Michael Allen’s Contributions:
Microplastic Exposure Breeds Antimicrobial Resistance
Laboratory research shows that someway, somehow, PVC plastic makes microbes more virulent and resilient.
Jun 26, 2023 | 500 words, about 2 minutes
Cities Are Rapidly Reclaiming Land at Risk of Extreme Sea Level Rise
People are building more and more land—a growing proportion of which is for luxury developments. It’s putting the rest of us at risk of flooding.
Apr 24, 2023 | 800 words, about 4 minutes
How Will Creatures That Can Barely Move Handle Climate Change?
Lots of species are being forced to move to escape the heat. Some just can’t move very far.
Feb 15, 2023 | 450 words, about 2 minutes
Don’t Overestimate Bioplastics’ Benefits
Bioplastics may avoid some of the issues associated with non-biodegradable fossil fuel–derived plastics, but they’re no panacea.
Jan 30, 2023 | 800 words, about 4 minutes
The Puerto Rican Plain Pigeon Can’t Take Another Big Hurricane
Hampered by habitat loss and besieged by climate change–boosted hurricanes, this Caribbean species may not survive the next big storm.
Sep 19, 2022 | 650 words, about 3 minutes
Restraining the Tide Exacerbates Climate Change
Blocking the flow of salt water can turn coastal wetlands into methane belchers.
Aug 24, 2022 | 750 words, about 3 minutes
Human Pathogens Are Hitching a Ride on Floating Plastic
Studies show that various human pathogens cling to microplastics in seawater.
Jul 27, 2022 | 750 words, about 3 minutes
How Urchins and the Blob Tag Teamed Kelp Forests
From 2013 to 2016, the Blob derailed the ecosystem in the northeast Pacific. Years later, scientists are still uncovering new consequences wrought by this extreme heatwave.
Jul 20, 2022 | 750 words, about 3 minutes
Coastal Cities Are Already Sinking
New satellite data shows that in many coastal cities around the world, land is subsiding even faster than sea level is rising.
Jun 6, 2022 | 550 words, about 2 minutes
Arctic Shipping Routes Are Expanding Faster than Predicted
As ice melts, navigable routes have opened in ways that were not expected until the middle of this century.
May 25, 2022 | 650 words, about 3 minutes
Adapting to Climate Change Will Only Get More Expensive
A new estimate puts the cost of adapting and repairing coastal infrastructure damaged by climate change in the United States at hundreds of billions annually. The sooner adaptation planning begins, the less expensive it will be.
Dec 16, 2021 | 700 words, about 3 minutes
The Future Is Full of Zombie Garbage
As the coast erodes, decades-old trash is coming out of the ground.
Dec 15, 2021 | 800 words, about 4 minutes
Trawlers Are Pushing into the High Arctic
With sea ice melting, fishing looks set to continue its expansion into previously inaccessible waters.
Jul 29, 2021 | 700 words, about 3 minutes
More Intense Marine Heatwaves Are Affecting Life on Land
In coastal cities, marine heatwaves in the adjacent ocean can cause the heat index, a measure of how hot it feels, to rise by several degrees.
Jul 12, 2021 | 550 words, about 2 minutes
Climate Change Is Sending Some Species the Wrong Way
Not every animal has the power to migrate to cooler climes.
Nov 23, 2020 | 450 words, about 2 minutes
Protection for the Rich, Retreat for the Poor
How the United States’ implementation of climate change adaptation programs is exacerbating inequality and breeding a new form of climate gentrification.
Oct 14, 2020 | 1,000 words, about 5 minutes
Plastics Are Messing with Fish Physiology
A systematic review exposes the dangers of tiny plastics and the hidden bias at the heart of plastic research.
Sep 2, 2020 | 550 words, about 2 minutes
What Goes Up Must Come Down
If companies fall for the appeal of cheap mercury as a satellite fuel, it would be disastrous for marine life.
May 13, 2020 | 850 words, about 4 minutes
Black Carbon Is Supercharging El Niño
The sooty pollutant spurs the development of more powerful El Niños, to potentially devastating effect.
Apr 22, 2020 | 400 words, about 2 minutes
Marine Worms Are Eating Plastic Now
In the burgeoning plastisphere, these worms are plastivores.
Aug 13, 2018 | 500 words, about 2 minutes
The Andean Condor’s 100-Kilometer Diet
Depleted marine mammals and an increasingly developed coastline mean these scavengers have to fly far to find food.
Jun 25, 2018 | 600 words, about 3 minutes
Reminder: Plastic Doesn’t Go in the Compost Bin
Plastic placed in organic waste bins is a sizable source of environmental plastic pollution.
Jun 4, 2018 | 700 words, about 3 minutes
Stopping Plastic Pollution with the Power of Bubbles
A new device seems to stop plastic in its tracks, but some are concerned about unintended environmental effects.
Dec 11, 2017 | 1,000 words, about 5 minutes
There’s Probably Plastic in Your Sea Salt
Now you can season your plastic-contaminated fish with plastic-contaminated sea salt.
May 8, 2017 | 550 words, about 2 minutes
Detoxing the Ocean
New technology could pull toxic metals out of contaminated water.
Apr 26, 2017 | 850 words, about 4 minutes
Worried About Marine Plastic? Try Eating Bottom Feeders
The risks marine plastics pose to fish and humans is still largely unknown.
Feb 17, 2016 | 450 words, about 2 minutes
There’s Probably Garbage in Your Fish
In Indonesia and the United States, fish are contaminated with human debris.
Nov 2, 2015 | 500 words, about 2 minutes