Katarina Zimmer

2 weeks ago | nationalobserver.com | Katarina Zimmer

In 2023, a team of scientists and Deloitte consultants in the Netherlands projected future metal and coal demand under an ambitious scenario where humanity reaches net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. They found that, despite a more than sixfold increase in demand for energy-related metals - bringing the total up to just over 3 billion tons - total global ore extraction would decrease by a third because of the decline in coal mining.

3 weeks ago | bbc.com | Katarina Zimmer

Meet Siku, the itchy polar bear: How allergies are affecting animalsLincoln Park ZooSiku, a polar bear at Lincoln Park Zoo, developed allergies to various substances including human hair dander (Credit: Lincoln Park Zoo)It may be that zoo animals are so well cared for they develop allergies as a side effect. In 2018, staff at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago began to notice something unusual about a male polar bear named Siku. He was losing hair, revealing patches of black skin underneath.

4 weeks ago | grist.org | Katarina Zimmer

This story is part of the Grist series Unearthed: The Mining Issue, which examines the global race to extract critical minerals for the clean energy transition. As renewable energy gathers steam around the world, the harms of mining its mineral components continue to grow. On the environmental front, for example, there’s the destruction of Indonesian rainforests to mine nickel and the draining of precious South American groundwater reserves to obtain lithium.

4 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Katarina Zimmer

As renewable energy gathers steam around the world, the harms of mining its mineral components continue to grow. On the environmental front, for example, there’s the destruction of Indonesian rainforests to mine nickel and the draining of precious South American groundwater reserves to obtain lithium.

1 month ago | atmos.earth | Katarina Zimmer

Researchers debate what constitutes animal “language,” but one thing is clear: We’re not the only ones capable of complex communication. Japanese tits are very polite birds.