Earth Wise

Randy Simon

4.7 (16)
SCIENCE
UPDATED DAILY

From green business and new environmental legislation to how nature impacts our environment in ways never before considered, Earth Wise offers a look at our changing environment.

2D AGO

Sand crime

Sand mining is the second most widespread human activity in marine environments after fishing. In fact, sand is second only to water as a natural resource used by humans. Currently, around 40 billion tons of sand is mined every year. The greatest use for sand is as a component of concrete, mortar, asphalt, and fill. But sand is also used for manufacturing glass, silicon chips for electronics, and metal castings, as well as for filtration, landscaping, and abrasives. Sand is a cornerstone of modern society.

2 min
3D AGO

Ammonia as fuel

Ammonia is produced on a massive scale around the world. Over 250 million tons of it were manufactured in 2023. Eighty percent of it is used as fertilizer, but ammonia is also used for the production of plastics, fibers, explosives, nitric acid, and for the manufacture of dyes and pharmaceuticals.

2 min
4D AGO

Exercise and air pollution

Climate change is making air quality worse in many parts of the world. Rising temperatures increase ground-level ozone and more frequent wildfires release harmful smoke and particulates into the air. These shifts, together with ongoing pollution from vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions, are leading to longer and more intense episodes of unhealthy air.

2 min
5D AGO

Disappearing beaches

Coastal ecosystems are undergoing a process known as a coastal squeeze. Beaches face a combination of rising sea levels caused by climate change and reductions caused by expanding development in coastal zones. Between the two forces, beaches are gradually being eaten away. According to research by a marine scientist in Uruguay, almost half of the beaches in the world could disappear by the end of this century.

2 min
6D AGO

Harvesting water from the air

The air contains water. We call it humidity. Even in the desert, there is water in the air. Scientists have been working on ways to squeeze water out of the air to produce clean drinking water. They have developed a number of sorbent materials that harvest water from the air. The process is called atmospheric water harvesting, or AWH.

2 min
12/26/2025

The source of sargassum

Each summer, vast quantities of Sargassum seaweed spread across the tropical Atlantic and foul the coasts of the Caribbean Islands, the Gulf of Mexico, and northern South America. The Sargassum is not only bad for tourism, it also disrupts ecosystems by providing massive amounts of food for many marine species, upsetting the balance of those systems.

2 min
12/25/2025

Environmentally-friendly cement

Concrete is the most abundant manufactured material in the world. It is primarily composed of water, cement, and aggregate (sand and gravel.) Cement manufacturing is responsible for about 8% of the world’s total CO2 emissions, primarily a result of the chemical reaction of heating limestone and the combustion of fossil fuels used to provide the heat.

2 min
12/24/2025

Satellite pollution

Ten years ago, there were about 1,200 satellites in orbit around the earth. Now there are about 12,000 and the numbers are growing rapidly. Starlink alone has 9,000 satellites in its communications swarm and may in a few years have as many as 42,000. By 2040, there may be more than 100,000 active satellites circling Earth.

2 min

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4.7

out of 5

16 Ratings

From green business and new environmental legislation to how nature impacts our environment in ways never before considered, Earth Wise offers a look at our changing environment.