Observations from the Little Bunker
A systematic observation of climate change, extreme weather events, and their cascading effects on society
🌍 Latest Environmental Observations
Universal relation between spectral and wavefunction properties at criticality
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 6, February 2026. SignificanceAn important role in physics research is to uncover universal properties of...
Evidence for the earliest hominin use of wooden handheld tools found at Marathousa 1 (Greece)
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 6, February 2026. SignificanceThe specimens presented here represent the earliest known handheld wooden tools, recovered...
India has big plans to remove silt from rivers—and scientists are alarmed
Dredging and mining sediments increases flood risks and threatens infrastructure, researchers say
Early-life heat exposure increases risk of neurodevelopmental delay in preschool children
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 11 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02560-wThe authors use data from over 100,000 children (3–5.5 years old) across 551 Chinese cities, to show...
Discrepancies in national inventories reveal a large emissions gap in the wastewater sector
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 11 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-025-02540-6The wastewater sector is a major source of non-CO2 emissions, but accurate emissions accounting remains challenging, despite...
Stephen P. Long: Visionary, teacher, and doer
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 6, February 2026. Stephen Long pioneered a multidisciplinary approach to advance our knowledge of photosynthesis,...
How earthquakes organize stress
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 6, February 2026. SignificanceEarthquakes organize the stress in the crust by redistributing it through slip...
Inconsistent national reports undercount wastewater emissions
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 11 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02555-7National greenhouse gas inventories systematically undercount methane and nitrous oxide emissions from wastewater due to outdated methods...
Heat exposure disrupts brain development
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 11 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02564-6Early life stages are particularly critical for human brain development. A large-scale study in China shows that...
Point of no return: a hellish ‘hothouse Earth’ getting closer, scientists say
Continued global heating could set irreversible course by triggering climate tipping points, but most people unaware The world is closer than thought to a “point...
Accelerated Global Warming Could Lock Earth Into a Hothouse Future
Scientists say warming is increasing faster than at any time in at least 3 million years. There is no guide for what comes next.By Bob...
Cropped 11 February 2026: Aftershocks of US withdrawals | Biodiversity and business risks | Deep-sea mining tensions
We handpick and explain the most important stories at the intersection of climate, land, food and nature over the past fortnight. This is an online...
Projecting nitrous oxide over the 21st century, uncertainty related to stratospheric loss
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 6, February 2026. SignificanceProjecting atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) abundance is critical for climate and ozone...
In This Issue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 6, February 2026.
As the Trump EPA Prepares to Revoke Key Legal Finding on Climate Change, What Happens Next?
Four questions on repeal of its 2009 endangerment finding on greenhouse gasesBy Marianne LavelleFollowing three of the warmest years on record, as scientists reckon with...
Q&A: New UK onshore wind and solar is ‘50% cheaper’ than new gas
The UK government has secured a record 7.4 gigawatts (GW) of solar, onshore wind and tidal power in its latest auction for new renewable capacity....
IPBES chair Dr David Obura: Trump’s US exit from global nature panel ‘harms everybody’
The Trump administration’s decision to withdraw the US from the intergovernmental science panel for nature “harms everybody, including them”, according to its chair. Dr David...
Toxic Beauty: Black Women Most at Risk from Harmful Chemicals in Unregulated Hair Products
Hair extensions used primarily by Black women contain a “shocking” range of dangerous chemicals, including breast carcinogens, new research shows.By Liza GrossElissia Franklin is an...
Climate change made ‘fire weather’ in Chile and Argentina three times more likely
The hot, dry and windy weather preceding the wildfires that tore through Chile and Argentina last month was made around three times more likely due to...
Climate crisis linked to fall in southern right whale birth rates as researchers raise ‘warning signal’
Lead author of Australian study says breeding slowdown is linked to climate-driven changes in ‘magnificent’ whale’s foraging groundsGet our breaking news email, free app or...
Pennsylvania County Denies Rezoning Plan That Would Have Allowed a Data Center
Activists say the decision is the latest sign of growing grassroots opposition to the industry in the U.S.By Jon HurdleA Pennsylvania county on Tuesday rejected...
Gwich’in fight to protect caribou from Alaska oil development
The Bureau of Land Management opened nominations last week for the first-ever oil and gas lease auction in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR,...
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