Former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, now leading a clean energy research center at Colorado State University, explains why clean energy will keep growing despite President Trump's focus on fossil fuel.
Trump's executive order on climate will cede American leadership internationally and scores a political win. But reversing all Obama's work will require big wins in court.
President Trump's latest executive order weakens or reverses multiple rules and policies designed to slow climate change. Scholars explain the order's impact.
President Trump says environmental regulation kills jobs. To fight back, conservation advocates need to show that protecting the environment can produce jobs and local benefits.
Wind turbines require massive structures that are polluting to produce and can harm ecosystems, but these impacts compare favorably with those of fossil alternatives.
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Edgar Hertwich, Yale University; Anders Arvesen, Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Sangwon Suh, University of California, Santa Barbara, and Thomas Gibon, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
No energy source is perfect, but solar and wind have a much lower health and environmental footprint than fossil fuels, a study finds. Biopower, though, is a mixed bag.
Trump has pledged to invest big in infrastructure. An analysis shows the electric grid will need hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade just to keep things as they are.
Developed and developing countries alike struggle with water quality problems. For World Water Day, a look at the challenges – and some potential solutions – to better treating wastewater.
Pet food is a multi-billion-dollar industry that consumes huge amounts of animal protein. A veterinary nutrition specialist explains how to feed dogs and cats healthily and sustainably.
Old and degraded infrastructure costs the United States money and puts lives at risk. A civil engineer describes some innovative ways to measure risks and prioritize repairs.
To weigh the economic impact of climate change policies, we need to estimate the social cost of carbon. An economist explains how it's done and why the Trump administration shouldn't end the practice.
Nuclear power was a cornerstone of Japan's energy strategy for decades, until the Fukushima disaster. The current government wants to keep some nuclear reactors open, but has lost public support.
According to widely-cited estimates, world food production must double by 2050 to keep up with population growth. New research challenges this target and calls for balancing growth with conservation.
At a time when poverty and hunger levels are declining around the world, famine is recurring, driven by conflicts and natural disasters. But timely action by governments and aid groups can save lives.
A researcher on sea level rise and climate change impacts reviews Kim Stanley Robinson's new novel, 'New York 2140,' which envisions the city's future in the face of extreme sea-level rise.
March Mammal Madness, a tournament of imaginary contests between pairs of mammals, makes science irreverent and fun. The event has thousands of fans and is used in hundreds of classrooms.
New research shows that exposure to fine particulate air pollution may double the risk of dementia in older women by increasing growth of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain.
Professional surfers have called for culling sharks to reduce the risk of attacks. A shark biologist explains why culling will not work and surfers should accept risk when they enter the water.
Republicans in Congress are working to kill an Obama administration rule that broadens public input into federal land use planning. Hunters, fishermen, hikers and environmental groups are opposed.
James P. Gibbs, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
The Galapagos Islands' giant tortoises are one of the world's best examples of evolution. Scientists are pioneering new conservation strategies to save them from extinction and restore their habitat.
Disaster preparations often focus on gear and logistics, but research in Japan after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami shows that strong social ties played a key role in helping communities rebound.
Matthew Kahn, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
California has set ambitious goals for cutting carbon emissions and shifting to a clean energy economy. How will this strategy affect the state's huge economy? An economist weighs the evidence.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Prairie potholes in South Dakota are important breeding and feeding areas for many types of birds. Under the Clean Water Rule, farmers cannot fill them in or discharge pollutants into them without a permit.
Laura Hubers, USFWS/Flickr
President Trump signed an executive order to roll back the 2015 Clean Water Rule. Two water experts explain why the rule alarms farmers and ranchers concerned about over-regulation.
The bad old days: Public and political support for the EPA was highest when environmental problems like air and water pollution were more obvious than current problems like climate change or endocrine disruptors.
U.S. National Archives
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has said the agency's purview should not include climate change, but a look at its history under both Republican and Democratic presidents says otherwise.
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.
With little action at the national level on climate change, state and city officials are taking the lead – but by emphasizing local benefits.
Devastation in Sichuan province after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, thought to be induced by industrial activity at a nearby reservoir.
dominiqueb/flickr
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.
Bald eagles are the best-known example of a successful recovery under the Endangered Species Act.
Jerry McFarland/Flickr
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.
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.
Making a point at a Washington, D.C. protest in January.
stephenmelkisethian/flickr
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.
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.
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