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A new analysis by researchers from 15 institutions evaluates barriers that have hindered the implementation of early warning systems intended to help local health officials predict and proactively respond to outbreaks of climate-related diseases in the Tropics. The researchers use knowledge and tools from the field of implementation science to propose a four-step, science-based framework for overcoming these barriers and enhancing the success of the early warning systems.

The five-year grant renewal will support five new or newly refocused research projects investigating the long-term health impacts of early-life exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and toxic metals such as lead, which are two of the most common classes of hazardous contaminants found today in areas with a legacy of industrial pollution.

In Sri Lanka, a rash of kidney disease is affecting farmers who grow rice in marshy parts of the island. Nishad Jayasundara is working with an interdisciplinary team of environmental and health researchers to unravel how climate change and water contamination may be driving the rise in kidney problems.

Get connected with what’s happening in the Duke climate community during special events held Sept. 29-30, 2022.

Fossil-fueled electrical grid’s enormous water use is often overlooked.

Climate change threatens species worldwide. At the Nicholas School, we’re creating new geospatial tools that boost their odds of survival.

Rewetting and restoring 250,000 acres of southern pocosin peatlands that had been drained for farming but now lie fallow could prevent 4.3 million tons of climate-warming carbon dioxide, now stored in their soils, from oxidizing and escaping back into Earth’s atmosphere each year, a 91�������� study shows. That amount equals 2.4% of the total annual reductions in CO2 emissions needed for the United States to be carbon neutral by 2050.

The sustainability of North American forests depends on trees’ ability to produce seeds and seedlings that can survive and grow in a changing climate. A new 91��������-led research initiative with more than $2 million in funding from the National Science Foundation aims to help boost their odds of success.

Researchers at 91�������� have received a $248,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to study PFAS exposure risks in the home environment.

Firefighters have a 9 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer and a 14 percent higher risk of dying from the disease than the general adult U.S. population, according to studies by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and other agencies.

Slashing emissions of carbon dioxide by itself isn’t enough to prevent catastrophic global warming, a new study shows. But if we simultaneously also reduce emissions of methane and other often overlooked climate pollutants, we could cut the rate of global warming in half by 2050 and give the world a fighting chance.

Kate Hoffman, an assistant research professor at 91��������’s Nicholas School of the Environment, has received a $3.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the impact of early-life exposures to semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) on neonatal and early childhood immune function.

Human activities such as marsh draining for agriculture and logging are increasingly eating away at saltwater and freshwater wetlands that cover only 1% of Earth’s surface but store more than 20% of all the climate-warming carbon dioxide absorbed by ecosystems worldwide. A new study published May 5 in Science by a team of Dutch, American and German scientists shows that it’s not too late to reverse the losses.

A forest’s ability to regenerate after devastating wildfires, droughts or other disturbances depends largely on seed production. Findings from two new studies led by 91�������� researchers could boost recovery and replanting after these disasters by providing foresters with new guidance on which tree species produce more seeds and how their productivity can vary from location to location.

Duke has a goal of being a “climate university,” Nicholas School of Environment Dean Toddi Steelman said in introducing a panel discussion on Climate Change Science during Research Week. She said it’s a vision in which the university’s focus on climate informs every aspect of its mission, from education and operations to community partnerships – and, of course, research.