Rubber duckie, you're the one--If only we could find you in the Arctic ice, says NASA
Three months after NASA dropped 90 rubber ducks into holes in Greenland’s fastest-moving glacier to track the melting of Arctic ice, there’s no sign of the toys.
Environment11290 articles archived since 1845
Blackouts and Cascading Failures of the Global Markets
Feedbacks in the economic network can turn local crises into global ones
March of the penguins--Onto the endangered species list
Seven species of penguins will now join polar bears on the list of species endangered by climate change and other environmental threats, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) said this week...
From Carbon to the Cretaceous: Report from the American Geophysical Union Meeting
Scientific American editor Davide Castelvecchi reports from the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco. Subjects include the extinction of the dinosaurs and the Orbiting Carbon Observatory...
Scientists to EPA: Risks of Chemicals That Alter Male Hormones Should Be Analyzed Together
A national panel of experts says EPA must change its focus and analyze chemicals that endanger male reproduction cumulatively or it will "seriously underestimate" the risks to human health...
Evolution of the Mind: 4 Fallacies of Psychology
Some evolutionary psychologists have made widely popularized claims about how the human mind evolved, but other scholars argue that the grand claims lack solid evidence
Modern Foraging: Tried and True versus Novelty
Some of us prefer the tried and true, and others search high and low for novelty. Why?
Scientists urge EPA to assess potential phthalates risks
Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that humans carry phthalates—chemicals used as softeners in plastics and found in everything from pill coatings to nail polish—around in their bodies...
Government Fails to Assess Potential Dangers of Nanotechnology
Scientists charge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other government agencies are failing to assess the potential dangers of puny particles
Science and the Holidays
From greening your Christmas tree to what oil producers could learn from the story of Hanukkah, your guide to the science of the holiday season
Ecofriendly Alternatives to Burning Wood in Your Fireplace
These nontraditional wood alternatives can provide your home with heat sans the negative impact on the environment
Coal Poses Climate Catastrophe as "Peak Oil" Approaches
When will oil production peak and begin to decline? And what will come after?
A Holiday for Oil
Are we running out of oil?
Should Christmas trees be fireproofed?
If artificial Christmas trees strike you as a bit too Grinch-like in their aseptic modernity but you worry about bringing a tinderbox into your living room, the simplest solution may also be the best one...
Testing Natural Selection with Genetics
Biologists working with the most sophisticated genetic tools are demonstrating that natural selection plays a greater role in the evolution of genes than even most evolutionists had thought...
What Happens to the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree After the Holidays?
This year's tree in midtown Manhattan, like last year's, will go toward building Habitat for Humanity housing
Diversity Revealed: From Atoms to Traits
Charles Darwin saw that random variations in organisms provide fodder for evolution. Modern scientists are revealing how that diversity arises from changes to DNA and can add up to complex creatures or even cultures...
Individual versus Group in Natural Selection
Does natural selection drive evolution at levels higher than selfish genes and fertile individuals?
The Mr. Moms of the Fish World
Male pipefish, like seahorses, have their own placentas to carry and nourish their offspring
What Causes Beach Erosion?
Is beach erosion a natural cycle or is it getting worse with rising sea levels?
