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Niwot Ridge

Colorado mountains bouncing back from ‘acid rain’ impacts

Dec. 8, 2020

Niwot Ridge in the Rocky Mountains is slowly recovering from increased acidity caused by vehicle emissions in Colorado’s Front Range, suggesting that alpine regions across the Mountain West may be recovering. This is good news for the wildlife and wildflowers of Rocky Mountain National Park and for water sources that supply the Front Range and the Mountain West.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP25

Worst-case emissions projections are already off track

Nov. 30, 2020

New research reveals that emissions are not growing as fast as the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's assessments have indicated—and that the IPCC is not using the most up-to-date climate scenarios in its planning and policy recommendations.

Surfaces equipment at an oil and gas extraction site in the San Juan Basin. (Photo: Gabrielle Pétron/CIRES)

Southwest US methane hotspot is snapshot of local pollution

Nov. 24, 2020

A giant methane cloud caught by satellite in 2014 wasn’t a persistent hotspot, as thought at the time. Instead, the cloud was the nightly build-up of polluted air—trapped emissions of the potent greenhouse gas—near the ground.

CT scan of a frog in vivid colors.

Museum spotlights reptiles and amphibians in incredible detail

Nov. 18, 2020

Ever want to see inside an iguana? A new project at the CU Museum of Natural History is collecting incredibly detailed images of specimens in its collection—including CT scans of their internal anatomy.

Bike lanes

How the COVID-19 pandemic can reshape our streets and relationship to cars

Nov. 17, 2020

In the spring of 2020, once-busy streets became quiet and empty. In many cities, pedestrians and bicycles filled city streets instead of cars. What could this mean for the future of our cities and transportation systems?

Bubble of expanding gas created by a supernova.

Tree rings may hold clues to earthly impacts of distant supernovas

Nov. 11, 2020

A very nearby supernova could wipe all life off the face of Earth. But even farther away events may still leave their mark on the planet, new research suggests.

Mushroom cloud expands over ocean

Scientists explore how to protect fisheries, food supply in event of nuclear war

Nov. 9, 2020

Well-managed, healthy fisheries could serve as an important source of food for people around the world in the event of a nuclear catastrophe, a new study finds.

Flour beetles

Tiny beetles a bellwether of ecological disruption by climate change

Oct. 19, 2020

New research shows that as species across the world adjust where they live in response to climate change, they will come into competition with other species that could hamper their ability to keep up with the pace of this change.

Strip mining

Unprecedented energy use since 1950 has transformed our planetary environment and humanity’s geologic footprint

Oct. 16, 2020

A new study makes clear the extraordinary speed and scale of increases in energy use, economic productivity and global population that have pushed the Earth towards a new geological epoch known as the Anthropocene.

Family in a park

Children heavily influenced by time in nature, social and emotional support

Oct. 1, 2020

CU Boulder Today spoke with Louise Chawla about how children are happier and more likely to protect the natural world when they have a greater connection to it, and the important role of social and emotional support from parents, peers and community in creating hope around issues like climate change.

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