Letting Biodiversity Get under Our Skin
Some aspects of dirty living can be healthy. A new study posits that the decline of plant and animal diversity in cities may be linked to the recent surge of allergies and other chronic inflammatory diseases.
By Rob Dunn
The Mighty Leaf
As scientists begin to hack the code for the humble leaf, they are peering into the past and engineering a greener future.
The EcoPerception Gap
Why do we worry too much about some environmental risks and not enough about others?
By David Ropeik
What Tragedy? Whose Commons?
Pastoralist PR is dreadful. In the classic cautionary tale, communal land ownership inevitably leads to overgrazing. But maybe the story’s got it wrong.
By Fred Pearce
Listening in on 100 Million Fish
Doppler radar for fish could revolutionize ocean monitoring
Piping Hot Asphalt
Roads and lots could double as water heaters
Carbon Fiber from Plastic Bags (print only)
How to turn used plastic into racing cars
Could poisoning rhino horns undermine their medicinal reputation?
Windows Inspired by Spider Webs
Patterned UV coating on glass is invisible to humans—but not to birds
Gardening on the Side
Architects experiment with moveable green walls
Nature Follows a Path of Pixels into Children’s Hearts (print only)
By Carol Kaesuk Yoon
Pollution turns plants into vegetarians
Sea-level rise is speeding up along the U.S. East Coast
Recycling bins encourage consumption
Vineyard falcons raise more grapes and chicks
Helpful spiders thrive alongside GM cotton
Leeches help track rare mammals
Hummingbirds and lilies are out of sync
Green walls reduce air pollution better than trees
What’s the best way to keep drugs out of waterways?
Navigating a Hybrid River
A restoration plan with an eco-industrial vision
By Emma Marris
In Search of an Environmentally Balanced Diet
A Review of The Locavore’s Dilemma
By James McWilliams