Do Tequila Distilleries Hold the Key to Replacing Plastic?

Watch this video showing the fascinating process of turning spent agave fiber into biodegradable and environmentally friendlier drinking straws.

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Eight species at risk of extinction in Arizona due to Trump's border wall construction

Experts say the building of the 30 foot high border wall has depleted groundwater levels in Arizona, putting several endangered and threatened species at further risk of being wiped out.

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Satellites Show Glaciers Rapidly Shrinking from Climate Change

Five decades of satellite imagery are helping scientists track how glaciers are changing with the climate.

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Climate change could render assets ‘worthless’, Bank of England governor warns

Climate breakdown could render investments held by millions of people “worthless”, the outgoing governor of the Bank of England has warned. Mark Carney suggested the financial sector had not yet woken up to the looming crisis and was “not moving fast enough” to divest from fossil fuels.

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New industry develops around sucking carbon dioxide out of atmosphere | CBC News

Carbon Engineering's groundbreaking plant is one of many projects hoping to help in the fight against climate change by turning its main driver — carbon dioxide — into a useful product that can be profitably removed from the atmosphere.

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Kenya Installs the First Solar Plant That Transforms Ocean Water Into Drinking Water, and It Could Be the Solution to the Global Lack of Water

The Earth is a watery place. In fact, 71 percent of our planet is covered in water. Despite this, one in nine people do not have access to safe drinking water – that’s around 785 million people.

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Paul Krugman on climate, robots, single-payer, and so much more

The Nobel prize-winning economist explains it all.

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Recycling Is Confusing, But It Is Very Much Our Responsibility

The recycling system is extremely confusing to the general public. Here's why.

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Chimpanzees Sway, Clap Their Hands When They Hear Music

While the chimps didn't match the beat, it's an indication they respond instinctively to sounds.

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The Oldest Known Tattoo Art Found in Egyptian Mummy

Scientists discovered the world’s oldest known tattoo art on an ancient Egyptian mummy exhibited at the British Museum for 100 years. Previously, academics and museum visitors saw only pale and dark spots on the right arm of the mummified man. However, recent infrared research has revealed that the marks are actually tattoos depicting two animals, a giant wild bull and a wild North African goat-like creature.

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Will Elon Musk’s Solar Panels Blanket America? They Probably Should.

This might be where Elon Musk is best able to make a lasting mark.

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We Might Not Be Planting the Right Kinds of Forests

As the world scrambles to combat deforestation, experts warn our efforts could have far fewer benefits than we think.

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How Microbiomes Affect Fear

New studies help to explain how microbes in the gut can shape a host’s fear responses.

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‘People aren’t disabled, their city is’: inside Europe’s most accessible city

From flattened cobbles to threshold ramps, the Dutch city of Breda has much to teach its neighbours

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Why your cat is lousy at chess yet way smarter than even the most advanced AI

If you share your home with a dog or a cat, look at it carefully and you will get a good overview of everything we don’t know how to do in artificial intelligence. “But my cat does nothing all day except sleep, eat and wash herself,” you may think.

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Scientists attempt to recreate 'Overview effect' from Earth

The spectacle of Earth suspended in space was so overwhelming for Edgar Mitchell that the Apollo 14 astronaut and sixth man on the moon wanted to grab politicians by the scruff of the neck and drag them into space to witness the view. Such drastic measures may not be necessary, however. Scientists are about to welcome the first participants on an unprecedented clinical trial that aims to reproduce the intense emotional experience, known as the “Overview effect”, from the comfort of a health spa.

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In Tougher Times, China Falls Back on Coal

China’s efforts to wean itself off coal are losing steam, as the world’s biggest carbon emitter is putting economic growth and energy security above its ambitions to be a leader in combating climate change. Coal consumption is back near peak levels after rebounding over the past three years, despite China’s pledges to make steep cuts in what is the country’s most prevalent and polluting source of energy. The country is building more coal-fired plant capacity than the rest of the world combined.

