Emma Bryce
Verified
As seen in:
Anthropocene Magazine,
Medium,
MSN,
MSN Ireland,
MSN UK,
The New York Times,
Yahoo Life,
Fox News,
The Guardian,
The Washington Post,
Yahoo Canada
and
Find me on Bluesky @emmaanne.bsky.social
Environment journalist, clips in @guardian @DialogueEarth_ @AnthropoceneMag @sciam @WiredUK
Articles by Emma Bryce
Solar panels could cool down farms—and farmworkers
Liberal View Now Pete Hegseth Is Too Egotistical to Know How Incompetent He Is newrepublic.com - Brynn Tannehill • 49m Brutal news accounts this week provide more proof of what we already knew: The chaos he’s creating is making the country weaker, not stronger.
How decoding beluga whales’ chitchat may save them – and teach us more about ourselves
In 2015, the whale researcher Valeria Vergara pitched a small tent at the icy water’s edge on Somerset Island in the remote Canadian high Arctic, shrouded in a freezing fog so thick she struggled to see her own hands. She trailed a cord out to the coast and plopped a hydrophone into the water to record the calls of belugas. As many as 1,000 of the whales, accompanied by their newborn calves, frequented the surrounding bay.
US aiming to weaken global limits on plastic production Original
Let us read it for you. Listen now. Your browser does not support the audio element. The United States has doubled down on its opposition to plastic production limits in global treaty talks, according to a diplomatic memo reviewed by The Washington Post, pushing to create a broad loophole to disregard the treaty on national security grounds.
Leaked memo shows how U.S. aims to weaken global limits on plastic pollution
The United States has doubled down on its opposition to plastic production limits in global treaty talks, according to a diplomatic memo reviewed by the Washington Post, pushing to create a broad loophole to disregard the treaty on national security grounds.
Leaked memo shows how U.S. aims to weaken global limits on plastic pollution
WORLD Conor McGlone, Jake Spring, Emma Bryce, Benard Ogembo The Washington Post Aug. 24, 2026, 9:26 a.m. ET View Comments The United States has doubled down on its opposition to plastic production limits in global treaty talks, according to a diplomatic memo reviewed by The Washington Post, pushing to create a broad loophole to disregard the treaty on national security grounds.
Leaked memo shows how US aims to weaken global limits on plastic pollution
; ; ; ; Continue reading More for You Continue reading More for You
Leaked memo shows how U.S. aims to weaken global limits on plastic production Original
Leaked memo shows how U.S. aims to weaken global limits on plastic production (washingtonpost.com) Leaked memo shows how U.S. aims to weaken global limits on plastic production By Conor McGlone; Jake Spring; Emma Bryce; Benard Ogembo 2026082409020400 The United States has doubled down on its opposition to plastic production limits in global treaty talks, according to a diplomatic memo reviewed by The Washington Post, pushing to create a broad loophole to disregard the treaty on national...
Leaked memo shows how U.S. aims to weaken global limits on plastic pollution
Politics 2 hours ago How Trump's foreign policy is affecting America's relationship with its allies NPR - Leila Fadel • 2h NPR's Leila Fadel asks New York Times White House correspondent Peter Baker for his analysis of President Trump's foreign policy. Middle East 1 day ago Trump has ‘run out of options’ in Iran war: Stephen Walt Al Jazeera • 1d Political scientist Stephen Walt says President Donald Trump promised to make the US stronger, but many of his policies are making it weaker.
Recycling food waste has a huge climate upside and a surprising downside.
8 hours ago How ultra-processed is the built world around us? The answer, for now at least, is very. Highly manufactured building materials, many of them chemically engineered, reign supreme in modern construction. From our homes and offices to schools and hospitals, we are surrounded by polymers, sealants, …
Who are the least-contacted people on Earth?
Baker Boy has swept the 2026 National Indigenous Music Awards. The Yolŋu rapper took home Album of the Year with DJANDJAY on Saturday night at the …
As plastic talks move behind closed doors, observers worry
Last year, attempts to achieve a global treaty on plastic pollution stalled, as 183 nations reached an impasse on whether to cut plastic production, and other issues. As negotiations resume, representatives from some countries and civil society groups are concerned they will exclude voices calling for stronger action.
