Cathleen O’Grady

Climate & environment

Conservation, ecology, earth sciences, and climate policy

2025

This scientist advises the U.K. government on climate policy—and it has to hear him out

As Piers Forster steps down as chair of the influential Climate Change Committee, he chats with Science about his role in guiding the country toward decarbonization

2024

People all over trust climate researchers less than scientists in general

Large international study finds “trust gap” in 43 out of 68 countries

2022

Just a small rise in Earth’s temperature could cause irreversible ecosystem and weather changes

Scientists call for forecasting teams to join forces, improve estimates of “tipping points”

Scotland’s Billionaires Are Turning Climate Change Into a Trophy Game

A net-zero land rush is sweeping the country, and both locals and wealthy “green lairds” are trying to buy in.

2021

The new climate pact is more ambitious. But hopes dim for limiting warming to 1.5°C

Nations promise deeper emissions cuts, but not enough to avoid dangerous warming

Climate summit produces new pledges that could keep global warming below 2°C target

But it’s not clear whether governments can realize ambitious goals and needed financing for developing nations

To slow global warming, some researchers want to pull methane out of the air

Lofting iron-salt aerosols could eat up methane and buy time on climate change

Physicist-turned-climate adviser says developing countries will be seeking money at U.N. climate talks

Bill Hare says vulnerable nations need debt relief, grants, and donations

Climate change ‘unequivocal’ and ‘unprecedented,’ says new U.N. report

New IPCC report reflects greater certainty, includes finer grained projections

Gravity-based batteries try to beat their chemical cousins with winches, weights, and mine shafts

Energy storage companies aim to use gravity to balance fluctuations in renewable power

2020

Power to the people

Nations are turning to citizen assemblies to weigh up climate policies

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fun, Fungie

A longtime resident of the Irish harbor of Dingle, Fungie the dolphin has likely left this world for good.

The Race Against Catastrophe

In Arctic waters, researchers are scrambling to record baseline environmental data, while communities brace for the inevitable—shipping disasters.

Precarious rocks help refine earthquake hazard in California

Untoppled boulders are testaments to large temblors that didn’t happen

Ancient bones in disturbed peat bogs are rotting away, alarming archaeologists

Changing conditions in wetlands threaten archaeological remains

The Oddball Dolphin of Dingle

Living solo for decades in an Irish harbor, a dolphin named Fungie has taught us something about solitary cetaceans—maybe they prefer to be alone.

New data indicates the Mississippi Delta is on borrowed time

The tipping point has come and gone, according to new analysis.

We’re making garbage patches on the ocean floor, too

Microplastics are accumulating in ocean floor biodiversity hotspots.

Another disaster is ready to catch the US unprepared: Drought

Like COVID-19, water insecurity is set to hit the most vulnerable the hardest.

Scotland’s Seaweed Showdown

It’s locals versus industry in the country’s kelp wars.

Sea turtles think plastic smells like food

New explanation for why sea predators are eating so much plastic...

Smokers found to emit hazardous compounds in cinema, long after stubbing out

The pollutants “off-gas” from smokers’ clothes and bodies.

Climate change is drying up the Colorado River

Less snow means more evaporation in a critical water resource.

The Price of Protecting Rhinos

Conservation has become a war, and park rangers and poachers are the soldiers.

2019

Major fish nurseries are awash in microplastics

Which means larval fish are snacking on a lot of plastic.

A “mouse-deer,” seen once in the last century, has now been caught on film

No sightings of the silver-backed chevrotain for most of the last century.

Traditional Medicine Threatens South Africa’s Vultures

Demand in Asia usually takes the blame for Africa’s wildlife crisis, but homegrown beliefs and uses pose their own threats.

As the Arctic heats up, what’s in store for its food webs?

A remote Norwegian fjord has shown resilience—up to a point.

The Antique Technology Still Taking the Ocean’s Pulse

The Continuous Plankton Recorder has been measuring the ocean’s plankton (almost) continuously since the 1930s.

In the Amazon, deforestation is linked to higher malaria rates

Deforestation boosts malaria, while higher malaria rates mean less deforestation.

How well has China’s ultra low-emissions policy worked?

Drops of over 70% in just three years leaves the country with much cleaner air.

Our groundwater use is destroying freshwater ecosystems

And the situation is set to get much, much worse.

New gel lets us spread flame retardant before wildfires start

The formula coats plants thoroughly and sticks to them even through light rain.

One of the most remote islands is plagued by plastic waste

And plastic water bottles are a particularly frequent culprit.

Nuclear slower and pricier than renewables, says anti-nuclear report

Costly nuclear power could boost renewables—or natural gas.

Aerosol emissions may not cool the planet as much as we thought

They lead to slightly less watery clouds, which means less cooling than suspected.

While ozone is recovering, we’re doing things to prolong the process

The ozone layer is healing, but we’re not home free yet.

