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Dr. James E. Hansen talks about how politicians have failed to connect policy with climate change science and the importance of limiting atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million.

Even though ephemeral streams are seldom wet and certainly not navigable, they are all part of the network of drainages that carry water to the sea. One recent account suggests that 55% of the flow of major rivers in the United States derives from ephemeral streams.

Reported cases of vector-borne diseases doubled between 2005 and 2019, according to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, and we keep discovering new pathogens — 10 in the previous 17 years.

Community members joined Scenic Hudson staff at College Hill Park in Poughkeepsie to collect data on flora and fauna found at the park. The “bioblitz” was part of a broader study going on in the Hudson Valley that seeks to better understand how people interact with wildlife in urban areas.

The remarkable ability to survive lightning strikes and benefit from the removal of lianas and competitors gives Dipteryx oleifera trees (also known as tonka bean or almendro tree) a major advantage over other trees. According to the scientists' calculations, lightning tolerance boosts the species’ ability to produce offspring by 14 times.

In many urban areas, low-income neighborhoods have more mosquitoes, making residents more vulnerable to mosquito-borne diseases. A new study co-authored by scientists at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies found that invasive, nonnative plants, which tend to be more common in low-income areas, boosted mosquito populations in Baltimore, MD, and Washington, DC
 

An overview of harmful algal blooms, including what they look like in flowing waterways, the potential risks posed by toxin-producing blooms, and current research underway to improve their detection and management. 

Lyda Hill Philanthropies has awarded $2.7 million to Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in support of the Western Fire & Forest Resilience Collaborative (WFFRC) program. The two-year grant will allow the collaborative to develop science for living safely and sustainably with fire in western US grasslands and shrublands, emphasizing west Texas. 

Most people think about global warming during the dog days of summer. But temperatures are rising in the winter too, and that means less snow.

Despite the fact many of us drink groundwater every day, and all of us eat food irrigated by groundwater, few people know where it comes from or how to protect it. And because we are misinformed, we don’t always manage this valuable resource wisely.

We are a nation of pill poppers. From statins to lower cholesterol to antidepressants to lift our mood, more than half of Americans are currently taking a prescription drug. Some twenty percent of us are taking three different prescriptions daily.

In rural areas, unpaved roads hold a certain charm. They restrict the volume and speed of traffic and, compared to their paved counterparts, are less expensive to build. But are they a greener alternative?

The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies is a scientific research and education organization. So why would a science organization host an exhibit for a landscape artist?

There's a desert in north-central Chile that receives less than six inches of rain a year. Right in the middle of it is a lush mountain forest that is dense with trees, bromeliads, ferns, and mosses.

Ecologists define an ecosystem as a unit of the landscape-a forest, a lake, or a river.  Often, they are interested in the movement of materials through that area.  For instance, rain may deposit nitrogen in a forest, while a stream may carry nitrogen away from the forest and into a river.  

For many years, oaks in the Northeast were prolific acorn producers. The 2010 crop was record-breaking—many will recall getting hit with acorn rain or slipping on acorns underfoot. Last fall, however, acorns were scarce.

It's commonly believed that Lyme disease risk is tied to the presence of deer ticks and white-tailed deer. But this simply isn't correct.

Research has found that when humans modify the environment, fragmenting habitat and reducing species diversity, we are more likely to contract diseases normally confined to wildlife.

For human health, one emerging concern is that we do not fully understand how the geographic ranges of vector-borne diseases—those caused by parasites, bacteria, and viruses transmitted to humans via an intermediate host organism—are being influenced by climate change.

Emma Rosi advanced our understanding of how land use, urbanization, and climate change shape freshwater ecosystems, with projects exploring environmental contaminants such as pharmaceutical and personal care products, aging wastewater infrastructure, environmental implications of agricultural GMOs, and the effects of dams.