As plastic talks move behind closed doors, observers worry
Conor McGlone is a London-based investigative journalist covering the environment, climate and sustainability. His reporting focuses on plastics, waste, pollution and environmental governance, with work published by The Guardian, DeSmog, The Independent and ENDS Report. Benard Ogembo is a freelance investigative journalist and trained media professional based in Kenya. He has been reporting on plastic pollution and solutions for years.
Sperm whales change ‘vowel’ sounds when boats are nearby, scientists discover
Sperm whales produce a specific pattern of clicking noises when they hear the noise of boats, researchers have found. The pattern is so distinct that the scientists who identified it said they can now use it to predict when ships are nearby. Researchers from Project Ceti (the Cetacean Translation Initiative), a non-profit research organisation working to decode sperm whale communication, spent four years tuning in on the calls of 15 sperm whales off the coast of Dominica.
The floating answer to the green steel challenge
One company trying to change this picture is Nordic Circles. The Norwegian enterprise has developed a method to harvest the highest-quality steel plates from ships and sell them directly on to the construction industry after being cleaned and cut to size, with no smelting or processing required. The rest they sell to electric arc furnaces in Europe.
The floating answer to the green steel challenge
Rushi Kanakiya recycles ships from a 50-metre beachside plot overlooking the sea in Alang, India. Since 1985 his family enterprise, Triveni Shipbreakers, has been receiving and dismantling old vessels here, in the world’s largest ship-breaking yard. Triveni is capable of processing some 2,000 metric tonnes of steel every month. There is a mind-boggling amount of steel locked up in ships: over 500 million tonnes by one estimate from 2019.
Icy winters are no match for these floating solar panels
Large solar arrays take up valuable space on land. So many nations are floating the idea of, well, floating solar panels on water bodies such as lakes and reservoirs. But the technology is generally discussed for warmer climates. The presumption is that icy conditions would impact the panels’ supporting structures. A new study refutes that notion.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
Coffee is one of the most widely-consumed drinks worldwide. The unfortunate side effect of this huge global appetite is a considerable agricultural footprint—as well as the large amounts of energy required to heat water and percolate beans to brew this beloved drink. But now researchers have jumped this heating hurdle with an innovative and surprising new brewing method: they’ve made espresso from room-temperature water, using ultrasonic sound waves.
New US dietary guidelines would worsen carbon emissions and land use
Lithium in old batteries. Cobalt in discarded electronics. The rare earths in retired wind turbines. A landmark EU-funded study finds these buried materials could supply over half of what the clean energy economy will need.
The warming risk hiding in chemicals needed to keep cool
Air conditioning and heat pumps are spreading around the world as people try to manage rising heat using technology. Cooling is increasingly vital to safeguard human health – especially in urban environments in the Global South – and heat pumps can also aid the fight against climate change, often by replacing fossil-fuelled boilers. No expert Dialogue Earth spoke to is opposed to their rollout, but some researchers worry there may be a hidden cost to the advance.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
Farm soils are notoriously abused under conventional agriculture: they are dug up and turned over, compacted, dried out, and heaped with synthetic fertilizers. But, there’s a potential silver lining to this intensive management: all that prodding and poking may have made soil microbes on farms more resilient to climate change.
The warming risk hiding in chemicals needed to keep cool
Air conditioning and heat pumps are spreading around the world as people try to manage rising heat using technology. Cooling is increasingly vital to safeguard human health – especially in urban environments in the Global South – and heat pumps can also aid the fight against climate change, often by replacing fossil-fuelled boilers. This is a CATCH story This story is part of Dialogue Earth’s work on the Community Adaptations to City Heat (CATCH) project, in partnership with Boston University.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
Cement is one of the world’s most commonly used manmade materials. It is also one of the largest industrial sources of carbon dioxide; producing cement generates about 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions. In a new paper in the journal ACS Energy Letters, researchers report a new kind of cement that cuts energy use by 70% and carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 98% compared with traditional cement-making methods.
