EnergyJune 20, 2011
More Dangerous Than Nuclear Power: The Floods Caused by Aging Dams
Stories by David Biello
David Biello is a contributing editor at Scientific American.
EnvironmentJune 20, 2011
Stop Mining for Oil (and Coal), Start Drilling for Heat
EnvironmentJune 16, 2011
Where Will Our Energy Come from in 2030?
The SciencesJune 1, 2011
Newly Discovered Microscopic Worm Thrives in Gold Mines a Kilometer Underground
High temperature, low oxygen and permanent darkness are no problem for a previously unknown species of nematode
The SciencesJune 1, 2011
The Rise of a New Science Superpower?
EnvironmentMay 30, 2011
Climate Change Linked to Social Collapses in Greenland Since 800 B.C.
A record written in algal fat reaffirms the role of climate change in determining the fate of Greenland's Vikings and other inhabitants
EnvironmentMay 25, 2011
Will 10 Billion People Use Up the Planet's Resources?
The SciencesMay 23, 2011
Can Tornado Prediction Be Improved?
Advances in computer modeling and other technologies still cannot overcome the fundamental complexity of thunderstorm and subsequent tornado formation
EnvironmentMay 20, 2011
Why Electric Cars Will Fail...and Have Already Triumphed
The SciencesMay 19, 2011
Details of Japan Earthquake Explain Its Extraordinary Strength and Unexpectedness
The first scientific analyses of the deadly event confirm its power and suggest what might happen next
May 16, 2011
Do Bright Lights Mean a Big (Economic) City?
EnvironmentMay 13, 2011
Coming to a Cornfield Near You: Genetically Induced Drought-Resistance
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is preparing to approve a new strain of corn that has been engineered to thrive in drought
EnvironmentMay 12, 2011
Plants versus Photovoltaics: Which Are Better to Capture Solar Energy?
Determining the relative efficiency of photosynthesis and photovoltaics is not a simple problem
EnvironmentMay 9, 2011
Hydraulic Fracturing for Natural Gas Pollutes Water Wells
A new study indicates that fracturing the Marcellus Shale for natural gas is contaminating private drinking water wells
EnvironmentMay 6, 2011
Cereal Killer: Climate Change Stunts Growth of Global Crop Yields
A crop-yield analysis reveals that warming temperatures have already diminished the rate of production growth for major cereal crop harvests during the past three decades
HealthMay 3, 2011
BPA Linked to Wheezing in Babies
May 3, 2011
Security Experts: Prepare for Possible Bin Laden Reprisal
What is the increased threat in the wake of the elimination of the leader of al Qaeda and how can it be defended against?
EnvironmentMay 1, 2011
7 Radical Energy Solutions
The failure rate may be 90 percent, but if any of these exotic technologies succeeds, it could significantly improve energy security and efficiency
EnvironmentMay 1, 2011
Climate Change Will Bring More Extreme Precipitation and Floods
EnvironmentMay 1, 2011
The Newest Nuclear Plants Sprout in the U.S. South
As always, safety is a balancing act
EnvironmentMay 1, 2011
"Let's Go for It": Q&A with Head of ARPA-e, the U.S. High-Risk Energy Research Agency
The leader of the government's push into alternative energy talks about fuel-making microbes, the next industrial revolution and how soon his high-risk projects will reach the market
EnvironmentApril 25, 2011
One Year After BP Oil Spill, At Least 1.1 Million Barrels Still Missing
Where in the Gulf of Mexico is the oil from the Macondo well blowout?
EnvironmentApril 22, 2011
Earth and environment science projects favored by entrants in Google Science Fair
HealthApril 21, 2011
Gulf Seafood Officially Safe, but Questions and Oil Linger
Testing of shrimp, crabs and fish, among other seafood harvested in the Gulf of Mexico, continues