Can This Sun-Reflecting Fabric Help Fight Climate Change?
An experimental textile called metafabric is designed to cool down the wearer and reduce the need for air-conditioning.
A Plan to Slow the Creep of the Sahara—by Planting Gardens
People along the desert’s border are building a kind of circular plot called a tolou keur to keep the soil fertile and to slow desertification.
Wildfires Used to Be Helpful. How Did They Get So Hellish?
Fires are supposed to reset ecosystems, paving the way for new growth. But human meddling and climate change have turned them into monsters.
This AI Helps Detect Wildlife Health Issues in Real Time
A system that scans animal rehabilitation center data could provide early alerts when a disease is spreading.
Want to Slash Carbon Emissions? Start With These Power Plants
The worst 5 percent of energy producers account for almost 75 percent of the sector’s emissions.
Eastern Hemlocks Face Extinction. A Tiny Fly Could Save Them
An invasive insect called the woolly adelgid is eating the Northeast’s forests alive. So some researchers are calling in hungry silver flies.
Bill Gates Is Upbeat on Climate, Capitalism, and Even Politics
The technologist and philanthropist goes beyond his recent book to talk about climate denial, vaccines, and David Foster Wallace.
Indoor-Grown Weed Is Spewing Carbon Into the Atmosphere
Most legal marijuana is grown in a controlled environment. A study just quantified how much damage that's doing to the planet.
How Far Should Humans Go to Help Species Adapt?
A project to teach threatened marsupials to avoid feral cats is among a host of "assisted evolution" efforts to help animals in the face of climate change.
Ocean Acidification Could Make Tiny Fish Lose Their Hearing
Their inner ears turn wonky when they grow up in carbon-rich water, which could keep juveniles from finding their way to the reefs. That could mean trouble.