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Bricks, beavers, and carbon-trapping rocks: Stanford environment and sustainability research highlights

A Woods Institute report showcases the breadth and depth of Stanford environmental scholarship, from understanding natural climate solutions to collaborations that advance justice and safety in unregulated industries.

A 2025 study from Stanford and other institutions offers a practical solution for mitigating pollution from unregulated brick kilns in Bangladesh. Image credit: Saeed Munim, iccdr;b

The Stanford Environmental Research 2025 Year in Review, produced by the Woods Institute for the Environment, provides a snapshot of studies from scholars across Stanford’s seven schools that are fostering  new discoveries and innovations.

What stands out is not only the scope of the work but also its spirit—an insistence on combining rigorous science with creativity and a willingness to engage across disciplines and sectors.

Chris Field Perry L. McCarty Director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment

This year’s review spans a wide range of topics that can inform environmental policies, technology, conservation, business, and decision-making, including:

  • Unlocking nature’s potential to combat climate change through carbon-trapping rocks, beavers, reforestation, and conversation
  • Navigating harms to human and planetary health from unregulated fishing and industry
  • Risks to crops and global food security from climate change
  • Opportunities to boost freshwater resilience in the American West
  • Novel technologies to recover resources through battery recycling and converting urine into fertilizer

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