Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Rising population and changes in water supply under climate change affect cities globally. This study finds that in 27% of cities studied, water demand is likely to exceed availability by 2050, with many other cities competing with agriculture on water needs.
Little is known about the water impacts of concrete production. This study quantifies this impact globally for 2012 and projects it to 2050. It also evaluates in which regions the impacts will be more severe, based on the availability of renewable water resources.
After developing a unit-based air pollutants emission inventory of more than 30,000 fossil fuel power plants operating worldwide in 2010, the authors find that retiring or implementing controlling measures on coal-fired power plants, representing 0.8% of global capacity, could reduce PM2.5 emissions from coal-fired plants by up to 14.2%.
Since 2000, China has attempted to vegetate huge portions of eroded landscape in its south west, bordering Vietman, Laos, and Myanmar. This study finds that this ecological engineering is combating desertification as vegetation regrows and stores carbon.
Post-disaster reconstruction in hazard-exposed areas can increase social vulnerability if a disaster changes where people wish to live. In a post-tsunami zone in Indonesia, the authors find that many people wish to move to safer areas, causing housing prices to go up inland and the poor to live near the coast.