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History’s Largest Mining Operation Is About to Begin

Unless you are given to chronic anxiety or suffer from nihilistic despair, you probably haven’t spent much time contemplating the bottom of the ocean. Many people imagine the seabed to be a vast expanse of sand, but it’s a jagged and dynamic landscape with as much variation as any place onshore. Mountains surge from underwater plains, canyons slice miles deep, hot springs billow through fissures in rock, and streams of heavy brine ooze down hillsides, pooling into undersea lakes.

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The jaguars fishing in the sea to survive

The big cats’ resourceful new behaviour was recorded by a WWF study on a remote island off the coast of Brazil

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Trump is rolling back over 80 environmental regulations. Here are five big changes you might have missed in 2019

President Donald Trump has taken historically unprecedented action to roll back a slew of environmental regulations that protect air, water, land and public health from climate change and fossil fuel pollution.

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New polymer material may help batteries become self-healing, recyclable

Lithium-ion batteries are notorious for developing internal electrical shorts that can ignite a battery’s liquid electrolytes, leading to explosions and fires. Engineers at the University of Illinois have developed a solid polymer-based electrolyte that can self-heal after damage – and the material can also be recycled without the use of harsh chemicals or high temperatures.

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Something to chew on: New Zealand man sets up 'stick library' for dogs

Andrew Taylor came up with the idea because of a lack of ‘good’ sticks at the local park

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A Recycling Renegade Is Out of Prison—and Ready to Tackle the Electric Vehicle Battery Crisis

In a warehouse in Chatsworth, California, rows upon rows of giant wooden crates are stacked forty feet high, in a scene somewhat reminiscent of the secret U.S. military installation shown at the end of Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark. Instead of Biblical artifacts, though, these boxes contain a more modern form of treasure: batteries scavenged from dead electric cars.

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This 99-Million-Year-Old Bird Trapped in Amber Had A Mystifying Toe

#36 in our top science stories of 2019.

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A single fracking well in Ohio vented more methane in 20 days than whole nations do in a year

Less than a week ago, a study on methane “super emitters” revealed something about the scope of the environmental threat represented by Donald Trump’s refusal to regulate methane release at wells. Not only are these sources making a significant and...

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Don't discount carbon capture just yet, study says. It could go underwater.

Humanity has some quick approaching deadlines to meet in the coming years if we want to stave off the worst effects of climate change, and scientists say one solution, carbon capture and storage (CCS), is ready to start today — but it’s not an option many people aren’t thrilled about.

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Same-sex sexual behavior in animals: Do we have it all wrong?

For many years, researchers have made certain assumptions about same-sex sexual behaviors in animals — but what if their assumptions have been wrong?

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Carbon Dioxide Could Make It Harder to Think

Climate change is ruining our air quality and contributing to a public health catastrophe. But there’s more. Researchers are warning in a new paper that the very greenhouse gas that’s driving most of our global warming—yes, carbon dioxide—is also diminishing indoor air quality. And it may be messing with our ability to make decisions and think strategically.

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Sanders: Instead of weapons funding we should pool resources to fight climate change

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said the U.S. should stop spending so much money on weapons and should instead divert those funds to fight climate change. “Maybe, just maybe, instead of spending $1.8 trillion a year globally on weapons of destruction, maybe an American president — i.e. Bernie Sanders — can lead the world and instead of spending money to kill each other, maybe we pool our resources and fight our common enemy, which is climate change,” Sanders said Thursday at the December Democratic debate in Los Angeles.

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Dogs process numerical quantities in similar brain region as humans

Dogs spontaneously process basic numerical quantities, using a distinct part of their brains that corresponds closely to number-responsive neural regions in humans, finds a study at Emory University. Biology Letters published the results, which suggest that a common neural mechanism has been deeply conserved across mammalian evolution.

