Energy
China's Xi Outshines Trump as the World's Future Energy Leader
Failure by the two presidents to discuss climate change leaves China ahead, based on actions if not words
Stories by David Biello
Climate Change
Cleaning the Air with Plastic [Excerpt]
Scientists and engineers are trying inventions such as artificial trees to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere
Automobiles
Fact or Fiction?: Premium Gasoline Delivers Premium Benefits to Your Car
Exploding the myth that premium gasoline delivers better performance in the average automobile
Biology
New “Bionic” Leaf Is Roughly 10 Times More Efficient Than Natural Photosynthesis
It converts CO2 in the air into alcohol that can be burned as fuel
Conservation
De-Extinction in Action: Scientists Consider a Plan to Reinject Long-Gone DNA into the Black-Footed Ferret Population
The DNA, found in museum and frozen specimens, would boost the species’s diversity
Energy
Bionic Leaf Makes Fuel from Sunlight, Water and Air
A new device that combines chemistry and synthetic biology could prove key to renewable fuels and even chemicals—and combating climate change
Climate Change
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Thinks Farmers Can Help Solve Global Warming
You just have to ask them the right way, Tom Vilsack says in an interview
Energy
Whatever Happened to Advanced Biofuels?
Cellulosic ethanol continues to struggle to use inedible crop waste to match ethanol from corn—and fossil fuels
Automobiles
Electric Cars Are Not Necessarily Clean
Your battery-powered vehicle is only as green as your electricity supplier
Weather
Drought-Ridden L.A. Tries Rainmakers to Tap Storm Clouds
As hoped-for precipitation from El Niño falls short, Los Angeles resorts to a controversial method to reap water from the sky
Energy
Can Oil Companies Save the World from Global Warming?
Oil firms might pay to use CO2 emissions from power plants, but low petroleum prices could doom the effort
Environment
Humans and El Niño Team Up to Create a Record Jump in CO2 Pollution
The world may have seen the last of air with CO2 levels below 400 parts per million
Environment
Cheap Oil Is Undermining the Success of Nearly Every Climate Cleanup Plan
The fate of what might prove to be the most important technology for solving global warming—carbon capture and storage—is floundering
Environment
World's Richest Man Picks Energy Miracles
What is Bill Gates betting on to provide the world with cheap, clean, reliable energy?
Environment
Bill Gates Wants a Miracle
Scientific American 's energy and environment editor, David Biello, met with Bill Gates on February 22 to discuss tackling carbon emissions while at the same time making necessary energy available to ever more of the globe’s growing population...
Environment
The Ethanol Effect on Iowa Politics
How will the fight over corn ethanol affect the Republican vote in Iowa?
Environment
Humans Leave a Telltale Residue on Earth
Scientists find a layer of plastics, radiation and soot embedded in the planet's surface, defining a new Anthropocene epoch
Environment
The Most Intriguing Environmental Stories of 2015
A terrible earthquake, massive drought and nuclear power captured the imagination this year
Environment
Carbon Capture May Be Too Expensive to Combat Climate Change
Every credible plan for reducing global warming hinges on carbon-trapping technology playing a major role. That doesn't seem likely
Environment
An Unusual Tech Bet Could Slow Climate Change
Ethanol, saltwater and fermentation all get involved
