ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE
New study reveals hidden climate impact of energy-intensive water infrastructure
China’s water-supply systems are contributing to growing carbon emissions as the nation’s economy expands and relies more on energy-intensive sources such as desalination and large-scale water transfers, according to a recent research study published in Environmental Science and Ecotechnology.
The research, led by scientists from Hohai University, the Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, and the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, found that carbon emissions from China’s water supply infrastructure amounted to approximately 228 million metric tons of CO₂ by 2022. This figure reflects indirect emissions associated with electricity use and the increased use of energy-intensive water sources, even as the nation increases its share of clean energy.
Water supply systems are central to China’s urban development, but their high energy consumption has become a significant driver of carbon output, the authors said. The study highlights a paradox in China’s transition to cleaner energy: while renewable energy has helped mitigate emissions from power generation, the growth of energy-intensive water-intensive processes has increased overall emissions from the sector.
Using an analytical framework that included quantification, decomposition, and attribution stages, the researchers examined the complex links between economic growth and emissions in China’s water supply network. They identified a non-linear relationship between economic expansion and carbon emissions, with certain regions at risk of becoming locked into high-carbon water infrastructure patterns.
The study also found that economic development in one region can influence carbon outcomes in neighboring areas, underscoring the interconnected nature of China’s water and energy systems. This reveals how local economic growth patterns can have spillover effects on emissions beyond their borders.
“China’s water-supply carbon emissions are intricately linked to both local and regional economic dynamics,” said Zongzhi Wang, a…
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Microplastics in Plastic Bottles: Brian Kashman Highlights Why Bottled Water Isn’t the Solution
Bottled water has become an everyday item for millions, especially in the U.S., where perceptions of purity, safety, and convenience fuel its high demand. Marketing strategies have played a major role, often portraying bottled water as sourced from pristine natural environments, appealing to health-conscious consumers. However, the growing popularity…
The life of David Duong and his family is an American and Vietnamese success story, one built on both resilience in the face of challenges and a steady commitment to environmental service. After losing everything following the fall of Saigon in 1975, the Duong family moved across the sea and made a new home in San Francisco. Their experiences became the foundation for a multigenerational business in waste management and sustainability. Over the years, David’s eldest son, Michael Duong, began learning the company’s operations, while his siblings, Kristina and Victor, played crucial roles in financial management, community partnerships, and strategic growth. Together, they support a family mission that spans two continents.
Their journey of perseverance is chronicled in the documentary The King of Trash. The film captures the family’s impact in both the United States and Vietnam and shows how Michael, along with David’s siblings Kristina and Victor, carries forward the values that shaped the Duong family’s early years in San Francisco.
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New remote sensing approach reveals how forests have grown over more than 30 years and offers a powerful tool for climate science and policy
A collaborative international research effort has produced a new way to observe forest growth across large regions over extended time periods using satellite data. The work provides the first continuous record of annual forest canopy height, opening new avenues for tracking biomass accumulation, forest health, and the potential for global carbon storage.
Forests are vital to Earth’s carbon cycle and support diverse ecosystems, but understanding how they grow and change over decades has historically required costly and labor-intensive field measurements. Traditional forest maps provide snapshots rather than continuous growth patterns, limiting their usefulness for long-term analysis and policy planning.
New Satellite-Driven Forest Growth Data
Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of Copenhagen, and partner institutions used the Landsat satellite archive and advanced machine learning to reconstruct annual canopy height maps from 1986 through 2019. These maps were generated at 30-meter resolution and validated with airborne lidar measurements and national forest inventories to ensure accuracy.
This method uses a Random Forest machine learning model trained on existing global canopy height products to predict vertical forest growth patterns from satellite spectral data. The model showed consistent performance across different regions and decades.
The analysis revealed that forests in southern China have grown…
Scientists Discover DNA Switch in Tropical Butterflies That Influences Wing Patterns Based on Seasonal Temperatures
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Study finds that warming may lead to more intense but less regular rainfall across regions
By Yves Ducrot / Environmental ReporterA new scientific study examining Earth’s climate during an era of extreme ancient warmth has revealed insights that may foreshadow how rainfall patterns could change as the modern world continues to warm. Researchers reconstructed precipitation patterns during the Paleogene Period, 66 to 48 million years ago, when atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were significantly higher than today, to better understand how rainfall responds under high-temperature conditions.
Scientists from the University of Utah and the Colorado School of Mines used geological “proxies” such as plant fossils, soil chemistry, and river deposits to infer how rainfall behaved during this period. Their findings challenge a long-held assumption that a warmer world simply makes wet regions wetter and dry regions drier. Instead, rainfall became much less predictable, with long intervals of dryness punctuated by episodes of intense precipitation.
The study suggests that under extreme warming, mid-latitude and continental interior regions tended toward drier conditions overall, even as polar and tropical regions experienced wetter climates. This irregular pattern—with infrequent but heavy rainfall separated by extended dry spells—indicates that the timing and consistency of rain events may change in ways that are not captured by simply measuring average annual rainfall amounts.
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Dr. Alexander Everest situates the future of smart cities within a broader shift in how infrastructure, technology, and environmental responsibility are understood by engineers and policymakers. Urban systems now operate under intensifying pressure from population growth, climate volatility, and resource constraint. In this context, smart cities are not defined by novelty or automation alone. They are defined by the disciplined integration of digital systems into infrastructure that must perform reliably, equitably, and sustainably over decades.
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Urban infrastructure functions as an interconnected system. Transportation affects energy demand. Water management influences public health. Land use decisions shape emissions and mobility patterns. Technology enables these relationships to be modeled, measured, and managed as a unified whole. Smart cities succeed when digital capability supports systemic coherence rather than fragmented optimization.
Infrastructure as a Platform for Sustainability
Sustainable outcomes in urban environments depend on how smart city infrastructure…
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