All Environment
- Air conditioning: Can people stay cool without warming the planet?
As the climate warms, more people are seeking air conditioning to stay cool. But air conditioning itself can exacerbate global warming. Is there a way to balance these competing needs?
- Points of ProgressHistory uncovered: Fossils older than dinosaurs, and a religious refuge
Progress roundup: Discoveries in both Brazil and Turkey were so vast that paleontologists and archaeologists have a wealth of opportunities to learn.
- First LookA year after wildfire disaster, life returns to California forests
In the Sierra Nevada, tiny flowers are growing, suggesting that signs of life are gradually reemerging in the area. Experts say the effects of climate change can be “significant” on forest recovery, though, preventing some species from thriving as they once did.
- Wildfires, hurricanes, and lessons on cooperation from Florida Panhandle
Wildfires made worse by a hurricane years earlier in Florida’s Panhandle show how connected environmental events can be – and the value of cooperation in working to prevent and respond to them.
- First LookOne word, bioplastics: Investments pour into biodegradable plastic
As countless tons of plastics pile up in landfills and pollute waterways, investors are pushing billions of dollars toward innovative bioplastics, made from corn, sugar, and cooking oil, which biodegrade far more easily than traditional plastics.
- First LookIn California, freshwater fish and farmers feel the drought
California’s vital waterways are becoming saltier in the face of severe drought. The change in river salinity puts fish and agriculture alike at risk. Some solutions against the saltwater intrusion include a desalination plant, an artificial rock barrier, and groundwater pumps.
- Points of ProgressBouncing back: Cheese in Bosnia, trees around the world
Progress roundup: Bosnian cheesemakers revive their craft after the war, 36 countries count gains in tree coverage, plus briefs from Kenya, India, and the U.S.
- How to cool cities, from heat officers to pavement sunscreen
How can urban planning enhance heat resilience? Researchers in Arizona say cooperation is key.
- Carrots not sticks? Senate bill may offer template for climate action.
Some analysts see the proposed Inflation Reduction Act as a blueprint for more carbon-reduction progress – focused around incentives and investments.
- Points of ProgressWhat a view: More starlit skies and a mapped ocean floor
Progress roundup: Cooperation across groups achieves goals such as understanding the geography of the seafloor and eliminating light pollution.
- First LookOil-rich Middle East feels climate change heat, mulls going green
As the driest part of the world gets drier, the Middle East is paying more attention to the impact of climate change. People and politicians alike want to explore green energy options, but in a region reliant on fossil fuels, that prompts hard questions.
- First LookIn Las Vegas, intense drought means smaller swimming pools
After Sept. 1, residential swimming pools built in Las Vegas can only be about the size of a three-car garage. Officials cite concerns over dwindling water supplies from the Lake Mead reservoir on the depleted Colorado River. There are about 200,000 swimming pools in Las Vegas.
- Points of ProgressRoofs and rights – protecting homeless people and migrant workers
Progress roundup: In Houston, many different organizations worked together to help vulnerable people. In Indonesia, a lawsuit forced the government to act.
- First LookMonarchs drift closer to extinction, but scientists hold out hope
Monarch butterflies were placed on the endangered list Thursday. In the eastern United States, the species has declined between 85% and 95% since the 1990s by some estimates. But the revitalization of previously endangered species offer a path toward full recovery.
- As the world heats up, will climate action, too?
Heat waves make global warming tangible. But do they change mindsets? It’s still hard for climate to rise to the top among political priorities.
- The ExplainerPrescribed fires: Why they’re still trusted despite runaway blaze
Two planned burns that went wrong led to a record blaze this spring, but that’s rare. Prescribed fire is widely considered a trusted tool for wildfire prevention.
- First LookScorched Europe: Record high temps behind heat wave, wildfires
High temperatures are being recorded in France and Spain, fueling large-scale wildfires in pine tree forests, as Britain swelters under a heat advisory. Swirling hot winds could complicate firefighting efforts in a parched region that scientists link to climate change.
- First LookStanding strong: Prescribed burns aid sequoias in surviving wildfire
Giant sequoias in Yosemite National Park have survived their first wildfire in more than a century because of intentional burning to remove undergrowth beneath the towering trees. Prescribed burns have proven to be effective methods to help prevent wildfires.
- Points of ProgressThe changing face of justice, from Illinois to Ecuador
Progress roundup: Stories of representation – from a Black female judge on a state’s high court to the Indigenous activists who won a Goldman Prize.
- Cover StorySeaweed Inc.: As climate threatens lobster, Maine eyes new cash crop
Warming waters put lobster harvests at risk, but Maine’s fishers are neatly positioned to farm kelp – aiding their livelihoods and the environment.