EnvironmentOctober 8, 2009
Just How Sensitive Is Earth's Climate to Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide?
Two new studies look far back in geologic time to determine how sensitive the global climate is to atmospheric CO2 levels
Stories by David Biello
David Biello is a contributing editor at Scientific American.
The SciencesOctober 7, 2009
Unraveling the Ribosome: Chemistry Nobel Awarded to Modelers of Cells' Protein-Maker [Update]
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas Steitz and Ada Yonath first determined how to image the ribosome, then revealed how it does its protein-making work
EnvironmentOctober 6, 2009
Driving on Glass? Inventor Hopes to Lay Down Solar Roads
U.S. roads paved with glass panels encasing photovoltaics and LEDs would double as a national power grid
EnvironmentOctober 2, 2009
Another Inconvenient Truth: The World's Growing Population Poses a Malthusian Dilemma
Solving climate change, the Sixth Great Extinction and population growth... at the same time
EnvironmentSeptember 30, 2009
Farmed Out: How Will Climate Change Impact World Food Supplies?
A new study attempts to estimate the effects of climate change on global agriculture--and outline ways to mitigate its most dire consequences
EnvironmentSeptember 25, 2009
Steven Chu to Greenhouse Gases: We Will Bury You
EnvironmentSeptember 23, 2009
Is birth control the answer to environmental ills?
September 23, 2009
Grappling with the Anthropocene: Scientists Identify Safe Limits for Human Impacts on Planet
Scientists propose a list of planetary boundaries for human impacts ranging from biodiversity loss to the global nitrogen cycle
The SciencesSeptember 22, 2009
More hot air on climate change from world leaders?
EnvironmentSeptember 22, 2009
Burying Climate Change: Efforts Begin to Sequester Carbon Dioxide from Power Plants
West Virginia hosts the world's first power plant to inject some of its CO2 emissions underground for permanent storage
September 19, 2009
Algaeus lives! A modified Prius goes cross-country on fuel from algae
The SciencesSeptember 18, 2009
How much in subsidies do fossil fuels get anyway?
EnvironmentSeptember 14, 2009
Navy Green: Military Investigates Biofuels to Power Its Ships and Planes
The U.S. Navy will begin testing biofuels from camelina and algae
The SciencesSeptember 14, 2009
Norman Borlaug: Wheat breeder who averted famine with a "Green Revolution"
EnvironmentSeptember 12, 2009
What will it take to produce "A Sea Change" in public opinion on ocean acidification?
EnvironmentSeptember 10, 2009
The Climate's Warm Future Is Now in the Arctic
A new survey reveals just how far and how fast global warming is altering the Arctic
The SciencesSeptember 8, 2009
Mighty microbes might help clean up oil extraction and radioactive wastes
EnvironmentSeptember 4, 2009
Global Warming Reverses Long-Term Arctic Cooling
Humans and climate change can take credit for a much warmer Arctic, according to new research
September 4, 2009
Will a speed bump power the grid?
September 3, 2009
Why not spend $21 billion on solar power from space?
The SciencesSeptember 2, 2009
First gray wolf legally killed in U.S. after nearly 40-year ban
EnvironmentSeptember 2, 2009
Is geoengineering humanity's last hope to avoid catastrophic global warming?
EnvironmentAugust 31, 2009
A tree grows in Vietnam... and another is lost in Burma
EnvironmentAugust 31, 2009
How Sunlight Controls Climate
New computer models begin to suggest how changes in the sun's strength might change weather patterns