In the US, wells being drilled ever deeper as groundwater vanishes

Shallow wells could dry up, but deep wells have their own problems.

Safari tourist snaps could produce useful conservation data

Population estimates using photos were comparable to more traditional methods.

People drop support for a carbon tax when getting less effective “nudges”

Small, easy policies can crowd out support for more drastic but necessary changes.

There’s just no getting away from microplastic contamination

And we still don’t know where a huge portion of our plastic waste even ends up.

Reassessing Seal Rescue

The Netherlands is trying to do something new when it comes to rescuing “stranded” seals: less.

People who live near wind turbines prefer them to solar and fossil plants

The preference for wind is strong even in coal-producing states.

To fight climate misinformation, point to the man behind the curtain

Point not just to the lies, but who’s behind them, researchers suggest.

2018

Whales are stressed out by climate change, and it shows in their earwax

Earwax tracks the rise and fall of cortisol alongside whaling, war, and warming.

Plastic found in the poop of eight people from eight different countries

How it got there, and what harm it could do, are still open questions.

The US would suffer some of the biggest costs of climate change

The exact cost estimates vary, but the US consistently ranks near the top.

A decades-old pollutant is still threatening orca populations

Just because it was banned doesn’t mean it’s no longer a problem.

What happens when climate change meets the courts?

A detailed review explores trends in climate change litigation.

Is a hot climate or a dry climate key for forest fire risk?

Rain, snow, and temperature all play a role, but which dominates?

Kelp dredging proposal criticised by Scottish conservationists

Use of mechanical device to pull kelp plants from beds would destroy local ecosystem, say campaigners

There’s a new insecticide on the block, and it’s also bad news for bees

Scientists call for evidence-based approach to approving new insecticides.

A warmer world means a greater risk rain lands on snow, triggering floods

And that means changing rules for flood management.

In Salt Lake City, suburban sprawl is bad news for climate change

Emissions in dense urban areas are in better shape.

If we gave everyone a decent standard of living, could we sustain it?

First-world quality of life for all is out of reach without an efficiency shake-up.

When wildlife conservation meets war

Writing off war-torn conservation sites altogether is a bad idea.

2017

Media coverage of climate negotiations greeted with indifference

Widely publicized event didn’t push people toward political or personal action.

How forests balance the books in a changing climate

Plusses: more carbon dioxide and humidity. Minuses: more heat and drought.

Health benefits of wind and solar offset all subsidies

Estimated economic benefits of renewables in the US is $87 billion.

Paying people to preserve forests really seems to work

It’s a cost-effective option for carbon management.

If you live inland, don’t think sea level rise won’t affect you

Climate migrants will flock inland. What does that mean for landlocked regions?

Switching apartment metering shocks electricity freeloaders into conservation

“Utilities included” is not a good deal.

Killer whales stress narwhals out just by being in the area

As warmer Arctics let killer whales roam farther, the effects could be dramatic.

This one simple trick gets climate negotiators to update their understanding

Like everyone else, climate negotiators are slow to incorporate new information.

Shrimp price fluctuations help pinpoint the economic effects of pollution

New method could be useful for quantifying the effects of marine pollution.

2016

Can sub-Saharan Africa produce enough food to meet growing demand?

Without massive cropland expansion, possibly not.

Wouldn’t it be great if the planet went back to how it used to be?

Climate skepticism decreases if the message is past-oriented.

Why do hunters choose not to shoot?

Understanding individual choices could help conservation efforts...

Knowledge of climate change basics doesn’t make people care

Knowledge of climate change consequences correlates with concern in some countries.

We’re overpaying to save some endangered species—and barely funding others

Up to 182 species are getting less than 10 percent of what they need.

2015

Climate scientists write tentatively; their opponents are certain they’re wrong

Careful language contradicts accusations of alarmism in climate science.

London’s air wasn’t safer or healthier after first 3 years of emission controls

The Low Emission Zone wasn’t very effective, but new controls might be better.

50 years after its death, Thames is again home to seals, whales, and dolphins

Thousands of mammal sightings in the River Thames, after being dead for decades.

Our unsustainable habit of hunting and fishing only for adult animals

Unlike other predators, humans kill adults and predators, skewing populations.

Our reliance on fossil fuel combustion is ruining carbon dating

Releasing ancient carbon into the atmosphere is prematurely ageing the Earth.

Shrimpocalypse: How reintroducing prawns could save humans from deadly disease

A prime example of habitat destruction having unforeseen repercussions for humans.

Temperature swings caused by climate change may increase death rate

Global warming may create more problems than just a decimation of habitat.

UK could meet 2°C global warming target with uncompromising policy push

But it’s uncertain whether government will act swiftly enough.

University of Edinburgh under fire for refusing to give up fossil fuel investments

Student protesters are demanding divestment from coal and tar sands.

Should humans have our own geological epoch?

Our impact might be too messy to define a clean start to the Anthropocene.