Stories featured in
It Ain’t Easy Selling Green
When Morgan Poor gave birth to her son, she and her husband shopped around for the perfect diaper, hoping to find one that was both effective and environmentally friendly. They tried a few so-called “niche” brands, like Seventh Generation and Honest Company, which tout their green bona fides, but the diapers Poor liked best came fromREAD MORE
The Dutch Are Building a Barricade Against Climate Change (PHOTOS)
The inhabitants of the Netherlands have been fighting floods for thousands of years. Eight-hundred years ago, they began to create local councils called “waterschappen” that were tasked with preventing floods. The rich provided the money and the poor provided their labor to build and maintain levees. Those councils still exist today, and they have a newREAD MORE
The Climate Rebellion Inside Amazon
When Kathryn Dellinger moved to the Pacific Northwest five years ago to take a position at Amazon, she fretted over friends and relatives back home in Virginia as successive hurricanes tore apart coastal towns on the East Coast. But when wildfires ripped through Washington state last summer, filling the Seattle area with smoke, Dellinger had someoneREAD MORE
Trump Failed Puerto Rico. These People Picked up the Cost.
Every morning, Luz Hernandez goes to work at her hair salon on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, a neighborhood fixture without a website or a Facebook page, where a trim costs $40 and customers can get a cup of coffee while they wait. Every night, she returns to a full fridge in an air-conditioned homeREAD MORE
Thirty Years After Exxon Valdez, Fossil Fuel Dangers Remain
Shortly after midnight on March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez — an oil tanker carrying 53 million gallons of North Slope crude oil — hit a reef in the Gulf of Alaska, ripping half a dozen holes in the hull of the ship. More than 11 million gallons of crude oil leaked into the pristine waters and vibrant ecosystem ofREAD MORE
Meet the New Generation of Black Climate Leaders
The politics of climate change are shifting. This year, as the most diverse Congress in history was sworn in, its newest members called for an ambitious plan to overhaul the U.S. economy to draw down carbon pollution while tackling social injustice. While the big, mostly white environmental groups hemmed and hawed about whether to support theREAD MORE
Pioneering Black Scientist to Win Nobel Prize of Climate Change
Warren Washington can trace at least one of the origins of his extraordinary scientific career —more than half a century of groundbreaking advances in computer climate modeling — to a youthful curiosity about the color of egg yolks. “I had some wonderful teachers in high school, including a chemistry teacher who really got me started,” he said. “OneREAD MORE
Native Sámi People Face Perils of Climate Change (PHOTOS)
One of the key findings of the most recent UN report on the mounting perils of climate change is that rising temperatures pose a distinct risk to indigenous people, who are often small farmers, fishers or herders. The report noted that punishing storms, lasting drought and stifling heat threaten the lives and livelihoods of aboriginal groupsREAD MORE
Car Companies Aren’t Even Trying to Sell Electric Cars (VIDEO)
This article is part of a series about barriers to the widespread adoption of electric cars. Head to a Ford dealership and ask about an F-150. You will be shown its features, invited on a test drive, and treated to a carefully practiced sales pitch detailing the truck’s strength, power and durability. Ask about an electricREAD MORE
Advocates Shouldn’t Be Afraid to Tell the Truth About Climate Change
It has been a tough few months for climate change. In October, an international body of climate scientists declared humans have a little more than a decade to make the drastic changes needed to keep rising temperatures reasonably in check. In November, federal scientists released an equally grim assessment detailing the unprecedented floods, droughts and wildfiresREAD MORE
George H. W. Bush — the Last Green Republican
It may have seemed odd that President Trump released a dire federal report on climate change last month and then immediately dismissed it, declaring, “I don’t believe it.” But he had no choice. Like it or not, he was forced to make it public. It’s the law — a law signed in 1990 by our 41st president, GeorgeREAD MORE
Trump Says America Needs Coal For Grid Security. The Military Proves Otherwise.
Over the last two years, President Trump has made every effort to rescue America’s ailing coal industry, opening public lands to mining, weakening limits on pollution, and potentially eliminating protections for miners. It hasn’t worked. Utilities continue to shutter coal-fired power plants, and mining firms continue to shed workers. Desperate to throw a lifeline to theREAD MORE
Want to Build a Stronger Climate Movement? Integrate.
