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Tracking the Fallout of the Arctic's Vanishing Sea Ice
Julienne Stroeve, a research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado, has been closely monitoring the rapid loss of sea ice in the Arctic. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, she explains how the repercussions of that disappearance will be felt throughout the far north and, eventually, the entire hemisphere.
The Dam Building Boom: Right Path to Clean Energy?
Led by China, the developing world is engaged in a flurry of dam construction, touting hydropower as renewable energy in an era of global warming. But critics point out that the human and environmental costs of dams remain high.
By David Biello
A Call for Tougher Standards on Mercury Levels in Fish
In response to industry pressure, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has failed to set adequate restrictions on mercury levels in fish. Now the Obama administration must move forcefully to tighten those standards and warn the public which fish are less safe to eat.
By Jane Hightower
The Cost of the Biofuel Boom: Destroying Indonesia's Forests
The clearing of Indonesia's rain forest for palm oil plantations is having profound effects threatening endangered species, upending the lives of indigenous people, and releasing massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
By Tom Knudson
On Chinese Water Project, A Struggle Over Sound Science
Geologist Yong Yang has serious concerns about plans for a massive Yangtze River diversion project. When he went public with them, he found out how difficult it can be to challenge a government decision in China. The third in a series on Chinese environmentalists.
By Christina Larson
As Rain Forests Disappear, A Market Solution Emerges
Despite the creation of protected areas in the Amazon and other tropical regions, rain forests worldwide are still being destroyed for a simple reason: They are worth more cut down than standing. But with deforestation now a leading driver of global warming, a movement is growing to pay nations and local people to keep their rain forests intact.
By Rhett Butler
Regulators Are Pushing Bluefin Tuna to the Brink
The international commission charged with protecting the giant bluefin tuna is once again failing to do its job. Its recent decision to ignore scientists' recommendations for reducing catch limits may spell doom for this magnificent and endangered fish.
By Carl Safina
Offshore Drilling in Alaska: Time to Slow the Rush
In the last eight years, vast areas of offshore Alaska have been opened to oil drilling. Now, a conservationist argues, the Obama administration must reverse the Bush-era policies if the state is to avoid irreparable harm to Arctic wildlife and to some of the most biologically productive waters on earth.
By Margaret Williams
What's Killing the Tasmanian Devil?
Scientists have been trying to identify the cause of a cancer epidemic that is wiping out Australia's Tasmanian devils. Now new research points to an alarming conclusion: because of the species' low genetic diversity, the cancer is contagious and is spreading from one devil to another.
By David Quammen
A Corporate Approach to Rescuing the World's Fisheries
The commitment by Wal-Mart, McDonald's, and other major companies to buy only sustainably-caught seafood is an encouraging sign in an otherwise bleak global fisheries picture. After decades of government inaction and ineffective consumer campaigns, corporate pressure may finally be starting to turn the tide on reckless overfishing.
By Nicholas Day
Saving the Seeds of the Next Green Revolution
With food prices skyrocketing and climate change looming, the world needs a green revolution like the one a generation ago. But many valuable seed varieties have been lost "" and scientists now are scrambling to protect those that remain before they vanish down the genetic drain.
Alaska's Pebble Mine: Fish Versus Gold
With the support of Gov. Sarah Palin, mining interests have defeated an Alaska ballot measure that could have blocked a huge proposed mining project. Now, plans are moving forward to exploit the massive gold and copper deposit at Bristol Bay, home of one of the world's greatest salmon runs.
By Bill Sherwonit
Has the Population Bomb Been Defused?
Paul Ehrlich still believes that overpopulation imperils the Earth's
future. But the good news is we are approaching a demographic turning
point: Birth rates have been falling dramatically, and population is expected to peak later this century — after that, for the first time in modern history, the world's population
should actually start to decline.
Too Many People, Too Much Consumption
By Paul Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich
As Energy Prices Rise, the Pressure to Drill Builds
President Bush is urging Congress to open the U.S. coasts and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling. But America must ultimately wean itself off fossil fuels. The question is whether it makes the transition now — or waits until every last one of its unspoiled places has been drilled.
By Eugene Linden
Global Commodities Boom Fuels New Assault on Amazon
With soaring prices for agricultural goods and new demand for biofuels, the clearing of the world's largest rain forest has accelerated dramatically. Unless forceful measures are taken, half of the Brazilian Amazon could be cut, burned or dried out within 20 years.
The Limits of Climate Modeling
As the public seeks answers about the future impacts of climate change, some climatologists are growing increasingly uneasy about the localized predictions they are being asked to make.
Biodiversity in the Balance
Paleontologists and geologists are looking to the ancient past for clues about whether global warming will result in mass extinctions. What they're finding is not encouraging.
Russia's Lake Baikal: Preserving a Natural Treasure
The world's greatest lake, holding 20 percent of the planet's surface fresh water, has long remained one of the most pristine places on earth. Now, as Russia's economy booms and its climate warms, the Siberian lake faces new threats.
By Peter Thomson
Carbon's Burden on the World's Oceans
The burgeoning amount of carbon dioxide in oceans is affecting a lot more than coral reefs. It is also damaging marine life and, most ominously, threatening the future survival of marine populations.
DNA Technology: Discovering New Species
By taking bits of a single gene, scientists are using DNA barcoding to identify new species. If a portable hand-held scanning device can be developed, one ecologist says, it could "do for biodiversity what the printing press did for literacy."
By Jon Luoma