Hazards
Site news
-
Researchers found widespread deployment of technologies that pull carbon dioxide from industrial flues and ambient air would be much more expensive and damaging than a hypothetical worldwide switch to electricity and heat from renewable sources – if energy costs, emissions, and health impacts are all taken into account.
-
New research shows grain yields critical to India’s food security are dragged down 10% or more in many parts of the country by nitrogen dioxide pollution from power stations that run on coal. Economic losses from crop damages exceed $800 million per year.
-
Tiny fragments of plastic that fail to break down have pervaded our water, food, ecosystems, and the human body. Experts explain impacts on our long-term health and what can be done to address the problem on a broader scale.
-
A new study underscores the importance of transformative adaptation to create a more sustainable future for tribal nations.
-
Debbie Sivas discusses California's fire crisis and examines how climate change and urban development are making residents more susceptible to the dangers of fires.
-
In light of the Los Angeles-area wildfires, Stanford experts spanning the fields of environmental science, medicine, and public health discuss what we know about wildfires’ health impacts, what remains a mystery, and how communities can better protect themselves from the increasingly common threat.
-
Fast-moving wildfires in Los Angeles County have burned thousands of homes and killed at least 29 people amid fierce winds and dry conditions. Stanford-led research shows how wildfire risks are changing, illuminates connections to climate and health, and offers promising solutions.
-
For geophysicist Jenny Suckale, helping underserved communities navigate the extremes of climate change requires a new perspective on both.
-
Our list includes a mix of favorites, high-impact stories, and some of our most-read research coverage from the past year.
-
Rainy days are becoming less frequent but more intense across much of the planet because of climate change. Even in years with similar rainfall totals, plants fare differently when rain falls in fewer, bigger bursts, a new study shows.
-
Stephen Luby and Jenna Forsyth have spent years examining the widespread presence of lead, including in some commonly consumed products. They discuss the prevalence of lead and share insights on food safety policies, education, and lead-free alternatives.
-
A new play combines science and art to raise awareness about overlooked climate impacts and spark conversations to identify solutions.
-
Stanford’s campus has become a living lab for testing innovative fire management techniques, from research on wildfire exposure risks to a cross-campus competition for students to develop wildfire-related solutions.
-
U.S. tropical cyclones, including hurricanes, indirectly cause thousands of deaths for nearly 15 years after a storm. Understanding why could help minimize future deaths from hazards fueled by climate change.
-
The Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment recently hosted a first-of-its-kind “boot camp” in which congressional staffers got a crash course from experts in climate, forestry, fire science, utilities, insurance, and other wildfire-related topics.
-
Researchers have developed a sprayable gel that creates a shield to protect buildings from wildfire damage. It lasts longer and is more effective than existing commercial options.
-
Researchers at Stanford and Colorado State University used machine learning to determine how much global warming has influenced extreme weather events in the U.S. and elsewhere in recent years. Their approach could change how scientists study and predict the impact of climate change on extreme weather.
-
New research underscores the close relationship between dust plumes transported from the Sahara Desert in Africa and rainfall from tropical cyclones along the U.S. Gulf Coast and Florida.
-
Stanford researchers are working to reveal secrets of a massive, intricate underground fungal network. The resulting knowledge could help scientists engineer fungi-plant interaction to store large amounts of carbon underground and break down toxins, such as plastics and pesticides, among other advances.
-
A new study reveals social factors that increase the risk of dying from air pollution and finds stark racial disparities.
-
Supported by a Sustainability Accelerator grant, a multidisciplinary team is exploring policy options such as prescribed burning with the goal of reducing wildfire risk in California.
-
Researchers and collaborators in a densely populated California floodplain developed a way to help planners see how infrastructure designs, sea-level rise, and severe storms fueled by climate change will affect flood risk at the local level.
-
Severe wildfires can drive chemical changes in soil that affect ecosystem recovery and risks to human health. A new study finds broader surveillance and modeling of these changes could inform strategies for protecting lives, property, and natural resources, and managing wildlife.
-
A new white paper from Stanford researchers analyzes Western investor-owned utilities’ wildfire mitigation plans, highlighting those that are leading the way and identifying steps utilities with exposure to wildfire risk should be taking.