Mourning a glacier
Swiss and Icelandic scientists held funerals to mark the loss of their rivers of ice. They came dressed in black, giving sombre speeches as others…
Nature & Environment
For Cement’s Massive Carbon Footprint, Some Concrete Steps
On a scorching July morning at a testing facility outside of Paris, a cadre of scientists, engineers, and architects wearing hard hats and safety goggles…
The moment of truth for coal, oil, and gas in Latin America
New UN report calls for end to fossil fuel production – even in developing regions such as Latin America The message is clear: if we…
Climate explained: how volcanoes influence climate and how their emissions compare to what we produce
Michael Petterson, Auckland University of Technology Everyone is going on about reducing our carbon footprint, zero emissions, planting sustainable crops for biodiesel etc. Is it…
A middle path to sustainable farming
By Natasha Gilbert Agricultural economists are homing in on hybrid, low-input methods that will both safeguard the environment and feed the future billions Alfalfa, oats…
India builds homes to resist climate-linked floods
Bamboo, lime and mud are traditional materials being used innovatively in southern India to rebuild homes that can withstand the impact of recurring floods. The…
Indonesia’s huge fires and toxic haze will cause health problems for years to come
Maria C. Lo Bue, United Nations University Indonesia is currently in the throes of an environmental emergency. Thousands of hectares of forest are burning across…
‘This Is Truly Terrifying’: Scientists Studying Underwater Permafrost Thaw Find Area of the Arctic Ocean ‘Boiling With Methane Bubbles’
The lead researcher said that “this is the most powerful” methane seep he has ever seen. “No one has ever recorded anything similar.” Scientists studying…
Inching towards abundant water: new progress in desalination tech
In early 2018, Cape Town, South Africa came dangerously close to being the world’s first major city to run out of water. People lined up…
IPCC special report finds oceans and cryosphere changing rapidly due to global warming
As a massive expanse of unusually warm water spreads across the northeastern Pacific Ocean for the second time in the past five years, the latest…
If Carbon Offsets Require Forests to Stay Standing, What Happens When the Amazon Is on Fire?
The emergency threatening part of the world’s largest rainforest is proof that offsets are too risky to count on to cancel out corporate pollution, and…
World-first West Aussie study examines Perth poo for microplastics
These researchers plan to use Perth poo to find out exactly how much plastic we eat and what we can do about it. How would…
El Niño linked to widespread crop failures
The El Niño climate cycle has been responsible for widespread simultaneous crop failure in different regions of the world, a study has found, putting pressure…