climate change
Wandering icebergs could trigger tsunamis
Icebergs aren't just a threat to unsinkable ships. Their ability to cause underwater landslides poses a danger to coastal cities.
Busting the Easter Island myth: there was no civilization collapse
For decades, researchers have proposed that climate change and human-caused environmental destruction led to demographic collapse on Easter Island. That's probably false, according to new research.
New research finds that reforesting Europe would increase rainfall, fighting a drying trend
Trees store carbon dioxide, have a cooling effect in cities, and reduce flood risks.
Say goodbye to air conditioning with new roofing material
The guilt-free air conditioning, called "cooling paper," is made from recyclable paper and doesn't use any electricity.
57% of U.S. structures lie within a natural “hazard hotspot”
A new study mapped areas of the U.S. that are most likely to suffer natural disasters.
The future of humanity: can we avert disaster?
Climate change and artificial intelligence pose substantial — and possibly existential — problems for humanity to solve. Can we?
Water recycling: “Toilet to tap” is future of clean drinking water
As droughts threaten water supplies across the planet, some municipalities aim to utilize an untapped resource: sewage water.
Climate catastrophes can reshape religion
There were at least four major climate catastrophes that reshaped global religion. It could be happening again.
‘Ghost forests’ visible from space spread along the coast as sea levels rise
Seawater is raising salt levels in coastal woodlands along the entire Atlantic Coastal Plain, from Maine to Florida.
World’s blackest black? Purdue made the world’s whitest white
In paint form, the world's "whitest white" reflects so much light that surfaces become cooler than the surrounding air.
Lightning strikes will double in Arctic as climate warms
The uptick in Arctic lightning could cause more wildfires, potentially triggering a feedback loop that releases massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.
Study measures marijuana’s carbon footprint—and it’s high
Growing marijuana in large, climate controlled warehouses is good for production but has a massive carbon footprint.
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) won’t save the planet
Their success is based on us adopting a plant-based diet, too.
An ‘indiscriminate’ massacre: Study examines why 41 people were killed 6,200 years ago
"Large-scale indiscriminate killing is a horror that is not just a feature of the modern and historic periods, but was also a significant process in pre-state societies," the researchers wrote.
42,000 years ago Earth experienced “end of days” with mass extinctions
A reversal in Earth's magnetic field 42,000 years ago triggered climate catastrophes and mass extinctions. Can the field flip again?
Individual action can stop climate change. How? Environmental herd immunity.
If more people decide to apply pressure through their choices, slowly but surely we would reach climate change herd immunity.
Butterfly population collapse linked to climate change
If we lose our pollinators, we'll soon lose everything else.
Here’s a 10-step plan to save our oceans
By 2050, there may be more plastic than fish in the sea.
Scientists are building Earth’s virtual twin
Their goal is a digital model of the Earth that depicts climate change in all of its complexity.
Why cities are critical to achieving a carbon-neutral world
In May 2018, the city of Paris set an ambition to be carbon-neutral by 2050.
Why science denial and science negation are different
Surprising as it may seem, we are all very good at denial. Negation, however, is a different phenomena.
Texas snowstorms are due to rapid heating of the Arctic, say scientists
A warming Arctic Circle could be responsible for bursts of cold weather in the south.
Unusual creatures uncovered beneath an Antarctic ice shelf
The organisms were anchored to a boulder 900 meters beneath the ice, living a cold, dark existence miles away from the open ocean.
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.
I spoke to 99 big thinkers about what our ‘world after coronavirus’ might look like – this is what I learned
There is no going "back to normal."
These are the world’s greatest threats in 2021
We look back at a year ravaged by a global pandemic, economic downturn, political turmoil and the ever-worsening climate crisis.
Capsaicin, the chemical in spicy peppers, used to boost solar cell performance
Can biomaterials help finally thrust perovskite solar cells to mainstream adoption?
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.
From NASA to your table: A history of food from thin air
A fairly old idea, but a really good one, is about to hit the store shelves.
Harvard scientists advance controversial plan to dim sunlight
Researchers from Harvard receive permission for a test that may help cool Earth and fight global warming.