacific Coast into the center of North America this week. Numerous towns and cities have notched their hottest days and/or warmest nights ever experienced this early in the...

DOE Secretary defends proposed budget cuts, denies freezing funds

Read the full story from AIP’s FYI. Energy Secretary Chris Wright testified last week that he supports the White House’s proposed cuts to the Department of Energy, which include a 14% cut  to the DOE Office of Science. Appearing before House appropriators to defend...

Evidence of a social evaluation penalty for using AI

Reif, J. A., Larrick, R. P., & Soll, J. B. (2025). Evidence of a social evaluation penalty for using AI. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(19), e2426766122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2426766122 Abstract Despite the rapid proliferation of AI...

What I Am Reading May 15th

From dietary tribes and AI-authored messages to fungi saving bees and the evolution of dinosaur imagery, this week’s stories explore how belief, imagination, and science shape our world.

Could The Microbiome Drive Chronic Pain?

The gut has been called our “second brain,” influencing everything from mood to metabolism. Now, scientists are asking whether it might also be shaping pain. In the case of a rare, debilitating condition marked by burning, hypersensitive limbs, researchers have...

Urban farming in Jacksonville

Read the full story in the Illinois Times. Juan Caballero plants seeds a little differently than most people. “I use my finger to make a hole in the potted soil and that way I can judge how deep the seed will go,” Caballero said. “When I’m in the potting room...

States fight back against Trump’s wind and EV attacks

Read the full story at Canary Media. In his first 100 days, President Donald Trump has antagonized the clean energy industry, putting crucial federal funding on ice, rolling back key regulations, and even coming after state climate laws. This week, Democrat-led states...

From Greenland to Ghana, Indigenous youth work for climate justice

Read the full story at Grist. For the last week, Indigenous leaders from around the world have converged in New York for the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, or UNPFII. It’s the largest global gathering of Indigenous peoples, and the forum provides...

A new wave of pollution: the challenge of emerging contaminants

Kaur, N. (2025). Briefing: A new wave of pollution: the challenge of emerging contaminants. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Civil Engineering, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1680/jcien.25.00039 [open access] Abstract Emerging contaminants are a new and...

Adidas greenwashing judgment offers warnings about climate claims

Read the full story at Trellis. A German court found Adidas guilty of vague climate claims without defined pathways or offset disclosures. Experts warn of “greenhushing” but encourage clearer communication. New legal challenges and scrutiny around sustainability...

Bees and Microplastic Studies: A Systematic Review

Rodrigues, K. F. S., Carvalho, B. R. R., Contrera, F. A. L., & Smith, W. S. (2025). Bees and Microplastic Studies: A Systematic Review. Neotropical Entomology, 54(1), 56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-025-01268-4 Abstract Microplastic contamination is no longer...

A sign your fish might be on drugs: Risky behavior

Read the full story in the New York Times (gift article). It has to be stressful: an obstacle course of giant dams, rushing rapids and hungry predators. That’s what juvenile salmon can face when they migrate out to the salty sea from the freshwater rivers and streams...

How to talk to Republicans about offshore wind

Read the full story from Canary Media. At a recent offshore wind industry conference, speakers had lots of advice on how to make the case for President Trump’s least favorite form of energy.

Exit to open

Read the full story from the Stanford Social Innovation Review. What happens when a nonprofit program or an entire organization needs to shut down? The communities being served, and often society as a whole, are the losers. What if it were possible to mitigate some of...

Pilot project seeks to fix Achilles’ heel of geothermal power

Read the full story in The Hill. A pilot project from a team of oil industry veterans could save one of California’s key clean energy resources from terminal decline. On Thursday, the Oklahoma City-based GreenFire Energy announced it had increased the efficiency of a...

US packaging firms face hurdles on recycling goals

Read the full story at Packaging Gateway. A new report has found that while companies are making measurable progress on recycled content in packaging, significant barriers in supply and infrastructure could prevent many from meeting their targets. The findings are...

“EPA Ditches Historic ‘Forever Chemicals’ Rule”

“The Trump administration will roll back a landmark regulation on “forever chemicals” in drinking water, two weeks after EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin promised to address contamination from the toxic, man-made substances.” ChemicalsConsumerEnvironmental...

Podcast: Politics, Apathy Doomed Pandemic Response Long Before COVID

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed systemic weaknesses in our disaster preparedness infrastructure. Despite prior warnings, politics and apathy nurtured a response system that prioritized appearances — e.g., a national stockpile of rotting N-95 masks — over effective...

Scientists map where orphan wells pose threats to aquifers

Read the full story at Inside Climate News. For the first time, scientists have mapped groundwater variables nationally to understand which aquifers are most vulnerable to contamination from orphan wells.  Oil and gas wells with no active owner that are no longer...

Scientists just found a way to break through climate apathy

Read the full story at Grist. For much of the 20th century, winter brought an annual ritual to Princeton, New Jersey. Lake Carnegie froze solid, and skaters flocked to its glossy surface. These days, the ice is rarely thick enough to support anybody wearing skates,...

U.S. Food Waste Pact Employee Engagement Toolkit

Download the toolkit. Jointly built by the Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment and the U.S. Food Waste Pact, the toolkit is designed to inspire, educate, and empower employees to take action against food loss and waste in their workplace. Included below are resources...

EPA tells scientists to apply for new jobs within the agency

Read the full story at The Hill. Political leaders at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have told scientists there to apply to new jobs, implying that those who do not may be fired, according to an official with a union representing the agency’s employees. ...

Illinois’ grid needs batteries. Can the legislature deliver?

Read the full story at Canary Media. Illinois’s ambitious clean energy transition, which mandates a phaseout of fossil-fuel power by 2045, depends on adding large amounts of energy storage to the grid. This is especially true now with the proliferation of data...

Starlings fall to record low in UK’s 2025 Big Garden Birdwatch

Read the full story in The Guardian. Fewer starlings than ever have been spotted by participants in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch, raising fears for their numbers. The bird conservation charity is urging Britain’s gardeners to keep their lawns wild by not cutting...

Can scientific research survive without federal funding?

Read the full story at Inside Higher Ed. Universities are offering temporary relief to researchers whose projects have been disrupted by federal funding cuts. But it won’t help in the long term, and experts say industry and philanthropy are in no position to make up...

The federal shift in energy and water investment in the U.S.

Read the full story at Utility Dive. The administration change in Washington has signaled significant repositioning of federal support for the energy and utilities industry. This evolution extends beyond simple program changes, reflecting a broader federal shift in...

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