27 readings with original sources
Planet and energy
A field measurement, an experiment and a scenario model can answer different questions about the environment. These readings bring together research on ecosystems, energy and changes on our planet.
What to look for in these studies
Separate what was observed from what was projected. A finding from one place or period does not represent every region, and projections depend on assumptions. The sources let you revisit the design, scale and limits behind each finding.
- Does the study use observations, experiments or scenarios?
- Which place, period and scale were studied?
- What assumptions or factors were left outside the study?
Explore the research
- A €700 camera powered by a solar panel recorded visiting insects
- Eating better was associated with more food wasted and more irrigation water used to grow it
- Near more beehives, wild insects made fewer flower visits
- Twice as many young fish arrived where a healthy reef played
- Fibers captured by treatment plants can end up in soil
- In Boston, the hottest areas were not the most vulnerable
- Asia accounted for nearly half of rooftop solar potential
- Curtailing turbines to protect bats cut electricity generation by up to 15%
- With more warming, lake ice would take longer to support weight
- Nearly a century of counts points to fewer earthworms in the UK
- Fire brought tree numbers closer to historical levels, but not species composition
- Oxygen consumption in young oysters responded to heat and CO₂
- Which species returned explained little about restored ecosystem functioning
- A solar future would use 0.3% to 5.2% of each region’s land
- Protecting habitats when planning clean energy would cost about 3% more
- Homes with tips or comparisons had smaller increases in electricity use
- In containers, plants and microbes together supported productivity
- Forest soil differed between summer and fall, with or without warming
- With warming, more phytoplankton types appeared, but total abundance did not rise
- Heat-related phytoplankton decline depended on the food web
- Drought and nutrients had different effects by stream depth
- After drought, vegetation declined where plots were cut four times a year
- Legumes and tall herbs had more new carbon in their shoots
- Two substances discharge battery cells from within
- At many sites, a dry spring coincided with more photosynthesis
- A brief electrical pulse recovered metals from used batteries
- Trillions of plastic pieces float at sea; large pieces account for most of the weight