Grünes Wissen : Mikroplastik: Was es bringt, die Waschmaschine mit einem Filter nachzurüsten
Die britische Firma Matter Industries hat ein System entwickelt, um den privaten Waschgang umweltfreundlicher zu machen.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
The only thing standing between wastewater and its new life as a nutrient-rich fertilizer may be streams of tiny, tiny bubbles. This is the novel takeaway from a recent study which focuses on an emerging new approach: plasma bubble technology. This technology can purify water, while retaining its crop-benefiting nutrients. What’s more, when researchers tested the resulting purified and concentrated feed on hydroponic garlic crops, they noted that the plants had notably faster and healthier growth.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
Solar power is on the rise around the world as the cost of solar panels goes down and societal acceptance of the technology rises. The world added record-breaking solar power installations in 2025, and capacity is expected to more than double in the next five years, according to the International Energy Agency. But there’s one inescapable issue darkening the skies for the transition to clean solar energy: dirty coal plants.
Can people catch infections from plants?
Underwater robot stalks barracuda for 10 minutes – and discovers this Experts say footage recorded by the underwater robot will make it easier to discover and study unexplored coral reefs around the world. Researchers …
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
Wine is one of the most delicious agricultural products worldwide, but it leaves behind a less delectable trail: millions of tons of wasted skins, seeds, and flesh. Now a team of researchers has landed on a circular economy solution for these mounds of mush. They say it can be used as a replacement antibiotic on chicken farms, working almost as well as the real thing.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
Nature is full of fascinating creatures that produce light. From fireflies putting on mesmerizing summer displays to fish that glow eerily in the depths of the ocean, this bioluminescence is a result of chemical reactions that produce flashes of light. In a new study published in the journal Science Advances, researchers have harnessed bioluminescent sea-dwelling algae to produce a light source that glows blue without the need for electricity or toxic chemicals.
‘You have to be where the pollution is’: the inventor hoping to fix your washing machine to stop microplastics
The dinky device slots seamlessly into the modest space above my washing machine. A pipe snakes down from it, drawing in wastewater from my clothes washes. At the end of each wash cycle, the machine makes a polite whirring noise: that’s the sound of the groundbreaking bit of technology working, according to its inventor, Adam Root. That invention is a microplastics filter.
Norway puts UN project funding on hold raising fears for plastics treaty talks
The largest donor to the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) has paused funding to the body before its revised budget on 12 May, triggering concern among member states and NGOs. The news could carry significance for the already troubled plastic treaty negotiations being overseen by Unep.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
A new study reveals the remarkable power of seaweed to clean—and in some cases entirely eradicate—fish waste from aquaculture. In the new work based out of the University of Miami, Florida, researchers tested out the abilities of several seaweed species to clean water polluted with fish effluent.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
Every year, the forestry and timber industries produce vast quantities of tree bark as a byproduct. Most of this material is burned, discarded, or left to decompose. At the same time, there is an urgent need to develop scalable and affordable technologies to capture carbon dioxide.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
Several studies show that biochar can benefit soil. Now, new research shows one crucial way it appears to do that: by supporting ants which were found to build stronger, more complex colonies in the presence of this soil improver. But as the new study shows, there’s also a trade-off: too much biochar, and ants go into a decline. This is the first study to examine the effects of biochar on “large soil fauna” like these, looking beyond just microbes and agricultural yields, the researchers say.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
A new device captures greenhouse gases and pollutants from the atmosphere and produces electricity. The battery-like device produces enough power for small sensors and Bluetooth Internet-of-Things gizmos. “This work introduces a simple, scalable, self-powered platform that integrates gas capture with electricity generation,” write researchers from Korea in the journal Energy & Environmental Science. They call the device a Gas Capture and Electricity Generator.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
Researchers have developed a novel fresh produce wash that removes up to 93% of pesticides from the surface and doubles as a preservative, keeping fruit fresher for days longer than normal. What’s more, the wash is mostly made up of biodegradable starch. Pesticides are often loaded onto fruit and veg and even with regulation, it can be hard to keep amounts in check.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
There are several technologies out there that harvest the sun’s boundless energy. Solar panels soak up solar energy and convert it to electricity, while solar thermal systems use mirror-like contraptions to collect sunshine to heat water or living spaces. But there aren’t any efficient ways to store solar heat for days or weeks. Now, researchers at the University of California Santa Barbara have come up with a way to do that.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
Human and livestock waste holds a wealth of untapped nutrients. Now, a team of researchers have analyzed precisely how much, finding that mining these nutrients from waste could meet all the nitrogen needs and half the phosphorus needs on US farms, amounting to billions in value and reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
Some plastics are notoriously difficult to break down and recycle: think nylon textiles and polyurethane foams. Researchers have now developed solar-powered reactor transforms the waste plastic into clean hydrogen fuel and useful industrial chemicals. Detailed in the journal Joule, the method relies on acid from spent car batteries, offering a route to tackle two waste streams at once.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
“It wasn’t that long ago that if you asked anybody to reach into their back pocket to fund some sort of insurance program, they’d have told you to bog off. Because insurance, obviously, is a venal activity, and we all hate it!” This is Julian Roberts, the head of risk and analytics at the insurance broker Willis Towers Watson. Setting aside the provocation, he continues in a more introspective vein.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
Incorporating trees onto cropland can sequester large amounts of carbon—but the most striking benefits are felt in farmers’ wallets, according to study from India. It found that mixed croplands interspersed with fruit trees were five times more profitable than conventional annual cropping systems. The study took place in the semi-arid Vindhyan region of India characterized by low rainfall and generally poor soil quality, according to the study authors.
