Gleanings of the Week Ending August 8, 2026
/The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.
07/29/2026 NASA Sizing Up the Sargassum Belt - Sargassum, a type of brown floating algae, has shifted its range in recent decades, thinning out in the North Atlantic’s Sargasso Sea while proliferating in the tropical Atlantic. That trend, underway since 2011, continued in 2026 as the algae, commonly known as a type of seaweed, reached its annual peak in June across a stretch of ocean known as the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt. The belt’s Sargassum abundance in June 2026 made it the second-highest Sargassum year in the satellite record, slightly behind 2025, according to scientists at the University of South Florida (USF) College of Marine Science. Regionally, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico) both hit record highs, according to USF’s June 2026 Sargassum outlook. The western and eastern Caribbean saw 3.6 and 9 million metric tons, respectively, while the Gulf saw 5 million metric tons—nearly double its previous record, also set in 2025.
07/29/2026 Smithsonian Magazine A Metal Detectorist Discovered Tiny Tiles in a Farmer’s Field - John Hill was surveying a farmer’s field in southwestern England when his metal detector identified a Roman-era coin hidden beneath the soil. Now, almost two decades later, archaeologists have returned to the site and excavated the ruins of an ancient villa—complete with a lavish mosaic floor. Stretching across roughly 130 square feet, the mosaic is located near Halberton, Devon. Experts think it dates to the fourth century C.E. The thousands of colorful tiles, each measuring less than half an inch, form a flower with eight petals. This design is bordered by a guilloche pattern, featuring two bands woven together.
07/28/2026 Science Daily 4 in 5 toddler foods are ultra-processed - A grocery-store audit found that many foods marketed for toddlers may be far less healthy than parents expect. Of nearly 2,800 products examined in Texas, 81% were ultra-processed, and almost half failed at least one World Health Organization nutrient standard, often because they contained too much sugar, sodium, fat, or too many calories.
07/29/2026 Planetizen BLM could allow oil leases near sacred New Mexico Indigenous sites - The Bureau of Land Management is considering several options for opening up oil and mineral leases near Chaco Culture National Historical Park, a massive complex of Native American ruins and a sacred site in New Mexico. In 2023, the agency withdrew roughly 336,000 acres surrounding the area from leasing for 20 years, explains Marni Rose McFall in Newsweek. Now, the agency could keep the protections in place, reduce the protected area to a 5-mile (instead of 10-mile) buffer, or remove the protections altogether.
07/29/2026 NPR The Trump administration's move to end subsidies for Medicare drug plans could cost consumers - Project 2025 was pretty blunt about wanting to push more people into Medicare Advantage…One way to really accelerate that is to make it very expensive to stay in traditional Medicare.
07/29/2026 The Conversation Ten simple and proven ways to reduce your exposure to pollutants in your home - Reducing environmental exposures does not require major lifestyle changes. Small, everyday habits can help create a healthier home environment. For example: Avoid synthetic fragrances and Cut down on Plastics.
07/28/2026 Archaeology Magazine New Thoughts on Wall Paintings in Japan’s Kyushu Tombs - Dated to the sixth and seventh century A.D., the tombs are horizontal stone chambers that could be reopened and were reused for generations. They were decorated with colorful images of spiral circles, horses, boats, and stick-like people. These stick figures were often depicted without faces and shown as smaller than other objects in the paintings. A new study suggests that the images are not portraits of the dead, but anonymous figures who symbolize the journey undertaken by any dead person.
07/28/2026 Yale Environment 260 In Germany, Wind and Solar Overtake Fossil Power - Together, wind and solar generated 44 percent of Germany’s electricity, while fossil fuels generated roughly 43 percent. Germany shut down its last remaining nuclear power plants in 2023. It is aiming to wean off of coal power by 2038, though experts say it will likely achieve that goal much sooner. By 2045, its target date for net zero emissions, Germany plans to convert any remaining gas-fired power plants to green hydrogen.
07/28/2026 BBC Future The spotted lanternfly is ravaging the eastern US. Pet dogs are coming to the rescue - Frequently found plastered across windscreens along the US's Atlantic coast, spotted lanternflies are an invasive pest and a multimillion-dollar disaster for the US's wine industry. A citizen-science program is training pet dogs on demonstration plots like this to find the eggs before they hatch so they can be destroyed. It's revealing the surprising power of pet dogs' noses, with even unconventional sniffer-dog breeds like the humble pug able to play their part.
07/26/2026 Clean Technica Renewables Provide More Than 30% of US Electricity - New data just released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), and reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign, reveal growth of more than 10% in electrical generation by renewable energy sources in the first five months of 2026. Moreover, solar, wind, and battery storage are projected to add about 83.0 gigawatts (GW) of new generating capacity in the U.S. by May 31, 2027 while total fossil fuel and nuclear power capacity will fall by almost 4.7-GW. By comparison, the electrical output of the nation’s nuclear power and natural gas plants experienced much slower growth — just 1.3% and 2.5% respectively. Electricity produced by U.S. coal facilities fell by 10.9%. The combination of just wind and solar, including small-scale solar, provided over 22.2% of domestic electrical production.
