News & Commentary

You Don't Know Jack(fruit)

November 9, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesSusan Cosier

Prolific and nutritious, this funny-looking fruit could help feed the world.

No Photos, Please

October 23, 2015 DispatchWyomingAlisa Opar

New Wyoming laws stifle freedom of speech and make citizen science illegal.

Biting Back

October 22, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesSusan Cosier

Backyard breeders are creating a new kind of hero honeybee—one that chomps off the legs of mites and saves the hive.

Steaking Their Claim

October 16, 2015 PerspectivesUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

Did Big Ag’s beef-loving cowboys just lasso the 2015 Dietary Guidelines? It sure does look that way.

The Soil Savior

October 15, 2015 DispatchTexasJeff Turrentine

A Texas farmer is bucking tradition by putting soil health above all else. The result? Water-retaining, nutrient-rich pay dirt.

The Blue (Plastic) Planet

October 15, 2015 ExplainerInternationalBrian Palmer

You've probably heard that there's a lot of plastic swimming around in our oceans. But do you know how much? (Spoiler alert: It's way more than you think.)

Unleaded, Please

October 9, 2015 Latest NewsFlintSusan Cosier

Toxic tap water is just not acceptable in 2015 (in Flint, Michigan, or anywhere else).

Heat Exchange

October 8, 2015 Latest NewsIndiaBrian Palmer

An Indian public-health official thinks the United States could learn a thing or two from her country about dealing with climate change (and vice versa).

Played for a Fuel

October 1, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

The fact that corn-based ethanol is renewable doesn’t make it sustainable. When will candidates stumping in Iowa admit as much?

Must We Choose Between Clean Air and a Stable Climate?

September 24, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesBrian Palmer

A new study tells us how we can have both.

Das Pollute

September 24, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesBrian Palmer

Did Volkswagen expose flaws in our emissions-testing regime?

Particulate Matters

September 15, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesBrian Palmer

New research suggests even small amounts of air pollution can make you sick.

Resistance Movement

September 8, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesAlisa Opar

Pesticide pollution actually creates toxin-tolerant frogs—to a point.

In a Flash

September 2, 2015 PerspectivesWest, United StatesAlisa Opar

A wildland firefighter documents one of the worst fire seasons on record.

Stalking the Sustainability Unicorn

September 1, 2015 PerspectivesUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

What will be “the Uber of saving the planet?” (And, um, how do we get in on the ground floor?).

India's Red-Hot Problem

August 31, 2015 NRDC in ActionGujarat, Ahmedabad, IndiaKim Castleberry

Fighting deadly heat waves is futile, but preparing for them might wind up saving thousands of lives across the country.

The Great Boto Botch Job

August 20, 2015 Latest NewsBrazilJason Bittel

How a brilliant marketing move led to the slaughter of thousands of pink river dolphins.

Hotter = Drier

August 19, 2015 Latest NewsCaliforniaBrian Palmer

A new study shows how climate change is making the California drought worse.

Hot Water

August 18, 2015 ExplainerWest, United StatesBrian Palmer

Uranium mining threatens aquifers that could provide the drought-stricken West with emergency water supplies.

Hey, Congress, Quit Blaming the EPA

August 18, 2015 DispatchColoradoBrian Palmer

We’ve created a situation where one bad call can contaminate 300 miles of river with toxic metals. That’s a systemic failure, not an individual failure.