The environmental movement is divided into two. Large, well-funded, green groups mostly led by white men, lead national campaigns and lobby Congress, while small, poorly funded environmental justice groups, largely staffed by people of color, work for change at the local level. Observers have written at length about this divide, arguing that is has hampered effortsREAD MORE
Plastic Pollution Has Increased a Hundredfold in the South Atlantic
Thirty years ago, the ocean waters surrounding British islands in the South Atlantic were near-pristine. But plastic waste has increased a hundredfold since then, and is ten times greater than it was a decade ago. These islands — part of the British Overseas Territories, which includes established or proposed Marine Protection Areas — are among the most remote on theREAD MORE
The Human Fingerprints on Extreme Weather
Hurricane Michael broke records Wednesday, when it became the most powerful cyclone ever recorded to make landfall along the Florida Panhandle. Abnormally warm waters fueled winds up to 155 miles per hour, which laid waste to homes and businesses caught in the storm’s path. As multiple outlets noted, climate change likely fueled the record-breaking wind speeds.READ MORE
Poll: It’s Never Too Soon to Talk About Climate Change
In the lead-up to Hurricane Florence, conservative firebrand Rush Limbaugh griped about weather reporters for drawing a link between climate change and the storm. “Hurricanes and hurricane forecasting is like much else that the left has gotten its hands on, and they politicize these things,” he said. Limbaugh isn’t alone. Senior officials in the Trump administrationREAD MORE
This Map Shows Which Communities Need the Most Help in a Disaster
Armed with howling winds and punishing rain, Hurricane Florence laid siege to Lumberton, North Carolina earlier this month. To a town where more than a third of residents live below the poverty line, the storm brought all manner of mayhem. It made quick work of a temporary dam, sending floodwaters rushing into the poorest neighborhoods, low-lyingREAD MORE
Too Little Power Can Be a Dangerous Thing
In Port Arthur, Texas, where most residents are black or Hispanic and close to a third live below the poverty line, influence is a difficult thing to come by. It is not the families who live and work in Port Arthur who hold sway over public policy, it seems, but rather the owners of the sprawlingREAD MORE
Climate Change Is Creating an Affordable Housing Crisis in Miami (VIDEO)
Miami ranks among the most valuable real estate markets in the country. Palatial homes astride warm, teal waters sell for millions. But it’s not Miami’s ocean-front neighborhoods where property values are rising fastest. Housing costs are climbing more rapidly in neighborhoods that lie a little higher up along a ridge that runs parallel to the shore.READ MORE
Fish Are Losing Their Sense of Smell
There have been numerous wake-up calls about the effects of climate change on marine life. As ocean waters heat up, they are bleaching corals. Growing levels of carbon dioxide are acidifying seawater, which is degrading the shells and skeletons of sea organisms. The rising temperatures are prompting fish to migrate to colder waters, even causing themREAD MORE
Televised Sports Capture Climate Change Along the Course
Pieter De Frenne is a big cycling fan who likes to watch coverage of the Tour of Flanders, a one-day bicycle race held every spring in Belgium. He is also the consummate scientist. So it’s not surprising that he noticed startling changes in the trees and shrubs framing many of the cobbled streets that have beenREAD MORE
Your Favorite Disney Princesses Reimagined as Scientists
Baby boomers grew up on Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. These Disney movie favorites always face peril, but they get their man in the end — after being rescued by him, of course. Millennials grew up on Disney princesses who were made of stronger stuff. They are warriors and adventurers, and — while happy to have a man inREAD MORE
Fighting Climate Change Means Fighting Inequality and Intolerance
Intersectionality is a big word with a simple meaning: social, economic and political issues are all connected. Climate change is emblematic of this truth. Though it’s usually regarded as a technological or scientific issue, climate change’s disproportionate impact on minority communities makes it an issue of racial inequality. The fact that those who have the fewestREAD MORE
Scientists Engineer Cleaner Pig Poop
Scientists have been tinkering with the genes of plants and animals for years to cure diseases, make fruits and vegetables heartier and tastier, produce crops that are resistant to pests, drought and other scourges, or prompt fish to grow faster. In recent years, however, thanks in part to the ravages of climate change, some researchers whoREAD MORE
Blockchain: Secret Weapon in the Fight Against Climate Change
Bitcoin, the much-hyped cryptocurrency, made headlines recently for driving a surge in power use. Around the globe, digital entrepreneurs are ‘mining’ Bitcoins by solving complex math problems, using supercomputers to get the job done. Those supercomputers use a ton of power, which largely comes form coal- and gas-fired power plants spewing gobs of carbon pollution. But,READ MORE
Birds Are Changing Their Tune
Mike McGrann has a good ear. He can identify a bird just by listening to it sing. He also can tell from its song if it’s bragging about its territory, about to migrate, or seeking a mate. McGrann shrugs off his skill — he can recognize the sounds of more than 200 species — saying other ornithologists can do it,READ MORE
Good News for Cows: Scientists Unlock Hidden Energy In Grass
Look to the dawn of human civilization and, on the horizon, you will see a field of grass. The first plant humans domesticated was likely corn or rice, both types of grass. We eat grass. We feed it to livestock. And, sometimes, we turn it into ethanol and use it to run our cars. We’ve builtREAD MORE
Carbon Fiber Made From Plants Instead of Petroleum
Carbon fiber is the Superman of materials. Five times stronger than steel and a fraction of the weight, it is used in everything from tennis rackets to golf clubs to bicycles to wind turbine blades to passenger airplanes to Formula One race cars. There’s just one catch: Carbon fiber is made from oil and other costlyREAD MORE
Why Are There No Good Movies About Climate Change?
