Environment / Global Warming

The Continent Where Climate Went Haywire

From floods to cyclones to fires of unimaginable ferocity, climate 
change has unleashed a host of plagues on Australia. But catastrophe has 
spawned a national rebirth. 02.08.2012

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

Some are visible only after sunset, none are created by seeding, and one chewed on a fighter pilot for half an hour before spitting him out, alive. 01.30.2012

Water Wranglers

DISCOVER co-sponsors a round table discussion on the future of water on a changing planet. 01.24.2012

The Citizen Scientist

In a former life, she was a cheerleader for the Philadelphia 76ers. Today she channels her enthusiasm into spreading the word that science is something anyone can do. 01.06.2012

#84: Wild Weather, 1; Sports, 0

Extreme weather events have helped diminish many sporting events. 12.20.2011

#7: Japan Quakes; Nuke Power Stays Steady

This year enthusiasm for nuclear power in some developed nations 
seemed to vanish after Japan’s nuclear disaster. But while those countries 
recoil from atomic energy, others are committing to a nuclear future. 12.20.2011

Can Trees Offset Our Carbon Fumes?

A seven-year study looks closely at the carbon emitted and absorbed by forests. 10.13.2011

2 Degrees of Separation

Climatologists fear global 
temperatures may be reaching 
a dangerous tipping point. 
Can humanity handle the heat?
 09.08.2011

The Planet Fixers

A corporate executive, an environmental engineer, an evangelical-
Christian scientist, and a youth organizer join NBC moderator Tom Brokaw for a spirited debate on solutions to climate change. 08.08.2011

Fracking Nation

Environmental 
concerns over a 
controversial mining method could put America's largest 
reservoirs of clean-burning natural 
gas beyond reach. Is there a better way 
to drill?
 08.01.2011

The Transplanted Forest: A Bold Experiment in Preemptive Climate Adaptation

With global temperatures rising, British Columbia is taking aggressive action to protect one of its most valuable natural resources—timber forests—from shifting climate zones. 07.19.2011

Could Dirt Help Heal the Climate?

One of the simplest keys to fighting global warming may be right under our feet. 06.30.2011

Hot Zone—A Warming Planet's Rising Tide of Disaster

Dengue in Texas. Malaria in New York. Hypertoxic pollen in Baltimore. Climate change is making disease and other humanitarian threats ever more challenging. 02.04.2011

The 100 Top Science Stories of 2010

Every year DISCOVER sorts through the scientific accomplishments of the past 12 months, and assembles a list of the coolest experiments, most brilliant discoveries, and most world-changing events. As you page through the countdown to the #1 science story, we think you'll come to the same conclusion we did: 2010 was quite a year. 12.16.2010

7 Visions of Our Hot, Awful Future

A bounty of 2010 books predict the future in a globally warmed world. Among the forecasts: boom town Detroit, abandoned Miami, an Arctic black gold rush, and a weirdly strong dried fruit market. 12.13.2010

4 Bold—and Realistic—Plans to Fix Our Energy System

Eight leading thinkers offer visions of how to move from a history of squandering resources to a cleaner, more efficient, and more abundant energy supply. 11.17.2010

Will the Walrus Withstand a Warmer World?

As the Arctic warms, researchers are scrambling to predict whether the walrus can adapt to its rapidly changing home. 11.05.2010

How Climate Change Shaped Humanity

Could the study of hard times in the past teach us how to deal with global warming in the future? 10.03.2010

Energy Is the Big Issue. Smart Investment Energy Could Bring the Big Solution.

Climatologist Ken Caldeira looks at where we're going over the next 30 years. 09.13.2010

Climate Change Gets Wet

Researchers have recently started to pay more attention to how water vapor in the atmosphere is related to global warming. 09.01.2010

8 Keys to Deciphering Ancient Climates

Our lives extend only decades, so how do scientists study climate going back thousands and millions of years? Ancient pollen, clam shells, columns of sheer ice, and more. 07.08.2010

10 Science Hotspots—Where Mother Nature Reveals Her Secrets

From glaciers to undersea vents to tornado-wracked plains, these are the locations that draw boatloads of scientists from all over the world. 06.30.2010

Vertical Farms: High Hopes for Feeding the Future

To feed the hungry world, architects and agriculturalists dream of towering green "farmscrapers." 06.02.2010

Beavers Sign up to Fight Effects of Climate Change

Washington officials think the industrious critters could save more of 650 trillion gallons of water each year, blunting the effects of hot and dry summers. 04.19.2010

Could NYC Get Katrina-ed in a Warmer, Wetter Future?

Architectural teams are contemplating ways to re-engineer the city to adapt to rising sea levels. 04.05.2010

It's Gettin' Hot in Here: The Big Battle Over Climate Science

Two eminent climatologists share much different views: Michael Mann—whose private emails were hacked—points a finger at skeptics. Judith Curry believes humans are warming the planet but criticizes her colleagues for taking shortcuts. 03.10.2010

The Coolest Science Experiments in Antarctica

Researchers go neutrino-hunting and penguin-watching at the South Pole. 02.25.2010

Forget Putting CO2 Under Rock—Let's Turn It *Into* Rock

New research on carbon sequestration suggests that carbon dioxide could be chemically converted to a solid, providing a safe way to get rid of a lot of greenhouse gas. 02.10.2010

#38: A Smart Makeover for the Electrical Grid

“The grid needs to evolve from one-way wires and cables... We need the marriage of energy technology and information technology.” 01.26.2010

#37: Algae Might Be a Source of Clean, Renewable Diesel Fuel

“At the beginning we’d tell people, ‘I know this sounds crazy,’” says Bryan Willson, a Colorado State University engineer and cofounder of Solix Biofuels. 01.26.2010

#9: Experimental Coal Plant Stashes CO2 Underground

If FutureGen can successfully sequester its emissions, it could be a model for clean energy in the future. 01.25.2010

#19: New Battery Tech Could Transform the Car

More power, faster charge, happier atmosphere. 01.25.2010

8 Big Ideas That Could Pave the Road to Clean Energy

Leading thinkers offer visions of how to make our energy supply cleaner, more efficient, and more abundant. 01.19.2010

#60: Geographer Mark Serreze

He says a big Arctic melt is inevitable and readies us for what comes next. 12.28.2009

#85: Fossilized Plankton Show the Effect of Fossil Fuels

Researchers develop a clever new technique to more accurately gauge historical levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. 12.20.2009

Introducing the Most Efficient Solar Power in the World

It's taken 25 years, but a new solar-thermal plant in New Mexico has finally broken the old efficiency record. 10.08.2009

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

The State of the Climate—and of Climate Science

Four scientists discuss where the climate is and where it's going. 06.30.2009

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

New Tech Could Make Nuclear the Best Weapon Against Climate Change

Two new designs aim to make nuclear reactors safer and vastly more efficient. 06.08.2009

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

Visual Science: The Red Badge of Climate Change

Tracing the flow of a blood-red fluorescent dye may reveal the ultimate fate of the Greenland's ice. 05.18.2009

Countdown to Fusion: National Ignition Facility in Pictures

Researchers at Livermore National Lab expect to be producing energy with a controlled, self-sustaining fusion reaction within three years. 04.14.2009

Man's Greatest Crimes Against the Earth, in Pictures

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

The Strange Forests that Drink—and Eat—Fog

Several forests around the world use fog to get critical moisture and nutrients. 03.30.2009

Play Nice: 9 Eco-Friendly Toys

This year's Toy Fair in NYC showed a notable trend toward green toys. 03.19.2009

Sustainable Architecture Takes Cues From the Original Green: Nature

Glass that "breathes" like gills, solar cells that imitate leaves, and other biomimetic technologies 03.02.2009

The Climate Drone That Goes Where Scientists Fear to Tread

The Manta explores and monitors Greenland's treacherous glaciers. 02.23.2009

#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

#20: The “Doomsday Vault” Stores Seeds for a Global Agriculture Reboot

Humanity's chances to survive global warming and nuclear attacks just increased. 12.19.2008

#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

#49: Plant Migration Tied to Climate Change

When the going gets hot, vegetation runs for the hills. 12.13.2008

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

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

#73: Giant Ice Meteors Fall From Clear Skies

20-pound chunks of ice falling on a sunny day? It's no urban myth. 12.09.2008

#94: Seaweed Creates Its Own Sunscreen

The soggy brown kelp protects itself with iodides. 12.05.2008

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

20 Best Brains Under 40

Young innovators are changing everything from theoretical mathematics to cancer therapy. 11.20.2008

10 Studies That Revealed the Great Global Amphibian Die-Off—and Some Possible Solutions

In our planet's sixth great mass extinction event, amphibians are among the hardest hit. 11.04.2008

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

Visual Science: The History of the World, Contained in a Block of Ice

Ice core samples reveal the atmosphere's secrets as far back as 400,000 years. 10.14.2008

From Booze to Garbage to Fusion: The Future of Energy

How will we fuel the world in 50 years? By putting everything from wood chips to balloons to liquid plasma to work for us. 09.24.2008

Forecasting the Future May Be a Matter of Fun and Games

A new online game uses crowdsourcing to find out how to save humans from extinction. 09.05.2008

Want to Save the Trees? Try Paying People Not to Chop Them Down.

A few test projects show that landowners protect forest when it's valuable to them. 08.20.2008

A Complete History of Carbon

A new book takes readers through the birth and unstoppable rise of this dangerous element. 08.04.2008

Fighting Cow Methane at the Source: Their Food

Genetically modified grass could be the key to reducing cow emissions. 07.08.2008

10 Ways Methane Could Brake Global Warming—or Break the Planet

The enigmatic gas is a valuable fuel and a dangerous digestive waste product. 07.04.2008

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

Special Report: Endless Summer—Living With the Greenhouse Effect

Global warming has begun, and we had better start preparing for the dramatic changes to come. 06.23.2008

Ever Wonder What a Famous Physicist Reads at Night?

Freeman Dyson gives DISCOVER a peek at his stash of bedroom reading. 06.11.2008

Harnessing the Weather

Could new technology help humans eliminate "acts of God"? 06.06.2008

Whither the Coral Reefs?

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

Two Strokes and You're Out

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

What Will It Take To Ditch All That Carbon?

A new book explores methods of collecting and storing all the carbon in the atmosphere. 05.19.2008

The Next Steps Toward a Sustainable Planet

Environmental activist Laurie David gives a state of the union on the environment. 05.16.2008

Want to Help the Environment? Eat Insects.

A group of experts endorse bugs as a nutritious and sustainable food source. 05.07.2008

The "It" Bag that Might Actually Be Good for the Earth

Gum wrappers and subway maps get a dose of recycled chic. 05.01.2008

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

Biofuel Farming Looks to Be an Environmental Disaster

Growing corn for ethanol may increase greenhouse gases for over a century. 04.03.2008

The Great Forgotten Clean-Energy Source: Geothermal

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

Would Al Gore Call You Naughty or Nice?

Calculate your personal CO2 emissions and find out your climate righteousness. 03.31.2008

How Much Carbon Dioxide Does a DISCOVERer Produce?

See how DISCOVER’s editorial and creative directors compare to the US and the world. 03.31.2008

The Great Carbon Dioxide Scorecard

How much are you, the average person, and DISCOVER altering the atmosphere? 03.31.2008

The Robo-Sub That Helps Predict Where the Ocean's Headed

An underwater glider measures parts of the ocean that scientists can't reach. 03.03.2008

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

A New Source of Green Energy: Burning Tires?

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

The Latest Weapon Against Global Warming: Your Fridge

Smart appliances react to the grid to prevent blackouts—and pollution. 02.11.2008

If Life Gives You Methane, Make Methane Energy

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

4. Arctic Thaw

Rapidly melting ice in the Far North alarms climatologists and lures nations into competition for newly accessible trade routes and resources. 12.12.2007

6. Conservation Gets A Green Light

Can fluorescent bulbs save the planet? 12.12.2007

1. China’s Syndrome

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

A Spaceport for Treehuggers

Can a green building offset the potentially giant impact of spaceflight? 11.26.2007

After the Thaw

Global warming in the once-icy Arctic sets the stage for a modern-day landgrab. 11.21.2007

Halloween Science: Bacteria of the Living Dead

Chop up their DNA and the buggers still keep comin' back to life. 10.31.2007

Caging Carbon

A new device pulls the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. 10.30.2007

Caging Carbon

A new device pulls the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. 10.22.2007

Climate Change Triggers Bloodshed

Giving a new definition to "cold war" 09.25.2007

Global Warming, the Great Lifesaver

Bjorn Lomborg says balmier weather could ward off millions of deaths. 08.31.2007

Arctic Land Grabs Could Cause Eco-Disaster

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

Does Global Warming Really Boost Hurricanes?