Fruit trees turn marginal farms into carbon sinks and cash machines
7 hours ago A farming family in one of the most remote corners of England say they have become almost "cut off" by the state of the road to their home. The Byatt family, who live at Philhope Farm, in Upper Coquetdale in Northumberland, said the unclassified route along the valley was "the worst it's ever …
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
In a sustainable twist to the saying “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” researchers in Hawaii are developing a method to convert discarded fishing nets and plastic trash into asphalt roads. Their early tests show that incorporating recycled plastic into asphalt is technically viable and bears minimal risk of shedding microplastics that could end up in the oceans.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
By lifting a gene from wild rice and breeding it into domestic crops, researchers have created a perennial crop that can live for two years or more. That could lead to rice that can produce several yields from one plant—reducing fertilizer use, locking carbon into the soil, and more. Despite this, the researchers’ task isn’t complete: the longer-lasting rice plants don’t yet produce extra grain. But their survivability is considered a huge step towards that goal.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
Efforts to mitigate climate change could unexpectedly increase global hunger levels by making food more expensive. But, if the ozone-reducing benefits of climate action are factored in, it could curb world hunger by a substantial 15%, a new study says. This ozone-reducing element has been overlooked in most research exploring the climate mitigation impact on food availability—and that’s where the new Nature Food research comes in.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
It’s probably not what most tennis players are thinking about as they focus on the ball whizzing over the net towards them, but the court they are playing tennis on could be playing a role in combating climate change. A new study has found that tennis courts made of green clay are able to absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide via a process called enhanced rock weathering. In the US alone, green clay courts sequester more than 25,000 metric tons of CO2 per year.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
Alongside agriculture’s growing productivity worldwide, planet-scale farmland emissions have come down. In fact, increasing the yields on farms may be crucial to avoiding emissions. This seeming contradiction is the core finding from an ambitious study that set out to understand global patterns of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture over the past 60 years.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
Manufacturing food, chemicals, cement, and steel requires heat, and lots of it. Nearly all of this heat today comes from burning fossil fuels. Industrial heating contributes about 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Using clean electricity to produce industrial heat could make a big dent in those emissions. And researchers at Rice University have now made the transition more feasible.
Microsoft Cares About Your Privacy Surfing's big break: How climate crisis insurance may save El Salvador's waves
Use precise geolocation data and actively scan device characteristics for identification. This is done to store and access information on a device and to provide personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development. List of partners (vendors) In the late 1990s in El Salvador, Rodrigo Barraza went in search of every surfer's dream: a pristine wave, far from the crowds.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
Researchers may have hit on a formula for making two of the world’s most beloved foods even more delectable. By mixing cocoa shells with honey, they have created a heart-healthy product from chocolate industry waste. The unusual fusion emerged from Brazil, where a large cocoa-growing industry produces vast amounts of cocoa bean husks that end up as waste.
Nonprofit journalism dedicated to creating a Human Age we actually want to live in.
New resins made from sawdust, straw, and other woody waste could be up to 76% stronger than the fossil‑based glues that hold together strong, lightweight materials used in the construction, transportation, and renewable energy industries. The sustainable glue alternatives could make it easier to recycle the heaps of trash produced by those industries.
Show More
loading
Actions
Get in touch with Emma
Contact Emma, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack