Environment / Environmental Policy

The Tiny German Village That Went Off the Grid

A small town in Saxony has figured out how to run entirely on biomass—and create an energy surplus. 10.14.2009

The 9 Industries That Will Be Most Screwed by Global Warming

If climate change reaches scientists' more dire predictions, it could change every facet of our society. But some industries will be especially hammered. 10.02.2009

Humans vs Animals: Our Fiercest Battles With Invasive Species

From Burmese pythons to Galapagos goats, these animals are threatening a hostile takeover—unless we can stop them. 09.24.2009

9 of Humanity's Greatest Environmental Successes

We're making some headway in restoring the environment—even if we caused the devastation in the first place. 07.10.2009

When Recycling Is Bad for the Environment

Recycling plastic is tricky business, and many plastics are better off as garbage. 07.06.2009

Forget Lightning. How Do We Catch Sunshine in a Bottle?

Renewable power is inspiring clever new ways to store electricity—and to uncork it exactly when and where it is needed. 06.17.2009

Building an Interstate Highway System for Energy

Tomorrow’s smart grid will keep the lights on and factories humming with clean (but fickle) renewable energy. 06.10.2009

10 Zany (or Genius?) Plans for Green Cities of the Future

Floating cities. A building with a million residents. An oil rig turned into a tourist getaway. Some architects are dreaming of a wild green revolution. 05.26.2009

Can Smart Tech Keep Chevy Volt's Battery Running Longer Than Your Laptop's?

GM says that tightly controlling how the battery charges will keep it alive for 10 years/150,000 miles. 04.09.2009

Man's Greatest Crimes Against the Earth, in Pictures

Humans rule the world… and destroy it in the process. 04.08.2009

How to Tell If You're Poisoning Yourself With Fish

Researchers are creating genetic tests to determine if mercury hiding in that "healthy" dinner could be messing with your brain. 03.19.2009

#1: The Post-Oil Era Begins

Electricity may be what fuels our future—electricity from renewables, nuclear, and even from burning biomass. 12.22.2008

#4: Slime Is Turning the Seas Into Dead Zones

Pollution, overfishing, and the rise of microbes spell doom for many bodies of water. 12.22.2008

#5: Nations Stake Their Claims to a Melting Arctic

Undiscovered oil and gas reserves below the ice set off a polar gold rush. 12.22.2008

#25: EPA Searches Soul, Tries to Figure out If It's a Climate Cop

The agency moves toward acting on greenhouse gases, but change will probably wait for Obama. 12.17.2008

#31: Fish Farming Threatens Wild Salmon

Lice, interbreeding, and contaminants are killing off the species. 12.16.2008

#44: The Baffling Bee Die-Off Continues

Colony Collapse Disorder continues its relentless march. 12.14.2008

#55: Polar Bears (Finally) Make the Endangered Species List

At long last, the government acknowledges the species is threatened. 12.12.2008

Carbon Trading: Environmental Godsend or Giant Shell Game?

The lively debate over whether cap-and-trade really does much to fight global warming 12.03.2008

6 Blue-Sky Ideas for Revolutionizing the Automobile

Eclectic visionaries imagine an alternate reality where cars walk, fly, and drive themselves. 10.20.2008

Global Warming Math: The Hard Numbers

A clear-eyed look at the magnitude of global warming problem—and the cost in getting rid of it. 10.18.2008

How—and Where—Will We Live in 2015?

The future is now for sustainable cities in the U.K., China, and U.A.E. 10.08.2008

The Man Who Aims to Feed Humanity's Future

Pedro Sanchez says we need nanofertilizers, transgenic crops, and governments and investors with cojones. 09.12.2008

Can Future Olympic Cities Go Greener Than Beijing?

After China's last-minute push to clean up for the games, the next three hosts aim to do better. 08.25.2008

Are Efforts to Save the Panda a Giant Waste of Money?

Sure, they're magnificent beasts, but they may be sucking eco-dollars from other, more critical species. 08.12.2008

The Lifesaving Work of the Man Behind "A Civil Action"

"Popular epidemiologist" Phil Brown comes to the aid of environmental contamination victims. 07.29.2008

20 Things You Didn't Know About... Oil

Learn more about the world's biggest fuel source—while it's still around. 06.28.2008

Whither the Coral Reefs?