Chris Mooney's book says yes—and we're in trouble. 08.09.2007

Sun's Shifts May Cause Global Warming

Physicist says carbon dioxide's no big deal 06.25.2007

Warming May Radically Change Ecosystems

Amazonia becomes savanna. The Sahara? No one knows. 06.15.2007

Black Gold of the Amazon

Precious soil could save the rainforest and combat global warming. 04.30.2007

Raw Data: Beacon Bird of Climate Change

Penguin poop reveals secrets of the Antarctic climate. 04.04.2007

Scorched Wine

Global warming may push wine grapes out of traditional areas. 03.06.2007

Global Warming Sinks

Greenhouse gases could go undersea. 11.27.2006

Earth's Before and After Pics

Old family albums reveal close-ups of climate change. 11.06.2006

The Grapes of Warmth

Bye-bye, Bordeaux: Global warming threatens the world's best vineyards. 09.18.2006

Plants Grab Control Of The Global Greenhouse

German researchers identify a previously unknown emitter of methane. 05.28.2006

The Year in Science: Environment

Siberian methane, the recovering ozone layer, hurricane history in tree rings, and more. 01.30.2006

Rubies of Winter

12.01.2005

Littlest Butterfly

12.01.2005

Climate

Heading toward twice the CO2 in the atmosphere by 2100 10.24.2005

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

Counting Carbons

How much greenhouse gas does your family produce? 08.06.2005

Ask Discover

03.31.2005

As the World Warms

02.06.2005

1: Turning Point

Evidence of global warming became so overwhelming in 2004 that now the question is: What can we do about it? 01.05.2005

An SUV From EPA

09.30.2004

Ask Discover

05.29.2004

A New Ice Age: The Day After Tomorrow?

Worried about global warming? Talk to a few scientists at Woods Hole. Oceanographers there are seeing big trouble with the Gulf Stream, which warms both North America and Europe 05.22.2004

The Ice Cap Melteth

02.05.2004

Environment

01.02.2004

Is Global Warming Shrinking Harvests?

This year's sizzling summer ravaged Europe's crops. Was it a portent of what's to come? 10.07.2003

Watery Grave

Some scientists believe that we can regain stability and prevent global warming by pumping more atmospheric carbon dioxide into Earth's oceans. 10.01.2003

Watery Grave

Can we bury enough carbon in the oceans to curb global warming? 10.01.2003

Environment

01.01.2003

Future Tech

We put the pedal to the hydrogen 10.01.2002

The Next Ice Age

Worried about global warming? Talk to a few scientists at Woods Hole. Oceanographers there are seeing big trouble with the Gulf Stream, which warms both North America and Europe 09.01.2002

Lovin' Hydrogen

Maverick energy guru Amory Lovins says a profitable, pollution-free hydrogen economy is just over the horizon. It's merely a matter of taming the most powerful gas on the planet 11.01.2001

Future Tech

A burial might be just the thing to deep-six global warming 08.01.2001

The Gospel According to John

When this world-class atmospheric scientist insists there's no such thing as global warming, is he talking science—or religion? 02.01.2001

Works in Progress

Whither the biggest iceberg in recorded history? 10.01.2000

Why Is Our Weather So Wild?

The evidence increasingly points to global warming as the culprit. And if you think mother nature's shifts from one extreme to another are bad now, brace yourself for the future 06.01.2000

Antarctica's Hot Spot

Braving hurricane winds and 40-foot waves, scientists struggle to unerstand Antarctic warming. 11.01.1999

What Icebergs?

10.01.1999

Energy Drain Plug

Energy Drain Plug 07.01.1999

Carbon Cuts and Techno-Fixes

10 Things To Do About the Greenhouse Effect (Some of Which Aren't Crazy) 06.01.1998

April in Winnipeg

01.01.1997

The Blobs

09.01.1996

Verdict (Almost) In

01.01.1996

The Tsunami of 1700

01.01.1996

Birth of a Berg

01.01.1996

Under the Influence of Clouds

Floating overhead are mysterious arbiters of our climate. Clouds do more than just deliver rain and snow: by absorbing and reflecting light, they help control the flow of energy around the planet. 09.01.1995

Forests in the Gas

If you're a plant, carbon dioxide is your favorite greenhouse gas. And you'll get a lot more of it in the future. But is twice as much too much of a good thing? 10.01.1994

Future Imperfect

11.01.1993

The Parasol Effect

A hazy umbrella of sulfur particles is reflecting enough sunlight and heat back into space to offset global warming. You might think that's good news. Think again. 07.01.1993

A Vision of the End

05.01.1993

What Drives Climate?

From ice age to hothouse, Earth seems to change its temperature by adjusting its blanket of CO2. 11.01.1992

Cold Comfort

08.01.1992

Batteries Included

Designed by a team of visionary engineers, a unique new car is fast, sexy, and--with zero emissions--environmentally correct for the nineties. 03.01.1992