How is rapid warming in the Arctic affecting animals that are adapted to cold? A wildlife biologist is using many techniques to find out, including stalking muskoxen in a polar bear costume.
Archer Larned, University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Sarah Luttrell, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
During bird irruptions, hundreds or thousands of a single species show up outside their normal territory. Most of what we know about irruptions comes from data collected by citizen scientists.
Scientists are concerned that politics will trump evidence in the new administration. A researcher of political psychology explains why these worries matter far beyond questions of science.
Less than four years after Detroit filed for bankruptcy, boosters say a revival is underway in the Motor City. But two scholars say new growth has not spread yet to neighborhoods that need it.
Timothy Hyde, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
A century before the modern environmental era, experts realized that London's dirty air was corroding its new Parliament building. This insight led to some of the first air pollution laws.
An anthropologist of the American West argues that protecting nature and our cultural heritage are good for business but few recognize how they are threatened by 'jobs-creating' oil pipelines.
Peter Alagona, University of California, Santa Barbara and Kevin C. Brown, University of California, Santa Barbara
Critics say the Endangered Species Act does not work because only about 1 percent of protected species have officially "recovered." Two biologists explain why recovery is so hard to define.
We may picture regulators tying businesses up in red tape, but research shows that many environmental regulators have collegial relationships with the companies they regulate.
Coastal indigenous peoples consume nearly four times more seafood per capita than the world average and have strong cultural ties to the sea. Global ocean policies should preserve these connections.
For the third consecutive year, it's the hottest year ever. A climate scientist explains how these predictions are made and why they're completely different from forecasting the weather.
Infrared cameras are the technology of choice for detecting gas leaks across the US. New research shows that these cameras can be quite inaccurate, and leaks can persist without being detected.
Matt Burgess, University of California, Santa Barbara and Rob Williams, University of St Andrews
A new US seafood import rule requires supplier countries to control accidental bycatch of whales, seals and other marine mammals – showing that global trade and conservation can reinforce each other.
One of the environmental legacies of the Obama administration is ocean reserves. Two ocean scientists explain why these are a critical but not sufficient piece of conservation.
A Native American scholar explains why so little has changed despite the apparent victory of protesters opposing the North Dakota Access Pipeline protest.
What place does hunting have in our urbanized society? Is it acceptable to kill for fun? For conservation? Philosophy doesn't have all the answers, but it can help us understand opposing views.
At many Spanish missions in the US and Latin America, the rising sun illuminates the altar on the winter solstice or other symbolic days. To the faithful, these events meant that Christ was with them.
Rising use of e-commerce is clogging city streets with delivery trucks, especially during holidays. To manage this traffic, cities need smart strategies for modernizing their urban freight systems.
Legal scholars explain why a lawsuit by 21 young people against the US government, arguing for a constitutional right to a stable climate, is such a powerful idea.
Most Americans care about the environment, but they didn't vote that way this year. Two political scientists urge the movement to build better connections with blue-collar workers and immigrants.
With a Trump administration hostile to action on climate change, businesses need to go beyond just complying with environmental regulations and take on the whole system.
Low-income residents in Puerto Rico are fighting disposal of toxic coal ash in their communities. They're also campaigning to shift from coal energy – the source of the problem – to solar power.
The hostility of Scott Pruitt, Trump's nominee to head the EPA, toward climate change rules is well-known. But his anti-regulatory stance could easily set back years of work on environmental justice.
Matthew Kahn, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Although Donald Trump has called climate change a hoax invented by China, Chinese leaders believe cutting carbon emissions will generate economic and political payoffs at home and abroad.
A retired rear admiral warns President-elect Trump against cutting NASA's Earth observations, which provide essential data for weather forecasters, businesses, scientists and the armed forces.
Plant-eating fish control the spread of seaweed and algae on coral reefs. New research explaining why populations of these fish vary from site to site could lead to better reef protection strategies.
