EnvironmentJune 13, 2012
Walking the Line: How to Identify Safe Limits for Human Impacts on the Planet
Should planetary limits on the alteration of critical environmental systems be used as guidelines for human activity?
Stories by David Biello
David Biello is a contributing editor at Scientific American.
EnvironmentJune 12, 2012
Better Lithium Ion Battery Aims to Re-Energize Electric Cars
A new battery from A123 Systems offers greater flexibility, more power and, potentially, lower overall costs
EnvironmentJune 6, 2012
My Morning Cup of Coffee Kills Monkeys
June 4, 2012
How Microbes Can Build Electric Grids
New research demonstrates that bacteria exploit conducting minerals in their environment to shuttle electrons between species, allowing greater growth
EarthJune 1, 2012
Primeval Precipitation: What Fossilized Rain Reveals About Early Earth
Scientists scan fossilized rain to learn about the atmosphere of early Earth
EnvironmentMay 31, 2012
Ethanol Scheme Bids to Clean Up Cooking
A new effort aims to build a for-profit, bio-based economy in Mozambique involving rotation farming, ethanol and clean cookstoves
EnvironmentMay 25, 2012
How Can We Cope with the Dirty Water from Fracking?
Advanced membranes, unusual solvents and new drilling processes could clean and recycle a growing flood of contaminated water
EnvironmentMay 24, 2012
Once-Rare Butterfly Species Now Thrives, Thanks to Climate Change
EnvironmentMay 22, 2012
Can Soil Sensors Save Georgia Waterways from Drought?
An innovative effort would embed sensors in agricultural fields in a bid to cut down on irrigation--saving farmers money and preserving water for endangered species
EvolutionMay 18, 2012
Millennia-old Microbes Found Alive in Deep Ocean Muck
EnvironmentMay 16, 2012
Soot May Help Shift Tropics North
EnvironmentMay 11, 2012
In Search of the Best (Energy) Ideas: A Q&A with ARPA-E's Arun Majumdar
Majumdar is stepping down after three years at the head of the U.S. Department of Energy's advanced energy research arm
EnvironmentMay 9, 2012
How to Rid the World of the "Element from Hell"
EnvironmentMay 8, 2012
How to Feed the World While Earth Cooks
EnvironmentMay 3, 2012
How Biodiversity Keeps Earth Alive
Species loss lessens the total amount of biomass on a given parcel, suggesting that the degree of diversity directly impacts the amount of life the planet can support
EnvironmentMay 1, 2012
Common Pesticide "Disturbs" the Brains of Children
EnvironmentMay 1, 2012
Energy Secretary Steven Chu Discusses the "Weird Little Bacteria" in Our Energy Future
Steven Chu on the futuristic batteries and "little weird" bacteria that will pave our way to energy independence
EnvironmentApril 26, 2012
Royal Society Calls for Redistribution of Wealth and More Birth Control to Save Planet
EnvironmentApril 26, 2012
Where It Rains, It Will Pour--Otherwise, Tough Luck
Ocean floats provide yet more evidence of global warming, revealing that rainy regions are getting wetter and dry regions drier much faster than predicted
EnvironmentApril 25, 2012
Will Organic Food Fail to Feed the World?
A new meta-analysis suggests farmers should take a hybrid approach to producing enough food for humans while preserving the environment
EnvironmentApril 23, 2012
Cheap Fracked Gas Could Help Americans Keep on Truckin'
Companies and researchers are working on infrastructure and technologies to help bring the nation's growing stock of natural gas to fuel tanks, including those of long-haul vehicles
EnvironmentApril 20, 2012
Oil Habit Unchanged on Two-Year Anniversary of BP's Gulf of Mexico Spill
EnvironmentApril 12, 2012
Feeding the World, While the Earth Cooks [Live Webcast]
How can we feed a growing population while at the same time coping with the impacts of climate change on agriculture?
EnvironmentApril 10, 2012
First Dedicated Biorefinery Could Wean Hawaii Off Imported Oil
New technology converts all kinds of plant waste into usable fuel--and is part of a growing array of technologies aimed at island energy independence