Google AI
NewsPronto

 

USA Conversation

The Conversation USA

The Conversation USA

Beavers offer lessons about managing water in a changing climate, whether the challenge is drought or floods

  • Written by: Christine E. Hatch, Professor of Geosciences, UMass Amherst
imageWetlands created by beavers, like this one in Amherst, Massachusetts, store floodwaters and provide habitat for animals and birds.Christine Hatch, CC BY-ND

It’s no accident that both the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the California Institute of Technology claim the beaver (Castor canadensis) as their mascots. Renowned engineers,...

Read more: Beavers offer lessons about managing water in a changing climate, whether the challenge is drought...

More Articles …

  1. Why getting Congress to fund help for US children in poverty is so hard to do
  2. How the pandemic's unequal toll on people of color underlines US health inequities – and why solving them is so critical
  3. CORBEVAX, a new patent-free COVID-19 vaccine, could be a pandemic game changer globally
  4. What 13th-century Christian theologian Thomas Aquinas can teach us about hope in times of despair
  5. What causes a tsunami? An ocean scientist explains the physics of these destructive waves
  6. Batteries get hyped, but pumped hydro provides the vast majority of long-term energy storage essential for renewable power – here’s how it works
  7. State efforts to close the K-12 digital divide may come up short
  8. The omicron variant is deepening severe staffing shortages in medical laboratories across the US
  9. Microsoft purchase of Activision Blizzard won't clean up gamer culture overnight: 5 essential reads about sexual harassment and discrimination in gaming and tech
  10. Yes, it's easier to get birth control than it was in the 1970s – but women still need abortion care
  11. Taliban 2.0 aren't so different from the first regime, after all
  12. More than masks and critical race theory – 3 tasks you should be prepared to do before you run for school board
  13. Sperm donation is largely unregulated, but that could soon change as lawsuits multiply
  14. Why massive new youth sports facilities may not lead to the tourist boom many communities hope for when they build them
  15. Fact-checking may be important, but it won't help Americans learn to disagree better
  16. These machines scrub greenhouse gases from the air – an inventor of direct air capture technology shows how it works
  17. How 'mechanical trees' pull carbon dioxide from the air and lock it away – an inventor of direct air capture tech explains
  18. Why do plants grow straight?
  19. Building machines that work for everyone – how diversity of test subjects is a technology blind spot, and what to do about it
  20. Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.: 5 things I've learned curating the MLK Collection at Morehouse College
  21. What Supreme Court's block of vaccine mandate for large businesses will mean for public health: 4 questions answered
  22. Colleges accused of conspiring to make low-income students pay more
  23. The #BettyWhiteChallenge highlights the growth of animal philanthropy and the role of rescues
  24. What made Bob Saget's Danny Tanner so different from other sitcom dads
  25. Seditious conspiracy charge against Oath Keepers founder and others in Jan. 6 riot faces First Amendment hurdle
  26. Civil war in the US is unlikely because grievance doesn't necessarily translate directly into violence
  27. Sugar detox? Cutting carbs? A doctor explains why you should keep fruit on the menu
  28. The metaverse is money and crypto is king – why you'll be on a blockchain when you're virtual-world hopping
  29. With fewer animals to spread their seeds, plants could have trouble adapting to climate change
  30. Ocean temperatures are at record levels, with major consequences
  31. Ocean heat is at record levels, with major consequences
  32. Racial and ethnic diversity is lacking among nonprofit leaders – but there are ways to change that
  33. Inflation inequality: Poorest Americans are hit hardest by soaring prices on necessities
  34. Tackling 2022 with hope: 5 essential reads
  35. When meeting someone new, try skirting the small talk and digging a little deeper
  36. Beyond social mobility, college students value giving back to society
  37. Making sugar, making 'coolies': Chinese laborers toiled alongside Black workers on 19th-century Louisiana plantations
  38. How the Vietnam War pushed MLK to embrace global justice, not only civil rights at home
  39. A 21st-century reinvention of the electric grid is crucial for solving the climate change crisis
  40. 'Southern hospitality' doesn't always apply to Black people, as revealed in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery
  41. Ethical US consumers struggled to pressure the sugar industry to abandon slavery with less success than their British counterparts
  42. Radicalization pipelines: How targeted advertising on social media drives people to extremes
  43. What is wishcycling? Two waste experts explain
  44. The COVID-19 pandemic has inspired new health habits for these 4 scholars – here's what they put into practice and why
  45. The battles over voting rights, preventing fraud and access to ballots – 5 essential reads
  46. Why the US cares about what happens in Kazakhstan – 5 questions answered by former ambassador
  47. Confused by what your doctor tells you? A new study discovers how communication gaps between doctors and patients can be cured
  48. The Great Resignation: Historical data and a deeper analysis show it’s not as great as screaming headlines suggest
  49. How does excess sugar affect the developing brain throughout childhood and adolescence? A neuroscientist who studies nutrition explains
  50. Prosecuting Trump would inevitably be political -- and other countries have had mixed success in holding ex-presidents accountable