Global warming and overfishing are killing reefs while scientists struggle to save them. 06.05.2008

Everything You Know About Water Conservation Is Wrong

Forget short showers. Worry about the 6,340 gallons of "virtual water" in your leather bag. 05.28.2008

From Toilet to Tap

Filtered sewage water may be the key water source of the 21st century. 05.23.2008

Two Strokes and You're Out

Impressive new tech reduces pollution from small engines by almost 90 percent. 05.21.2008

How Much Do Chemicals Affect Our Health?

Philip Landrigan tracks how dangers like the WTC can cause problems like ADD. 04.25.2008

Is Nuclear Energy Our Best Hope?

Even the creator of the holistic Gaia hypothesis has come around. 04.25.2008

How Big Is DISCOVER's Carbon Footprint?

That one little magazine is responsible for 2.1 pounds of carbon dioxide. 04.21.2008

The Great Forgotten Clean-Energy Source: Geothermal

The U.S. uses less than 1 percent of our available geothermal energy. 04.03.2008

Protect the Future of Ice Cream... by Eating Ice Cream

Häagen-Dazs pitches in to protect the honeybee. 03.20.2008

The Key to Safe and Effective Carbon Sequestration

Some rock acts as a natural stopper to buried carbon dioxide. 02.29.2008

5 Most Radical Ways to Squelch a Climate Crisis

Why we may need to reprogram the planet—and how we can do it. 02.25.2008

George Schaller's Grand Plan to Save the Marco Polo Sheep

"Obviously humans are evolution’s greatest mistake," says the conservationist. 02.21.2008

A New Source of Green Energy: Burning Tires?

If rubber recycling hits a glut, there may be little choice. 02.12.2008

If Life Gives You Methane, Make Methane Energy

The global warming risk that's also a great opportunity 01.31.2008

The Smoking Torch

Surviving Beijing’s air may be an Olympian feat. 12.12.2007

1. China’s Syndrome

Tainted products and choking pollution spark anxiety across the globe. 12.12.2007

Perdue Too Chicken to Quit Antibiotics Cold Turkey

Antibiotic use on the farm hurts people—and doesn’t help the bottom line. 09.12.2007

Arctic Land Grabs Could Cause Eco-Disaster

After nations carve up the fast-melting region, will there be anything left? 08.30.2007

The Discover Interview: Jane Goodall

For 47 years, Goodall has studied, communicated with, and lived with chimps. 03.28.2007

The Discover Interview Jeffrey Sachs

He's got a plan to save the world. All it needs is a smart dose of science, some enlightened politicians, and about 0.7 percent of your money. 11.27.2006

Is Urban Sprawl an Urban Myth?

High-altitude photos combined with satellite images show that modern American cities are just bigger versions of older American cities. 09.01.2006

Going Atomic... Again

America plans its first new nuclear warhead in two decades 09.01.2006

A Greener Faith

Is environmental activism a natural extension of religion? 08.14.2006

Life After Oil

Everyone from GM to President Bush is suddenly infatuated with ethanol. Here's how Big Corn could really replace Big Oil. 08.01.2006

Captive Wilderness

In the wildest place in the continental United States, visitors flirt with untrammeled nature, while scientists try to study, defend, and preserve it. 08.01.2006

Nouveau Cousteau, Part Deux

Jean-Michel Cousteau on the environment, working with family, and how to grab a shark without her noticing. 07.18.2006

Up a Creek

Two rivers, a raft of experts, way too many mosquitoes, and one question: What's the answer to global warming? 09.08.2005

China Gets Greener

07.25.2004

Cookie Mining

Teaching students about the delicate balance between using the earth's resources and maintaining a healthy environment 10.01.2003

Rebuilding Eden

09.01.2003

Welcome to Yucca Mountain

Where a computer model has determined it's safe for America to bury its nuclear garbage 09.01.2002

Blue Revolution

Fish farming is rapidly becoming a bigger enterprise than beef ranching. Critics contend it is also destroying land along coasts and hastening the demise of wild fish 09.01.2002

Wilding America

Connect our last parcels of wilderness, like pearls on a necklace, and mountain lions, bobcats, and wolves might once again roam their ancestral ranges 09.01.2002

Waste Not, Want Not

09.01.2002

One Marsupial Too Many

Australians face the same problem with koalas as Americans do with deer. The pesky critters seem too cute to kill but are destroying a lot of precious habitat 12.01.2000

To Save a Watering Hole

If Reuven Yosef doesn't win his fight against developers in Israel's hottest resort town, half of Europe's birds might disappear 09.01.2000

Beasts in the Mist

If David Oren could find just one of the horrifying creatures he knows are out there-- huge sloths with giant claws and a reputation for twisting off the heads of humans--he could save the world's largest rain forest 09.01.1999