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Pregnant women exposed to too much nitrate in their drinking water are at greater risk of giving birth prematurely, according to a new study of more than 1.4 million California births. Agricultural runoff containing fertilizer and animal waste can greatly increase the nitrate level in groundwater, which naturally contains a low level of the chemical. “We found that higher concentrations of nitrate in drinking water during pregnancy were associated with an increased risk of spontaneous preterm birth, even at nitrate concentrations below the federal regulatory limit,” says Allison Sherris, ...

Flood risk’s impact on home values Buyer beware: Single-family homes in floodplains – almost 4 million U.S. homes – are overvalued by nearly $44 billion collectively, or $11,526 per house on average, according to a new Stanford University-led study. Published in  Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, the study suggests that unaware buyers and inadequate disclosure laws drive up financial risks that could destabilize the real estate market. The threat is likely to grow as climate change drives more frequent extreme weather. “The overvaluation we find is really concerning...

"The overvaluation we find is really concerning, especially given the increases in climate risk that are coming our way," said study lead author Miyuki Hino, who was a PhD student in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources in Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences (Stanford Earth) at the time of the research and is now an assistant professor in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's department of city and regional planning. "Improving how we communicate about flooding is an important step in the right direction." Water hazard In some s...

 E-Mail Coastal communities at the forefront of climate change reveal valuable approaches to foster adaptability and resilience, according to a worldwide analysis of small-scale fisheries by Stanford University researchers. Globally important for both livelihood and nourishment, small-scale fisheries employ about 90 percent of the world's fishers and provide half the fish for human consumption. Large-scale shocks -- like natural disasters, weather fluctuations, oil spills and market collapse -- can spell disaster, depending on the fisheries' ability to adapt to change. In an assessment of 22...

Marine protected areas are like oases of the sea: they heal and restore vital spots of the deep blue frontier. To ensure that the ocean is effectively protected, the United Nations set the general goal of 30% of oceans being MPAs by 2030. However, the goal is not as simple as it sounds, because effective…