A two-story red building sits in front of a broken asphalt road with a gravel parking lot next to it. The building appears to have been part of a row of shops at one point, which are no longer there. A few houses are visible behind it. Over the front door awning, a sign reads "Belle Mina."

‘Demise’ of a community

Belle Mina residents fear proposed quarry will cause irreversible damage Continue reading ‘Demise’ of a community

southernsciencenewsApril 30, 2024April 30, 2024Leave a comment

Two men in a small motorboat, one sitting and one standing, fish on a still lake with the forested shoreline visible behind them.

SHOR Act on the rocks

Fishing advisory bill stalls two years in a row Continue reading SHOR Act on the rocks

southernsciencenewsMarch 23, 2024April 28, 2024Leave a comment

A man wades in a shallow creek with a sampling cup, gloves and a backpack.

New PFAS testing shows ‘forever’ chemicals throughout Coosa River basin

Expanded testing sets baseline understanding for education, advocacy on PFAS chemicals. Continue reading New PFAS testing shows ‘forever’ chemicals throughout Coosa River basin

southernsciencenewsMarch 5, 2024March 5, 20241 Comment

A young Black girl sits on a kayak looking away from the camera, out over the water, with her paddle resting across her lap. She's wearing a life jacket. In the background, several other kayaks are visible.

Environment in the classroom

Program teaches kids about science, justice in Africatown by Sydney Cromwell Healing gardens. Sea kayaks. Drone soccer. They’re all part of STEMMing the Tide, a project that aims to change school curriculum and get middle schoolers engaged in science and environmental issues — right in the midst of a community that has faced some of the greatest environmental injustices in Alabama. ‘LOST IN THE PIPELINE’ … Continue reading Environment in the classroom

southernsciencenewsFebruary 14, 2024February 14, 2024Leave a comment

A row of wooden pews with stained glass and columns visible in the background.

Faith for the future

Religious climate activists focus on energy, justice in the Southeast by Sydney Cromwell Climate anxiety. Crisis fatigue. Whatever you call it, spend enough time thinking and reading about the realities — and the immediacy — of climate change, and it’s easy to let it get you down. For Rhoda Vanderhart, a Mobile resident and one of the founders of Gulf Coast Creation Care, that moment … Continue reading Faith for the future

southernsciencenewsJanuary 13, 2024Leave a comment

An overhead view of three rows of solar panels, with crops beneath them.

Greening Union Springs

Proposed solar campus would bring job training, renewable energy to Black Belt town by Sydney Cromwell When Herb Ferrette looks at his family’s 25-acre property in Union Springs, he sees green. Right now, it’s just green fields and forests, but in the future he envisions green energy, green jobs, green produce — and greenbacks. Ferrette’s plans for the Little USA solar campus would bring together … Continue reading Greening Union Springs

southernsciencenewsJanuary 13, 20244 Comments

Up in smoke

Auburn researcher studies connection between forest fires, greenhouse gasses by Sydney Cromwell If a tree falls in the forest and there’s nobody around to measure it, how do we know how much carbon is stored inside it? If that information doesn’t seem useful to you, consider that the next time a fire travels through the forest, that fallen tree will burn and release its carbon … Continue reading Up in smoke

southernsciencenewsDecember 22, 2023December 22, 2023Leave a comment

Two people in waders and high-visibility clothes stand on the bank of a large puddle in the middle of a forest. The sun is low on the horizon behind the hills.

An entire world in a puddle

Researchers study relationships between wetlands, microbes, greenhouse gasses by Sydney Cromwell Every ecosystem has its own life cycle, its own rhythms. Few, though, are as changeable as the small wetlands scattered across the Tanglewood Biological Station, south of Tuscaloosa. In dry seasons, these tiny wetlands — some less than an acre in size — seem to disappear entirely, their waters absorbed into the ground or … Continue reading An entire world in a puddle

southernsciencenewsNovember 27, 20232 Comments

A group of four people carry fallen tree limbs from a large pile of brush. A warped and damaged sheet of metal can be partially seen in the foreground.

Come together

Small towns need funding, partnership in the face of climate disasters by Sydney Cromwell The tornado siren in the town of Parrish hasn’t worked for at least three years. Probably longer. It was broken when Bubba Cagle was elected mayor of this town of less than 1,000 people in Walker County. He was told that the needed part had been ordered. Three years later, it … Continue reading Come together

southernsciencenewsOctober 9, 2023October 9, 20232 Comments