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Breathtaking Find Unearths 3,500-Year-Old Ancient Greek Tombs, Once Lined With Gold

We don't know their names, but two people who lived and died in Bronze Age Greece 3,500 years ago were obviously hugely important to the people around them. Archaeologists have just found their tombs, so opulent they were once lined with gold leaf, a

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Endangered Mountain Gorilla Populations Are Growing

But the animals remain threatened with extinction

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Scientists Don't Know Why Freshwater Mussels Are Dying Across North America

Mussel species are dying en mass in rivers across the Pacific Northwest, Midwest and South—likely from unidentified pathogens

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Australia has its hottest day on record as Sydney residents brace for heat, fires and smoke

Australia's heat wave poses grave health risks as it moves into regions with active wildfires.

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Australia endures hottest day on record

The continent records its highest national average temperature, worsening the bushfire threat.

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China is about to fire up its "artificial sun" in quest for fusion energy

It is hoped the nuclear fusion device will help scientists overcome a key problem in harnessing plasma inside tokamaks.

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Bing Maps Make the Revived Flight Simulator Eerily Realistic

The 3D mapping, along with data and technical guidance from avionics manufacturers, make Microsoft’s long-loved flying program more than just a game.

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'We’ve lost an important opportunity’

Leaders, experts and activists react to the outcome of the UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid.

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Earth was stressed before dinosaur extinction

Fossilized seashells show signs of global warming, ocean acidification leading up to asteroid impact

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70% of Americans Support Solar Mandate on New Homes

CITE Research recently conducted a survey for Vivint Solar and found that 70% of Americans would support a nationwide mandate requiring that solar panels be installed on all newly built homes. The survey was conducted online, and 2,000 U.S. adults age 25 and up participated in the study from June 13 to 16, 2019.

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I Bought an Air-Quality Monitor and My Life Will Never Be the Same

It never occurred to me to buy a home air purifier until our veterinarian recommended it a little over a year ago. Our new kitten had just been diagnosed with asthma and prescribed an inhaler, which was curious to me because I'd just been prescribed one too for the first time in my life.

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Greta Thunberg says she ‘needs a rest’ after year of global climate activism

Teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg has said she needs a rest, after spending the year traversing the globe by sea, road and rail to wake up world leaders and the public to the threat of global warming. After being named Time magazine’s Person of the Year – and attacked on Twitter by jealous US president Donald Trump – the 16-year-old Swede joined thousands of students in the northren Italian city of Turin on Friday to pressure the country’s government into cutting carbon emissions.

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The dark side of electronic waste recycling

An undercover tracking program is revealing the toll of the e-waste trade.

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California celebrates 1 million solar roofs

Former Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown and other local elected officials joined local high school students, business leaders and workers

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Greta Thunberg says 'we will put world leaders against the wall'

Greta Thunberg told cheering protesters today 'we will make sure we put world leaders against the wall' if they fail to take urgent action on climate change. The Swedish teen activist was addressing the crowd at a Fridays for Future protest in Turin, Italy.

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The Extinction of This U.S. Parrot Was Quick and Driven by Humans

In centuries past, large flocks of noisy, brightly colored parrots squawked their way across the United States—from New England, to Florida, to eastern Colorado. The Carolina parakeet, or Conuropsis carolinensis, was the only parrot native to the eastern part of the country. But by the beginning of the 20th century, it had disappeared.

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Children Hold Canada and Norway Accountable for Climate Failures

The teens are pissed. Perhaps you’ve heard. Young people have cranked up the pressure all year on world leaders in an attempt to get them to address climate change. In September, 16 teenagers filed a petition against five countries for violating their rights. The petition is in the process of wending its way through an international review process, but those same petitioners have put two more countries on watch.

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Meet the Activists Risking Prison to Film VR in Factory Farms

This animal liberation group actually wants to be put on trial. Their goal: force jurors to wear VR headsets and immerse them in the suffering of animals bound for slaughter.

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Climate change has made the world's deadliest lake way more dangerous

Inside the epic, decades-long battle to tame a lake so swollen it threatens to wipe out an entire city center.

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Sound waves used to separate microplastics from laundry wastewater

The world's oceans are currently under threat not only from large pieces of plastic trash, but also from minuscule "microplastic" particles – many of which take the form of fibers that are shed by synthetic fabrics as they're being washed. A new system uses sound to help capture those fibers at…

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