Citizens and activists are using cheap off-the-shelf sensors to collect their own data on air pollution. It's a promising trend, but these devices have serious technical limitations.
Recent global climate talks at COP22 saw a growing role for businesses, NGOs and the state of California – a promising sign for action on climate change in the face of U.S. inaction.
REI's 'Opt Outside' campaign makes a virtue of shunning Black Friday and hiking instead of shopping. But while outdoor retailers preach sustainability, they still fuel our consuming habits.
The 'war on coal' is not really a result of onerous regulations but a combination of market forces over which a Trump administration has limited control.
President Trump has ordered federal agencies to cut two regulations for every new one they enact – ignoring the fact that many regulations produce large social benefits.
If US Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana is confirmed as interior secretary, he will face difficult choices about balancing extractive activities like energy production with conservation on public lands.
Gatherers in Cannon Ball, North Dakota celebrate news that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers won’t grant an easement for the Dakota Access oil pipeline.
AP Photo/David Goldman
The protesters have scored a big victory in the Dakota Access Pipeline conflict, but it's served only to illuminate the sharp divisions over energy policy in the US.
How can we feed a growing world population while protecting the environment? One key strategy is to improve yields on small farms, which produce much of the food in the world's hungriest countries.
Researchers are developing biological tools that can boost crop yields to feed a growing world population without harming human health or the environment.
Supporters of Ammon and Ryan Bundy and other militants who took over the Malheur Wildlife Refuge celebrate after they were found not guilty of conspiracy charges.
Alex Milan Tracy/Sipa via AP Images
Militants who took over the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon – and were acquitted of charges – ultimately failed because local ranchers saw a better way to deal with federal agencies.
J. Robert Oppenheimer, often called the ‘father of the atomic bomb’ who chaired the ancestor of today’s Department of Energy, had his security clearance revoked during the ‘Red Scare’ of the 1950s.
AP Photo
A historian of science and technology says Trump team's request for names of Department of Energy employees working on climate change recalls worst excesses of ideology-driven science in government.
Florida’s unique geology means alternative fracking methods would be used, but can aquifers be safely separated from injection wells?
jsjgeology/flickr
There's a debate over whether fracking should be introduced into Florida, a state with a unique geology and hydrology that introduces a long list of environmental concerns.
Maintenance has been pushed off so much that the D.C. Metro needs to shut lines down for months for repairs.
momentsnotice/flickr
Treating municipal water, particularly from rivers, is difficult technically and cash-strapped municipalities like Flint don't always know the latest science.
Cuban farming is a model of agroecology -- growing food without heavy use of fossil fuel or chemicals. But closer relations with the U.S. could push Cuba back toward large-scale industrial farming.
Author Peter Walker meets with Robert ‘LaVoy’ Finicum at the occupied Malheur National Wildlife refuge on January 20.
Occupier Jason Patrick
A geography professor reports from the front lines of the Malheur occupation. Despite strong local opposition to occupiers, he foresees more conflicts to come.
Protector in chief: Theodore Roosevelt with conservationist John Muir at Yosemite in 1906.
U.S. Library of Congress
Historically, environmental causes enjoyed bipartisan support but gains by NGOs and the emergence of climate change as a social issue have created a sharp political divide.
‘Decarbonizing’ the energy system is above all an infrastructure problem.
m-i-k-e/flickr
Dealing with climate change will require countries to 'decarbonize' their energy infrastructure. The history of infrastructure suggests this could happen quickly once the transition starts.
Where there are groups of seals, there are sharks.
Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environment
A rash of white shark attacks this summer points to a rebounding population in the US – a sign of healthier oceans and the need to coexist with this apex predator.
Don’t fence me in: a coyote finds Portland, Oregon a perfectly good habitat.
automotocycle/flickr
Peter Alagona, University of California, Santa Barbara
Urban wildlife is here to stay. Cities and their residents need better policies to coexist with the many animals making their homes in cities and suburbs.
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