anthropocene
The ‘Lost Forty’: how a mapping error preserved an old-growth forest
A 19th-century surveying mistake kept lumberjacks away from what is now Minnesota's largest patch of old-growth trees.
Noise pollution is threatening life in the ‘Anthropocene ocean’
A new paper explores how noise from human activities pollutes the oceans, and what we can do to fix it.
2020 ties for hottest year on record, says NASA and NOAA
In a joint briefing at the 101st American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting, NASA and NOAA revealed 2020's scorching climate data.
A Chinese plant has evolved to hide from humans
Researchers document the first example of evolutionary changes in a plant in response to humans.
‘A world with no ice’: Confronting the horrors of climate change
The complacent majority needs to step up and call for action on climate change.
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Humanity’s impact is monkeying with animals’ evolution
Animals are adapting all the time these days to stay out of our way.
Climate change to make outdoor work more dangerous
Today's agriculture workers face 21 days of heat that exceed safety standards. That number will double by 2050.
Why factory farms are a “perfect storm” for disease pandemics
We've known this virus was coming. We just didn't do anything about it.
Can these giant dams keep Europe from drowning?
Why a 400-mile enclosure around the North Sea is not as crazy as it sounds
20 inspiring nature words you didn’t know you needed
Hundreds more are documented in Robert Macfarlane's Landmarks.
Fashion contributes to 10 percent of humanity’s carbon emissions
Fast fashion has a devastating impact on the environment. Here's what you need to know before heading to Zara this holiday season.
Focus on renewable energy, not carbon capture, say researchers
Rather than scrubbing the emissions from fossil fuel plants, a new analysis suggests we should simply replace those power plants with renewable alternatives.
Has Jurassic Park fostered misunderstanding about extinction?
While the blockbuster franchise might have given us a distorted view of science's capabilities to address species extinction, new research might come close to "resurrecting" lost species' DNA.
How to deal when things fall apart
Glenn Albrecht has ideas about how to cope with the effects of a changing world: Invent a new language.
Terraform Mars? How about Earth?
Fauna and flora refuse to go quietly into the Anthropocene.
The invention that made us human: Fire
Did fire change the development of the human brain?
A new spray may help treat the deadly white-nose syndrome
Bats are being subjected to a deadly plague that may be threatening their existence. However, a new bacterial spray may help fight the fungus responsible.
We could cut atmospheric carbon by 25% by planting a forest the size of the United States
A new study lays out a green (very green), data-driven plan to capture much of our atmosphere's carbon pool.
Greenland loses 4 trillion pounds of ice in one day
Normally, the landscape in this photo would be a white ice sheet.
Are these 100 people killing the planet?
Controversial map names CEOs of 100 companies producing 71 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.
How a wee Scottish village is shining a light — literally — on rising seas
At high tide each night, bright lights predict the underwater future.
Human-driven climate change meets ‘gold standard’ of scientific certainty
New statistical analyses show that human-driven climate change is a virtual certainty.
Lack of basic research hiding behind ‘clean meat’ hype
Despite tens of millions of dollars pouring into new technologies, a 'clean' burger remains elusive.
Psychologically and physically, traffic is terrible for our health
Between the noise and frustration, we're suffering more than ever.
Scientists plan to spray the sky with light-reflecting particles to dim the sun
A trio of scientists from Harvard hopes to do this in 2019.
Whale earwax reveals 146 years of humanity’s impact
Thanks to museum curators, there's no shortage of the stuff.
We are heading for a New Cretaceous, not for a new normal
The climate change we're witnessing is more dramatic than we might think.
Report: Just 23% of Earth’s wilderness remains
A new paper in Nature adds urgency to the fight against climate change.
Whales are perpetually stressed. Here’s how 9/11 showed us this.
The modern ocean can be a dangerous place for whales.