Stories by Mark Fischetti

Countries and companies scramble to gain a competitive edge

Philosophers have debated for years whether we deliberately make each of the many decisions we make every day, or if our brain does it for us, on autopilot.

Why some greenery can make smog worse

Immigrants go gradually up the wealth ladder

The Atlantic Hurricane season officially begins Sunday, June 1, and runs through November 30. Last week various agencies released their predictions for how many hurricanes might develop and how many might be big ones.

New maps show that temperatures are rising quickest across Earth’s northern midlatitudes

Let's face it: plastic bags are really handy. But as we know, they're also terrible for the environment and for wildlife. They jam landfills, where they will not decompose for centuries, and they float across wide swaths of the seas.

A new season of West Nile, Lyme and dengue has begun

U.S. public opinion varies over a surprisingly narrow range

Climate change is changing. In three days we will find out how much, and how rapidly. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is meeting in Yokohama, Japan, will release the second report of its massive assessment on Sunday, March 30 EDT (March 31 in Japan).

Okay, it's not the infamous polar vortex, but people living on the New England coast are about to get popped by a "Nor'easter bomb." And it was set up five days ago by a "Rex block." I'm not making that up.

Well, okay, it's a fake argument. But the issue the two famous actors are bantering about is very real: restoring the Colorado River. Rather than preach, Robert Redford and Will Ferrell have made five humorous public service videos to get people's attention.

Wait, what? Contrary to the polarized positions that politicians and commentators often take in the media, Americans do not disagree about global warming or what to do about it.

In March 1989, Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee proposed a way to link together documents on different computers that were connected to the Internet.

A forest of 78,000 turbines would have drastically reduced the winds and storm surges from hurricanes Katrina and Sandy
 

The winter breeze certainly feels cold, but your skin may not be as frigid as you think

The answer is simmering in a bowl of chicken soup

Columbia University showcases "the planet's hottest climate science, and the people behind it"

Climate scientists are studying a bewildering array of changes taking place in the air, on land and in the sea. But where should they concentrate their efforts?

Sometimes scientists cant help themselves from showing dramatic curves, even though they have so many caveats that no firm conclusions can be made from the data.

The record had stood for nearly 30 years: minus 128.6 degrees F (-89.2 C), recorded a few meters above the ground at the Russian Vostok Research Station in East Antarctica.

Google, Yahoo and other search engines make gobs of money from advertisers who pay to have ads pop up when you look for a term. A few more socially minded search engines like Goodsearch and Everyclick donate a few cents to charity when you seek or shop.

Want to know what climate change really means to people? Emily Hinshelwood found out in a most unusual way. For days on end the Welsh poet and writer walked the 121-mile train route known as the Heart of Wales Line and asked every single person she met the same three questions: What images come to [...]