News & Commentary

A Year Without Snow

June 4, 2015 DispatchWestBrooke Jarvis

Want to know what difference a few degrees can make as the climate warms? Look no further than the West’s critical and vanishing snowpack.

Why Send Antarctica More Ice? Because, Science.

June 3, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesPerrin Ireland

A weekly roundup of the best in science journalism, doodled.

Sea Change

June 1, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesBrian Palmer

Global warming could condense three million years of changes in the oceans into less than one century.

School Scandal

June 1, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

In states whose economic engines run on dirty fuel, teaching kids about climate change is under new attack.

Help Bats. Save the Environment. Drink Mezcal.

May 29, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesJason Bittel

A bat scientist fights to make the tequila industry more bat-friendly.

Hot in Hyderabad

May 28, 2015 ExplainerIndiaBrian Palmer

Your questions about the Indian heat wave, answered.

Has Oil Spill Cleanup Improved at All?

May 27, 2015 ExplainerCalifornia, WestBrian Palmer

Why are we cleaning up the Santa Barbara oil spill with shovels and buckets?

A Variation Variable

May 27, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesBrian Palmer

Unraveling the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation will help us better understand climate change.

Fearing the Burn

May 26, 2015 Latest NewsWestAlisa Opar

Western states prepare for an “explosive” wildfire season.

I Hate Reruns

May 22, 2015 Latest NewsCaliforniaClara Chaisson

The Santa Barbara coast has yet another oil spill, thanks to a company that screws up royally—repeatedly.

The Science of Sea Spray

May 21, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesBrian Palmer

The bubbles and droplets on the ocean surface (and what lives in them) may have a big influence on climate.

Yes, in Your Backyard

May 21, 2015 PerspectivesTexasBrian Palmer

Texas tells local governments not to mess with oil and gas.

Spill Tracker

May 20, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesThe Editors

An explosion in North American fossil fuel extraction has led to a dangerous rise in pipeline spills and oil train derailments.

A Beach of an Oil Spill

May 20, 2015 Latest NewsCaliforniaClara Chaisson

Santa Barbara’s pristine coastline is now coated in crude.

Do We Exhale Carbon?

May 19, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesBrian Palmer

Your bodily emissions have at most a negligible impact on climate change, and you may even be a modest carbon-sequestration device.

Getting Schooled in the Lunch Room

May 19, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesClara Chaisson

The cafeteria tray gets a sustainable (and homey) makeover.

Down with TPP

May 18, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesAlisa Opar

From fracking to tainted fish, how the Trans-Pacific Partnership could affect the West.

Toxic Two-Step

May 15, 2015 DispatchTexasJeff Turrentine

When politicians and corporate polluters step onto the dance floor in Texas, the state’s environmental agency provides the music.

The Dirt on Dirt

May 13, 2015 ExplainerUnited States, InternationalBrian Palmer

The world’s soil helps us grow food and store carbon. So why are we letting it waste away?

When civil war broke out in Syria, scientists scrambled to save a seed bank

May 12, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesPerrin Ireland

A weekly roundup of the best in science journalism, doodled.