Fracking Would Emit Large Quantities of Greenhouse Gases
"Fugitive methane" released during shale gas drilling could accelerate climate change
Stories by Mark Fischetti
New Orleans Finally Gets a Hurricane Protection Plan
Hurricane Katrina battered New Orleans in 2005 and little has been done since then to improve long-term storm protection for the city and surrounding delta.
Jet Lag: What's Causing One of the Driest, Warmest Winters in History?
The jet stream controls winter weather, but strange forces are controlling the jet stream this season
Fracking's Future in the U.S. Comes Down to Upcoming New York State Decisions
New York State is the key battleground that will determine the future of fracking in the U.S., and January 11, 2012, is a turning point. The date ends the public comment period on proposed state regulations that will govern the process: drilling into deep Marcellus shales, fracturing the rock with water and chemicals to release natural gas, and disposing of the resulting wastewater that flows back up the well with the gas...
Ohio Earthquake Likely Caused by Fracking Wastewater
Injecting wastewater deep underground is the prime suspect, potentially widening earthquake worries linked to hydraulic fracturing
Tornadoes in 2011 Set Deadly Records
Many of us may remember the jaw-dropping images of the May 22, 2011, tornado that tore through Joplin, Mo., killing 158 people and leaving an incredible 14-mile path of destruction.
Is North Korea the 9th Nation in the World with Nuclear Weapons?
Russian and U.S. nuclear arsenals dwarf the rest
Caught on Video: A Himalayan Glacier Deflates
Interior lakes drain and refill with melting ice in mere days
Federal Agency Encourages Its Scientists to Speak Out
SAN FRANCISCO—The public at times questions scientific results produced by government agencies, thinking that the findings may be meant to support particular political policies or positions or to deflect criticism of those policies...
2-Degree Global Warming Limit Is Called a "Prescription for Disaster"
SAN FRANCISCO—A mantra that has driven global negotiations on carbon dioxide emissions for years has been that policy-makers must prevent warming of more than two degrees Celsius to prevent apocalyptic climate outcomes...
Fukushima Earthquake Moved Seafloor Half a Football Field
The massive shift, laterally and upward, caused the epic March 2011 tsunami
Can U.S. Cars Meet the New 54 mpg CAFE Standards? Yes They Can
A new car in 2025 will go twice as far on a gallon of gasoline than a 2012 model does now, if automakers comply with new federal standards released today.
Physics or Fashion? What Science Lovers Link to Most
Science aficionados have odd and surprising interests
![Physics or Fashion? What Science Lovers Link to Most [Interactive]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/F918A88B-A112-4A80-A105EDB68D7F29EA_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
Physics or Fashion? What Science Lovers Link to Most [Interactive]
Science aficionados have odd and surprising interests
World Population Set to Hit 9.1 Billion in 2050
Forecasters expect to see a total of 9.1 billion humans on Earth by 2050
Computers versus Brains
Computers are good at storage and speed, but brains maintain the efficiency lead
IBM Simulates 4.5 percent of the Human Brain, and All of the Cat Brain
A special online-only addition to November 2011's Graphic Science
Feed the World, Save the Planet
The world's population will cross the 7 billion mark this month and is projected to reach more than 9 billion by 2050. So many more people, plus rising living standards, mean that global agriculture will have to double food production by mid-century.Yet farming and ranching already exact a daunting toll on the environment: burn down rain forests to create more arable land, dump fertilizers onto fields that run off and choke life in rivers and oceans, emit volumes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, use up vast stores of freshwater for irrigation...
How to Double Global Food Production by 2050 and Reduce Environmental Damage
Five steps, reflected in the maps below, could be taken to help feed the large population predicted for 2050 as well as reduce the sizeable harm agriculture imposes
A Video Moment of Silence for Steve Jobs
Starring a 23-year-old Macintosh SE