It’s Oscar season, and Hollywood is abuzz with chatter about the year’s best flicks, which include films about poverty, racism and war. Not mentioned by prognosticators is 2017's one big movie about climate change, Geostorm, a sci-fi thriller so thin on story, drama and spectacle, it earned a rating of just 13 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.READ MORE
Scientists Are Speed Breeding Plants In a Race to Beat Climate Change
Some years ago, NASA bred wheat in space with the goal of providing an unending food supply for astronauts. To help the plant along, astronauts shined light on the plant continuously. As far as the crop was concerned, the sun never set. It was always noon on a cloudless day. The extra light fueled its rapidREAD MORE
Is the Term “Bomb Cyclone” Anxious Clickbait or Actual Science?
This week a powerful winter storm covered the East Coast in a thick layer of snow. It also delivered frigid temperatures, record tides fueling monster floods, and winds close to 80 mph, leading several governors to declare states of emergency. The dangerous snowstorm is what’s known as a “bomb cyclone.” It’s what happens when cold terrestrialREAD MORE
We’re Living Better but at What Cost?
People who live in developed nations are, by many measures, healthier than ever before. Yet the planet has borne an onslaught of environmental insults — climate change chief among them — unlike any in human history. This alone threatens everyone’s well-being, a conundrum that scientists call the “ecological paradox.” They believe humans are forfeiting the health of future generations inREAD MORE
Power for a Population Boom
Since 2000, Washington, DC’s population has surged, but its power grid has not. Instead of generators, the city added renewables and upgraded aged structures — including many federal office buildings, the city’s largest energy consumers — keeping the lights on while keeping costs down for the city’s poorest residents. Ted Trabue, Managing Director of the District of Columbia Sustainable EnergyREAD MORE
Reading by Plant Light
Someday in the near future you could be reading by the light of your favorite plant — no cord or electrical outlet needed. This could be a real energy-saver, not to mention great during a power failure. And it’s not as far-fetched as it seems. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have successfully engineered plants to glow,READ MORE
Healthcare Institutions Across U.S. Treating Climate Change as a Top Priority
The Cleveland Clinic started thinking “green” more than a decade ago, as sustainability and energy efficiency were just starting to gain traction in serious conversations about climate change. Since then, the Ohio medical center’s environmentally conscious practices have become part of its culture, with everyone getting involved. They are recycling, turning off lights and computers, plantingREAD MORE
Nature Inspires Climate-Friendly Architecture
Scientists who invent things often look to nature for inspiration. Their goal is to mimic biological systems in order to create new consumer products, or improve existing ones. The 1941 introduction of Velcro, for example, grew out of a Swiss engineer’s curiosity about why Burdock seeds clung to his coat — and that of his dog — when they wereREAD MORE
The Problem With the Climate Movement? Too Much Science
Next month, EPA chief and coal-industry darling Scott Pruitt will likely kick off a ‘Red Team, Blue Team’ “debate” on climate science. The purpose, according to Pruitt, is to establish an “objective, transparent, public review of questions and answers around the issues around carbon dioxide,” wherein a ‘red team’ of conservative pundits tries to poke holesREAD MORE
Making the Perfect Ice Storm
Lindsey Rustad is an ice sculptor. But she doesn’t make the swans you see at weddings or corporate events. She makes ice storms in forests. Her designs, like those in nature, glisten and evoke wonder. But they also foretell danger. With increasing evidence that climate change is driving more frequent and severe weather events, likely includingREAD MORE
How FDR Fought Climate Change
When Americans think about the causes of the Great Depression, they tend to gaze back to the stock market crash, imagining panic on Wall Street and apocryphal tales of traders leaping from office windows. But reckless investing was only one factor in the historic downturn. The Depression is also a story of environmental collapse and, inREAD MORE
U.S. Hospitals Generate a Ton of Waste. They Don’t Have To.
We know climate change is bad for our health. Heat waves, drought and superstorms, all driven by rising temperatures, already are causing sickness and death. But we know much less about the carbon cost of the care needed to heal the sick and injured. In fact, the medical industry produces plenty of waste from treatments, tossingREAD MORE