Will a speed bump power the grid?
The Burger King on U.S. Highway 22 in Hillside, N.J., looks no different from any other franchise in the state. Customers pull in and out all day, and at least 100,000 cars visit the drive-thru each year...
Stories by David Biello
Why not spend $21 billion on solar power from space?
The Japanese government is prepared to spend some 2 trillion yen on a one-gigawatt orbiting solar power station—and this week Mitsubishi and other Japanese companies have signed on to boost the effort...
First gray wolf legally killed in U.S. after nearly 40-year ban
This summer, hunters in Idaho have snapped up nearly 11,000 tags that confer permission to hunt the 850 or so gray wolves that now live in the state thanks to a reintroduction program in the region started in 1995...
Is geoengineering humanity's last hope to avoid catastrophic global warming?
Do you really want to start messing with the atmosphere? If not, then stop emitting so much CO 2 . Or so argues the U.K.-based Royal Society, the same people who brought you Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Stephen Hawking...
A tree grows in Vietnam... and another is lost in Burma
Since the 1990s, Vietnam has managed a seemingly impressive forestry trick: Although overall forest cover in the country has increased, so have its exports of wood goods, like patio furniture...
How Sunlight Controls Climate
New computer models begin to suggest how changes in the sun's strength might change weather patterns
Whither the Oil Age? 150 years of black gold
The American age of oil began 150 years ago today. Or, if you prefer the phrasing of President George W. Bush, the U.S. addiction to oil can be traced back to the original pusher "Colonel" Edwin Drake who began producing oil from the first commercial well near Titusville, Pa., (about 100 miles north of Pittsburgh)...
New solar-cell efficiency record set
Here's a seemingly simple solar power fact*: the sun bathes Earth with enough energy in one hour (4.3 x 10 20 joules) to more than fill all of humanity's present energy use in a year (4.1 x 10 20 joules)...
How Will Warmer Oceans Affect Sea Life?
Experiments show that microscopic ocean plants and animals--the base of the food chain--will be impacted
Inherit the emissions: Industry wants to put climate change on trial
In a bid to avoid regulations on the greenhouse gas emissions contributing to climate change, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants to put the science of global warming on trial.
Can Oil Be Recycled?
A new facility aims to test the market for recycled oil
Chevron plans to pump oil with solar power
Chevron will tap sunlight to help it get more oil out of the ground in California. The company will partner with BrightSource Energy—a solar start-up that Chevron helps fund—to develop 29 megawatts of thermal power from the sun's rays...
Indoor Air Alert: Ozone Reacts with Human Skin to Produce Potential Irritants
Ozone reacts with compounds in skin oils, resulting in some potentially irritating chemicals
Bat Killer: White-Nose Syndrome [Video]
Since it was first observed in New York in 2006, a bat-killing infection known as white-nose syndrome has spread across the eastern seaboard. More than a million bats of six different species have perished so far and infected caverns continue to be discovered...
Synthetic biology advance: Genome transferred between two bacteria via yeast
Microbes can be resistant to genetic engineering. There's simply not enough DNA in some of them to permit significant alteration. But by building a bacterial genome inside yeast—a more complex and information-rich eukaryote that is one of mankind's oldest genetic engineering projects—scientists have successfully created new, synthetic bacterial strains, according to a paper published today in Science...
The suburban lawn: Enemy of lakes, oceans and rivers everywhere
The typical suburban home is an underestimated source of water pollution, according to research presented today at the American Chemical Society meeting in Washington, D.C.
The Origin of Oxygen in Earth's Atmosphere
The breathable air we enjoy today originated from tiny organisms, although the details remain lost in geologic time
Renewable energy also better for workers' health
Mining is the second most dangerous occupation in the U.S., averaging roughly 27 deaths for every 100,000 workers per year. That's nearly nine times higher than the overall fatality rate for U.S...
Cocaine Contaminates Majority of U.S. Currency
And it's not just the U.S.: Canada and Brazil have a preponderance of the drug powder on their bills, too
Is Northwestern India's Breadbasket Running Out of Water?
A new study using satellite data suggests the region is using more groundwater than is being replenished by rainfall
