Reference Terms
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Fossil fuel
Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons, primarily coal, fuel oil or natural gas, formed from the remains of dead plants and animals. In common dialogue, the term fossil fuel also includes hydrocarbon-containing natural resources that are not derived from animal or plant sources. These are sometimes known instead as mineral fuels. The utilization of fossil fuels has enabled large-scale industrial development and largely supplanted water-driven mills, as well as the combustion of wood or peat for heat. Fossil fuel is a general term for buried combustible geologic deposits of organic materials, formed from decayed plants and animals that have been converted to crude oil, coal, natural gas, or heavy oils by exposure to heat and pressure in the earth's crust over hundreds of millions of years. The burning of fossil fuels by humans is the largest source of emissions of carbon dioxide, which is one of the greenhouse gases that allows radiative forcing and contributes to global warming. A small portion of hydrocarbon-based fuels are biofuels derived from atmospheric carbon dioxide, and thus do not increase the net amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
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Earth & Climate News
June 24, 2026
June 23, 2026 Researchers found that highly drug-resistant bacteria from hospitals are also resistant to glyphosate, a commonly used weedkiller. The discovery suggests that agricultural herbicides may be helping ...
June 22, 2026 Trees planted to protect farmland from wind may not be the biodiversity boost many assume. In Japan’s wetland farming landscapes, shelterbelts benefited some birds but sharply reduced grassland and wetland species that need open space. Researchers ...
June 21, 2026 Freshwater lakes across North America and Europe are becoming noticeably browner, reducing underwater visibility and reshaping fish populations. Research found that several popular sport fish, including trout, bass, perch, and whitefish, tend to ...
June 20, 2026 Scientists found that thawing permafrost can trigger increased rock weathering, a natural process that absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere. In some regions, this carbon uptake was strong enough to fully offset — or even surpass — river greenhouse ...
June 18, 2026 A historic lack of snow in the Gila River watershed has left Arizona’s San Carlos Reservoir less than 1% full, triggering a massive fish kill and an indefinite closure. Despite the bleak ...
June 18, 2026 A new study from Northern Arizona University is raising red flags about a widely used global emissions database from Climate TRACE, a consortium co-founded by Al Gore. Researchers found that the database may be dramatically undercounting carbon ...
June 18, 2026 A major study of Australian native bees found that stem-nesting species may be the first to feel the impact of climate change. Unlike bees that nest underground, they have few ways to escape dangerous heat. Researchers also discovered that tropical ...
June 16, 2026 Researchers discovered that hydrogen radicals generated by intense UV light can break down stubborn PFAS “forever chemicals” without added chemicals. The breakthrough reveals a key mechanism that could lead to greener and more effective ...
June 15, 2026 NASA satellites have detected a vast pulse of warm water reaching the coast of South America, signaling that El Niño is likely developing. The warm water is being carried eastward by massive ocean waves known as Kelvin waves, which also cause sea ...
June 15, 2026 Beneath our feet lies a vast hidden fungal superhighway that helps sustain much of life on Earth—and scientists have now mapped it for the first time. Researchers estimate that these underground networks stretch an astonishing 110 quadrillion ...
June 14, 2026 A new catalyst design could significantly improve the conversion of CO2 into methanol, an important fuel and chemical feedstock. Researchers separated key reaction steps across different catalyst sites, avoiding a long-standing trade-off between ...
June 14, 2026 One of the most celebrated claims about Yellowstone’s wolves is facing a major challenge. Scientists say the study behind the famous trophic cascade story relied on flawed methods that overstated the ecological impact of wolf recovery. Their ...
Latest Headlines
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June 23, 2026 A cave in New Zealand has yielded fossils from a lost ecosystem that existed about 1 million years ago, including a possible flying ancestor of the kākāpō. The discovery reveals that volcanoes and ...
June 18, 2026 A new study suggests Southern California's major fault system is more stressed than at any point in the last 1,000 years. Researchers found that the ...
June 12, 2026 Alaska’s glaciers are proving to be highly sensitive to warming temperatures. Using radar satellites to monitor more than 3,000 glaciers, researchers found that every 1°C (1.8°F) increase in ...
June 11, 2026 For nearly 700 years, Indigenous hunters repeatedly used a bison kill site in central Montana—then suddenly stopped, even though bison were still ...
June 11, 2026 Scientists have developed biodegradable protein beads made from dairy and tofu waste that can capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere more efficiently than many current technologies. Unlike ...
June 10, 2026 Researchers propose that tiny mineral nanoparticles may have been the hidden engines that transformed Earth’s early chemistry into the first building blocks of life. By acting as natural catalysts ...
June 9, 2026 A surprising study suggests that chemicals introduced to protect the ozone layer may have unintentionally created a growing global pollution problem. Researchers found that refrigerants and certain ...
June 8, 2026 South Australia’s koala population has grown so large that it may be heading toward a self-made disaster, with forests struggling to support the animals. Researchers say targeted fertility control ...
June 6, 2026 Scientists warn that free-living amoebae may be an underappreciated public health threat, capable of causing deadly infections and shielding other dangerous microbes from water treatment. Climate ...
June 5, 2026 Researchers have shown that controlled fire whirls can clean up oil spills faster and more cleanly than traditional burning methods. The spinning flames consumed up to 95% of the oil, cut soot ...