Sustainability
Should Battery Fires Drive Electric Cars Off the Road?
Of the more than 150,000 car fires in the U.S. this year, one got all the attention
Stories by David Biello
Sustainability
Forget What You've Heard: Humans Are Not Using More Than 1 Planet
On a global level, the popular "footprint" metric used to measure people’s ecological impact may not be very a useful after all
Sustainability
The World's 10 Most Polluted Places [Slide Show]
The list includes locations suffering from toxic pollution as a result of everything from e-waste to chemical weapons
Sustainability
New Energy Secretary Faces Uphill Battle in Fracking Push
Opposition complicates the White House plan to move toward clean energy
How to Save Coral Reefs from Climate Change: Genetic Manipulation
What’s the best idea for reducing the impacts of ocean acidification on the environment and society? After all, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere continue to go up and up and up, which suggests that the pH of seawater will continue to fall and fall and fall...
Sustainability
The Nuclear Odyssey of Naoto Kan, Japan’s Prime Minister during Fukushima
Having led Japan through the 2011 nuclear crisis, the elder statesman is now campaigning for a world without nuclear power
Sustainability
Can Cities Solve Climate Change?
Warming is global, but efforts at the local level make the most difference
The Sciences
2013 Chemistry Nobel Goes to Computer Modeling of Chemical Reactions
By combining quantum and classical mechanics, three researchers could model how electrons jump between elements in a molecule, enabling a deeper understanding of reactions and the design of new drugs...
Sustainability
Is the Tesla Model S the Future of Electric Cars? [Slide Show]
The innovative car faces a host of challenges, including fires
Spot the Differences in New IPCC Report
Changes have been made. No, I’m not talking about the difference between the 2007 climate change report from the Intergovernmental on Climate Change versus this latest iteration.
Sustainability
Global Warming Is Real IPCC Repeats, Now Can We Do Something about It?
The IPCC notes again that climate change is unequivocal so the question becomes what will be done to restrain its impacts
What You Need to Know about the Forthcoming Climate Change Report
Talk about management by committee: one group of more than 800 scientist authors to cope with more than 9,000 scientific publications on climate change and more than 20,000 comments from “expert reviewers” (plus another 30,000 or so from various other interested parties.) Now the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is into four days of wrangling [...]..
Automotive
How Tesla Motors Builds One of the World's Safest Cars
Despite its lightweight metal body, the Tesla Model S electric vehicle earned the highest automobile safety rating in North America
The Answer to Coal Climate Pollution Is Natural Gas and Carbon Capture, EPA Says
The Environmental Protection Agency has new rules for how much carbon dioxide power plants can spew. Designed to ensure that no new plants built in the U.S.
The Sciences
New X PRIZE to Help Track Increasing Ocean Acidity
As the world's oceans turn more acidic, a cheaper and more accurate sensor would be useful—inspiring a new $1-million award
Sustainability
New Technologies Aim to Save Energy--and Lives--with Better Air Conditioning
Innovations could cut the growing amount of energy used for air-conditioning and refrigeration
Sustainability
Is the Pacific Ocean Responsible for the Pause in Global Warming?
Sea-surface temperatures may explain why climate change is not warming the planet as fast
Environment
"All of the Above" Energy Means More Fracking, Renewables, Nukes and Clean Coal
There is no technical issue with fracking, the controversial technique of fracturing shale rock with high-pressure, chemically treated water to release natural gas.
The Climate May Be Changing, but the IPCC Remains the Same
By 2021, climate scientists should be 99 percent certain that climate change is our fault—up from 95 percent certain presently and a mere 90 percent certain all the way back in 2007.
More Solar Panels at the White House
The Washington Post‘s indefatigable Juliet Eilperin got an unnamed official at the White House to confirm that solar panels are being reinstalled at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue this week—fulfilling a promise made by the Obama administration three years ago...
