How this tree-planting search engine is reforesting the Brazilian Amazon

Ecosia says the funds generated from users' searches help to plant one tree every second.

  • Ecosia is a search engine that donates 80 percent of its profits to tree-planting projects in multiple countries.
  • The search engine makes money by selling advertising space, but doesn't sell or track user data.
  • Planting trees is likely one of the cheapest and most effective ways to combat climate change.
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NASA camera captures Amazon fires

Satellite movie shows clouds of carbon monoxide drifting over South America.

Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • The Amazon fires were captured by the AIRS camera on the Aqua satellite.
  • A movie clip released by NASA shows a huge cloud of CO drifting across the continent.
  • Fortunately, carbon monoxide at this altitude has little effect on air quality.
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Why the number of fires in the Amazon is terrifying climate experts

The blazes may be the first step in a hellish downward spiral.

Image source: Bloomberg / Contributor / Getty
  • Never before has so much of the Amazon rainforest been on fire.
  • The fires are largely set by humans clearing areas for development.
  • The fires may push us into a vicious, irreversible climate pattern.
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Plants have sensibilities, but are they conscious?

They experience reality differently than we do.

Image source: Jessica Johnston via Unsplash
  • The field of plant neurobiology studies the complex behavior of plants.
  • Plants were found to have 15–20 senses, including many that humans have as well.
  • Some argue that plants may have awareness and intelligence, while detractors persist.
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Why elephant hunting has a 'drastic' impact on our global climate

The loss of elephants accelerates climate change.

Image source: Ondrej Prosicky/Shutterstock
  • Elephants help keep the central African forests they live in healthy.
  • Without elephants, the forests see a striking reduction in their carbon dioxide-storage capacity.
  • Study calls elephants "natural forest managers."
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