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Postdoctoral researcher Ilya Fischhoff discusses his path in science, advice to younger scientists, and where to find the best sourdough in Dutchess County, NY.

In 2009, the New York State Department of Conservation launched the Climate Smart Communities (CSC) program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare New Yorkers for the effects of climate change.

Ecologists have long known that agricultural and sewage pollution can cause low oxygen conditions and fish kills in rivers. Hippo waste can have a similar effect in Africa’s Mara River, which passes through the world renowned Maasai Mara National Reserve of Kenya, home to more than 4,000 hippos.

Most folks don't realize it, but the roots of plants are connected underground by a vast network of fungi that improve the function of plant roots. The fungi exist in what is known as a symbiosis—both the fungus and the plant benefit.

Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vector-borne illness in the United States. In the Northeast, the blacklegged ticks that spread Lyme disease are increasing their range, putting more people in harm’s way. 

Climate change and warming temperatures are broadening the range of suitable tick habitat. As ticks move north, they're bringing Lyme and other diseases with them. As ticks are beginning to emerge, it is time to heighten vigilance; check yourself, your children, and pets regularly.

Pharmaceuticals are found in surface waters around the world. These compounds evade wastewater treatment infrastructure, pollute drinking water, and impact aquatic ecosystems. Here are some steps you can take to help stem the tide of pharmaceutical pollution.

Road salt applied during the winter lingers in the environment, where it can pollute drinking water supplies. A recent study reveals hotspots and landscape features linked to elevated salt in wells.

It's spring and a young man's fancy may turn to.......gardening. Of course, it is tempting to find ornamental plants that no one else has in the neighborhood, so a significant fraction of the nursery trade focuses on exotics—species that do not occur locally.

Increasingly we recognize the impacts of small airborne particles on our health. Breathing particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter, known as PM2.5, is estimated to cause more than 3 million deaths per year worldwide.

Researchers report that in Baltimore, Maryland, socioeconomic differences between neighborhoods influence bite risk, with rats being a primary blood meal source in lower income neighborhoods.

James Watt's steam engine vaulted coal to its major role as a fuel for the Industrial Revolution. In more recent years, about 40 percent of the world's electricity has been generated in coal-fired power plants, consuming more than 80 percent of the coal mined each year.

A return to firewood is bad for forests and the climate. So reports William Schlesinger, President Emeritus of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, in an Insights article published today in the journal Science.

The science of phenology is now advancing with the lengthening record of the Earth's greenness, snowcover and temperature from satellites and other sensors.

Environmental policy guided by science saves lives, money, and ecosystems. So reports a team of eleven senior researchers in Environmental Science & Policy. Using air pollution in the United States as a case study, they highlight the success of cleanup strategies backed by long-term environmental monitoring. 

In a new study, researchers investigate how advances in remote sensing technology can be used to predict and monitor algal blooms before they turn harmful. Using satellites that detect chlorophyll, which is present in algae, they are developing ways to monitor water quality from outer space.

Alan Berkowitz is a leader in advancing ecosystem literacy. His efforts include developing teaching materials, facilitating undergraduate research opportunities, and training educators. His projects aim to enhance public understanding of the complex interactions that govern the natural world and the ways that people influence ecosystems.

Cary Institute ecologist Chris Solomon is working to advance understanding of how lake browning impacts fishery productivity. Recent work explores the role of phantom midges and bass cannibalism in this complex system.

With some 300 million tons of plastic products produced annually, it is not surprising that plastic is ubiquitous debris in the environment. Plastic bags hang in the trees in New York City and blow across the barren lands of the Mojave desert.

I had to chuckle over the recent Wall Street Journal report that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) had rejected Trump's plans to subsidize the coal and nuclear power industries—to prop them up as a campaign promise. The agency is mainly composed of Trump's own appointees. So sad.