Ghost forests serve as powerful, visible warnings of climate change. Encroaching ocean waters are poisoning salt-intolerant trees, leaving behind eerie skeletal remains. Researchers from the University of Delaware are wading through these surreal landscapes along the mid-Atlantic coastline to determine the environmental impact of this climate-driven phenomenon. The researchers will present their results at ACS Spring 2026.

Biodiesel is a renewable fuel and could offer a sustainable, carbon-neutral alternative to petroleum products. Yet production costs remain a hurdle to its widespread use. Now, researchers have developed an inexpensive way to make biodiesel from materials found along the banks of their Louisiana bayou: algae and oyster shells. The researchers will present their results at ACS Spring 2026.

The state of Kentucky produces 95% of the world’s bourbon, and all that bourbon leaves behind an enormous amount of waste grain, called stillage. Now, researchers at the University of Kentucky have developed a process to transform that stillage into electrodes. With the bourbon byproduct-electrodes, they created supercapacitors that could store more energy than similarly sized commercial devices. The researchers will present their results at ACS Spring 2026.

Fast fashion is appealing because it’s an inexpensive way to dress rapidly growing kids. But preliminary research has found that the fabric in some of these items contains lead. After testing several shirts from different retailers, undergraduate researchers found that all exceeded U.S. federal regulatory lead limits. They also estimate that even briefly chewing these fabrics could expose young children to dangerous lead levels. The researchers will present their results at ACS Spring 2026.

Hawaii faces economic and logistical challenges for dealing with plastic waste, including marine debris that lingers in its ocean waters. Researchers are pioneering a method to recycle the islands’ derelict fishing nets and plastic trash into asphalt roads. Demonstrations on Oahu show that adding recycled materials may provide an end-of-life fate for the region’s garbage, leading to less-polluted oceans. The researchers will present their results at ACS Spring 2026.