Erica Gies

Nature Water

Climate Science and the Case of the Missing Moisture

Expected air moisture is missing over drier areas worldwide, possibly because climate models undervalue the effects of plants and other life. This finding could...
Climate ChangeWater
Nature Water

More than Carbon Sticks

The concept that planting trees will help mitigate climate change by storing CO2 is too simplistic, ignoring the large effect that plants have on...
BiodiversityClimate ChangeWater
Scientific American

To Revive a River, Restore Its Hidden Gut

Radical reconstruction in Seattle is bringing nearly dead urban streams back to life
BiodiversityConservationSlow Water
Nature Outlook

Smarter Ways with Water

To address an onslaught of crises, people must tune into natural ways to repair water cycles that human development has severely disrupted
Climate ChangeSlow WaterWater
Scientific American

The Radical Groundwater Storage Test

New tactics for capturing floods and surviving droughts could help communities across California and the world.
AdaptationNature-Based SolutionsSlow Water
NPR

Cities Are Turning Flood Water Into Freshwater

As a guest on NPR’s “Science Friday,” Erica talks about sponge cities in China and the ways in which several cities around the world...
AdaptationSlow WaterWater
Top of Mind with Julie Rose

Slow Water in Peru

As drought grips Peru, its people are turning to nature, and ancient pre-Incan techniques to conserve water for the dry season that’s grown increasingly...
Climate ChangeSlow WaterWater
Scientific American

Sponge City Revolution

Restoring natural water flows in cities can lessen the impacts of floods and droughts.
AdaptationNature-Based SolutionsSlow WaterWater
Scientific American

The Meaning of Lichen

How a naturalist’s observations in the wilds of British Columbia inspired a scientist to discover hidden symbioses—overturning 150 years of accepted scientific wisdom.
BiodiversityScience
Scientific American

Expanding Paved Areas Has an Outsize Effect on Urban Flooding

Researchers have finally been able to pinpoint just how much impervious surfaces exacerbate flood levels
AdaptationClimate ChangeSlow Water
The Guardian

As the Water Crisis Deepens, California Finally Passes Groundwater Regulation

California, the only western U.S. state without groundwater regulation, appears poised to change that. But farmers argue regulation would infringe on their property rights.
GroundwaterWater
The Guardian

10 Riskiest Places to Buy Your Seaside Dream Home

As sea levels rise, real estate investments in these seaside metropolises could amount to throwing money into the sea
AdaptationClimate Change
The Guardian

The Business Cost of Climate Change: What the Science Says

Massive loss from extreme weather in recent years abound, and new research indicates climate risks aren’t leaving any time soon.
Climate Change
The Guardian

12 Ways Communities Will Have to Adapt to Handle Climate Change

Whatever your water crisis, whether drought or flood, these DIY solutions will help you adjust to climate change’s new reality.
AdaptationClimate ChangeWater
bioGraphic

Patience, Peace and Persian Leopards

Despite myriad threats, two Kurdish scientists in Iraq are fighting to create a peace park in the heart of the Middle East.
BiodiversityConservation
The Guardian

Value from Sewage? A New Technology Cleans Up Waste Water

Clean water startup Ostara has built a new sewage treatment technology that reduces water pollution and saves money
PollutionWater
The New York Times

Restoring Iraq’s Garden of Eden

BiodiversityWater
The Guardian

Water Tech Startup Aims to Green Manure at Factory Farms

Manure from livestock farms can be environmentally damaging. A new treatment system could clean up its impact, but will that just hide deeper problems...
PollutionWater
Nature

Fortresses of Mud

Rising seas threaten the San Francisco Bay Area, home to one of the largest estuaries in North America. But marsh-restoration efforts could hold back...
AdaptationClimate ChangeNature-Based SolutionsSlow Water
Inside Climate News

Clean Energy Soared in the U.S. in 2017 Due to Economics, Policy and Technology

President Trump rolled out the antiquated arguments about why clean energy was too expensive and a threat to the grid. But markets and policies...
EnergyRenewable Energy