‘Like a Phoenix,’ A New Forest Emerges From the Destruction in Ukraine
Russia’s bombing of Kakhovka Dam in 2023 killed hundreds of people and tens of thousands of animals, but it’s also provided a potential ecological reset….
To Stop Climate Change, We Need Context and Strategy Alongside the Science
Shortly after I left academia to take a scientist position with a nonprofit environmental organization, a colleague from the Environmental Protection Agency – a key…
Sustainable Building Effort Reaches New Heights with Wooden Skyscrapers
Posted by: Kurt Kleiner, Knowable Magazine, October 8, 2024 Wood engineered for strength and safety offers architects an alternative to carbon-intensive steel and concrete At…
In War-torn Syria, Efforts To Save a River Refuse to Die
Campaigns to revive the Barada River face an upstream battle Editor’s note: This story is part of a collaboration between Ensia and Egab exploring environmental efforts by…
Calls for Caution as Enhanced Rock Weathering Shows Carbon Capture Promise
It sounds like a simple solution: spread some crushed silicate rock atop the world’s vast agricultural lands to absorb atmospheric carbon and thereby tackle climate…
Seagrass Gardening
From tiny seeds come big results: replanting seagrass meadows that help fish, protect coastlines, and absorb climate-heating carbon dioxide. Chris Patrick is optimistic about seagrass…
Adaptations to an Older World Hinder Us From Saving This One
Awareness of the cognitive biases we all hold will help in the search for solutions to global environmental problems. Picture a New Yorker-style cartoon of…
Virginia Once Drained and Dried Peatlands, but Now Eyes Them as Carbon Sinks
The bogs, logged for centuries and recently burned, sequester far more carbon than forests. Now, thousands of acres are being “rewetted” as part of a…
Warm Seawater Encroaches on Major Antarctic Ice Shelf
In unprecedented detail, new research illuminates the seasonal flow of warm water toward the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf. Source: Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans The vast…
Chicago Switches Its 400+ City Buildings to 100% Clean Power
Eight years ago, the City of Chicago vowed to eventually run all its operations on carbon-free power. Now, it has fulfilled that promise, thanks to…
Saving Living Jewels: One Woman’s Mission to Shine a Light on the Ornamental Fish Trade
Marine biologist Monica Biondo has spent more than a decade studying the multibillion-dollar market for these colorful fish, which pulls thousands of species from the…
Tree Islands ‘Restore Biodiversity’ in Oil Palm Farms
Environmentalists have long worried about the negative impacts of oil palm cultivation, especially on biodiversity when forests are burned and turned into plantations. Now researchers…
The Gaza War is an Environmental Catastrophe
Toxic waste, water-borne diseases, vast carbon emissions: Dr. Mariam Abd El Hay describes the myriad harms of Israel’s assault to the region’s ecosystems. “Ever-worsening shortages…