In the Media

These findings could shed light on the behavior of other birds in the wild, says Chris Templeton, a biologist at Western Washington University who wasn't involved in the research. "Maybe these crows are able to really intentionally produce vocalizations, and they have this idea of what their vocalizations mean," he explains.

In a natural setting, he says, this combination of intention and meaning might allow an animal to communicate something specific to other individuals of their own or a different species. In previous work, Templeton found that the more dangerous a predator is, the more "dee" sections a chickadee produces in its calls. Perhaps the more scared a bird is, the longer its calls are. But this latest research suggests to him the possibility that perhaps the chickadees are intentionally adding more "dee" sections to signal something to their neighbors about the level of danger in the environment.

At Western Washington University located near Seattle, Troy Abel said he has “zero confidence” that stronger standards alone can be trusted to reduce health risks.

Environmental regulations “are only as good as their enforcement,” said Abel, a professor of environmental policy who has found that emissions at some oil refineries in the state have grown more toxic even while dropping in quantity. “And you will find less stringent rules enforcement in some states versus others.”

While exploring a crater on Mars that may give scientists insights into life that potentially once existed there, NASA said its Perseverance rover made an unprecedented discovery. The rover, which landed on the Red Planet in 2021 specifically to probe the ancient Jezero crater, found a mysterious light-toned boulder earlier this month that was the first of its kind seen on Martian land.

Perseverance encountered the boulder while traversing the Neretva Vallis, a dried river delta that flowed into the crater billions of years ago, on its way to an area inside the rim where rocky outcrops are being examined for sediment that could shed light on Mars' history, said NASA. The rover had changed course along its route to avoid rough terrain when, traveling a short cut through a dune field, it reached a hill that scientists have dubbed Mount Washburn.

The hill was covered with boulders, some of which NASA described as belonging to "a type never observed before on Mars."

One small boulder particularly intrigued the scientists working with Perseverance from Earth. Measuring roughly 18 inches across and 14 inches tall, the speckled and conspicuously light-toned rock was spotted among a field of darker boulders on the hill.

"The diversity of textures and compositions at Mount Washburn was an exciting discovery for the team, as these rocks represent a grab bag of geologic gifts brought down from the crater rim and potentially beyond," said Brad Garczynski of Western Washington University, who co-leads the current Perseverance mission, in a statement. "But among all these different rocks, there was one that really caught our attention." 

“The diversity of textures and compositions at Mount Washburn was an exciting discovery for the team, as these rocks represent a grab bag of geologic gifts brought down from the crater rim and potentially beyond,” said Brad Garczynski of Western Washington University in Bellingham, the co-lead of the current science campaign.“But among all these different rocks, there was one that really caught our attention.” They nicknamed it “Atoko Point.”

The five new boats will save 240 million gallons of diesel and over 8 million tons of carbon emissions in the long run, WSDOT said. Currently, the ferry system emits more greenhouse gasses than any other state agency. It’s far easier for ferries to go electric than other transportation systems, according to Darrin Magee, director of Western Washington University’s Institute for Energy Studies.

The Horse Heaven Wind Farm Project near the Tri-Cities could become the largest of its kind in the state. 

The project, as originally planned, would span over 24 miles, and include wind turbines, solar panels, and battery storage.

On a sunny, cool day in the North Cascades, researchers hiked around an alpine lake to find samples of algae that look like pink-colored snow. Recent days had brought a fresh coat of actual snow -- and they used shovels and boots to brush aside the top layer, revealing light red underneath.

"I'm just moving aside the snow that gathered the last two days," said Robin Kodner, PhD., a professor with Western Washington University who has been studying the algae for years, as she uncovered a patch of "pink snow."

Kodner said there has been renewed research interest in snow algae because of its connection to glacier melt, which is of greater concern as the climate warms. At this point, Kodner said it is too early to make any assessments about snow algae's potential contributions to climate change or how it could be affected by warming, but the data being collected by a program called the Living Snow Project could help answer those questions.

A specific formula of PVA is used in detergent pods. Western Washington University Associate Professor and Program Director John Misasi said when a laundry machine is emptied, the water carries the dissolved PVA to a wastewater treatment plant, where there are generally filters and micro-organisms that will begin to break it down. 

"Those filters aren't perfect, they can allow some polymer and plastic to escape, so some can escape that way," Misasi said. "The PVA that escapes [does so] because it's so water soluble, so it's kind of being carried with water. The majority of that water is either recycled and reused or [what's referred to as] sludge gets distributed onto fields."