Although concrete doesn't burn, it can "spall" when subjected to extreme heat – this means that surface layers of the material break off, potentially causing structures made of it to collapse. According to a new study, however, fibers obtained from discarded tires can help keep that from happening.
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A new study out of MIT suggests rising temperatures are causing energy shifts in Earth's atmosphere that are strengthening midlatitude storms, while weakening other important weather systems over North America, Europe and Asia.
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When salt is removed from seawater in desalination plants, the byproduct is a lot of highly-salty brine. Ordinarily, this is just dumped back into the sea, which can harm the environment. Thanks to a new treatment process, however, that brine could actually be used to desalinate more water.
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A study has found a huge new potential source of carbon emissions: reservoirs of gases trapped at the seafloor, which could be released as the oceans warm up. And the team suggests that these gases belched up from the deep thousands of years ago and put an end to the last ice age.
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A new study of satellite data has shown that the Earth has gotten “greener” in the last 20 years or so, with the biggest contributors being China and India. Before we celebrate though, there are a few caveats to consider.
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Millions of metric tons of plastic are produced each year and in reality, very little of it is recycled. But what if there were more ways of turning this waste into something valuable, be it new plastics, hydrocarbons or different types of fuel?
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Electronic waste can be quite valuable, and there have been a number of projects aimed at recovering precious metals from e-trash. Now it appears that Olympic winners in 2020 will be awarded medals made from smashed up phones and cameras.
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Continuing a long-term upward trend, several climate reports released today have concluded that 2018 was among the hottest years on record. In independent analyses, NASA, NOAA and WMO have all found the past year to be dotted with broken records.
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Sulfur is often chemically "scrubbed" from the flue-gas emissions of coal-burning power plants. Gypsum (aka calcium sulfate) is produced as a byproduct of the process, and typically ends up in landfills. According to new research, however, it could be used to boost crops in a number of ways.
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Today, the desert country of Namibia isn’t somewhere you’d expect to find much ice, but 300 million years ago it was a very different landscape. A team of geologists has now discovered a land formation that’s associated with fast-moving glaciers, and isn’t usually found in the desert.
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