All Environment
- No light, no problem: The improbable wonders of deep-sea coral
Snorkelers love shallow coral reefs. But another world of reefs thrives thousands of feet beneath the sea in seemingly inhospitable conditions.
- Comeback fish: How Europe is saving the iconic sturgeon
Sturgeon populations have plummeted in recent decades. In Europe, advocates are taking action to revive the species.
- India’s tigers come roaring back
Due to stricter wildlife policies and improved safety monitoring, India’s tiger population climbed 33% between 2014 and 2018.
- First LookSending a clear message: Swedish climate activist to sail across the Atlantic
Greta Thunberg, a Swedish teenager and the face of Europe's student climate activism movement, will travel to New York on a sailboat for a U.N. climate summit.
- Into the twilight zone: An age of discovery unfolds beneath the waves
Humans like to think they have conquered every corner of the planet. But in reality we know very little about the world's largest biome: the ocean.
- Louisiana’s coastline is disappearing. Can the bayou be saved?
Louisiana has taken aggressive steps to advance progressive climate-change adaptation ideas through a lens of business and social conservatism.
- First LookNew York climate plan among nation's most ambitious
The law signed Thursday would make New York the quickest state to achieve 100% renewable energy. Wind farms are expected to smooth the transition, but critics call the plan impractical.
- How fast can the political pendulum swing? Ask Maine.
As governor, Paul LePage spent eight years dismantling Maine’s environmental policies. Gov. Janet Mills is on a mission to restore them.
- The war on plastic bags, by the numbers
Plastic bag bans are sweeping the globe. But it’s too soon to tell how effective they are keeping single use plastic out of landfills and the ocean.
- First LookSturgeon population makes comeback after near extinction
After thriving for 200 million years, sturgeon were pushed near extinction by dams, pollution, and overfishing. Now they're rebounding around the U.S.
- First LookTastes like chicken: Investors flock to meat-growing labs
Memphis Meats is one of many startups producing meat in laboratories. Some projections say that cultured meat will overtake plant-based alternatives for consumers who eschew animal products because of ethical and environmental concerns.
- FocusWhen a city of canals floods, what happens to waterway shantytowns?
Big cities like Bangkok are moving whole slums to mitigate effects of flooding and climate change – after gaining trust of residents.
- In Idaho, the plight of salmon spawns an unorthodox proposal
In Idaho, the idea of breaching dams to protect salmon may not seem as far-fetched as it had been in the past.
- First LookScientists mystified by plummeting Antarctic ice levels
Floating ice off Antarctica steadily increased from 1979, before it hit a record high in 2014. But by 2017, annual average extent hit its lowest mark, completely erasing 35 years of gains.
- Cover StoryWill climate change force this Alaska village to relocate?
To the people of Quinhagak, Alaska, climate change is not a scenario far off in the future, but something they live with every day.
- A reporter bids farewell to Exit Glacier
Simon Montlake visited Alaska’s Exit Glacier, which has been rapidly beating a retreat thanks to global warming.
- First LookGrowing pollution problem: Smoke from wildfires
More predictions of wildfires in the Western U.S. are raising concerns about public health, scientists say. Local authorities are working to protect communities, and researchers are using satellite imagery to provide forecasts.
- As the oceans acidify, these oyster farmers are fighting back
Hog Island Oyster Co., a company in Marshall, California, has partnered with the University of California, Davis to combat ocean acidification.
- When water demand rises, this Montana town invests in forests
Whitefish, Montana, has adopted a ‘forest to faucets’ alternative to man-made water treatment systems, one that’s cheaper and more efficient.
- First LookGiant telescope in Hawaii to be built on sacred volcano
The Thirty Meter Telescope project will give researchers views of the farthest reaches of the universe, but critics protest the use of land sacred to Native Hawaiians.