Earth

Former Scientific American editor Mark Alpert talks about his latest science fiction thriller, The Orion Plan, featuring the method whereby aliens most likely really would colonize our planet.
 

Water scarcity poses a greater risk of turmoil under global warming, the World Bank argues

Reefs are disappearing decades ahead of schedule

The new maps show the link between clouds, plants and animals

Separating substances without using heat would lower global energy use, emissions and pollution

Rising levels of CO₂ are making it hard for fish to breathe in addition to exacerbating global warming and ocean acidification

Film and book reviews from Scientific American’s May 2016 issue

An ancient lake, an underwater spring, a sinkhole, a perched water table and time combine to create a desert karst oasis

Paleontologist-turned-politician Richard Leakey talks with Scientific American about his efforts to save Kenya’s wildlife

Mountain-climbing bears transport cherry tree seeds, internally at first, to cooler, higher altitudes where the trees can survive as temperatures rise.

The pact to curb global warming receives an outpouring of support from more than 100 nations

If the Paris Agreement succeeds, coastal communities may flood terribly, but remain above the sea