Climate Change

The shelled sea butterfly Hyalocylis striata can be found in the warm surface waters of the ocean around the world.

Amazing Sea Butterflies Are the Ocean’s Canary in the Coal Mine

These delicate and stunning creatures are offering Smithsonian scientists a warning sign for the world's waters turning more acidic

None

Watch Out: This Year’s Fire Season Will Be Another Bad One for the West

A warm, dry winter has set the stage for another bad year of forest fires in the western U.S.

None

Mount Everest Is Not Immune to Climate Change

Over the past 50 years, the snow line has receded nearly 600 feet up the mountain and glaciers in the region have shrunk by 13 percent

None

Shell Is Drilling the World’s Deepest Offshore Oil Well in the Gulf of Mexico

The new well contains around 250 million barrels of recoverable oil total - or just over three percent of the oil used by the U.S. each year

Over the past few decades Lake Urmia in Iran has steadily dried up.

28-Year Satellite Time-Lapse Shows Exactly What We’re Doing to Our Planet

28 years in just a few seconds, as seen from space

None

We’re About to Pass a Disheartening New Climate Change Milestone

We're teetering on the edge of hitting carbon dioxide levels of 400 ppm, but will that be enough to change minds and policies?

VOTO, a new device that converts the heat from a fire into readily usable electricity.

Five Innovative Technologies that Bring Energy to the Developing World

From soccer balls to cookstoves, engineers are working on a range of devices that provide cheap, clean energy

None

Some Shoppers Actively Avoid ‘Green’ Products

While energy efficiency and green labeling is a popular marketing strategy today, this strategy can polarize some conservative customers

None

To Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Order Your Groceries Online

Ordering groceries online for delivery cuts carbon emissions by half when compared with traveling to the store by car

None

Russia’s Cold War Plan to Reverse the Ocean and Melt the Arctic

A giant dam across the Pacific could re-route ocean currents and melt the Arctic, and the Soviets wanted to try

Emperor penguins swimming

14 Fun Facts About Penguins

Which penguin swims the fastest? Do penguins have teeth? Why do penguins sneeze? How is penguin poop useful?

Can Cloning Giant Redwoods Save the Planet?

Redwoods are mighty trees, but would planting more of them help combat climate change?

By combining genes from different bacteria species, scientists created E. coli that can produce diesel fuel from fat.

Genetically Modified E. Coli Bacteria Can Now Synthesize Diesel Fuel

By combining genes from different bacteria species, scientists created E. coli that can consume fat and excrete diesel fuel

A house in Lancaster, California gets a solar power retrofit.

In This One California Town, New Houses Must Come With Solar Power

Starting in 2014, every new house needs to produce at least 1 kilowatt of energy

None

Lockheed Martin Wants to Pull Electricity from the Ocean’s Heat

A type of renewable energy, first proposed in the 1800s, might finally be ready for prime time

None

10 Things We’ve Learned About the Earth Since Last Earth Day

Pigeon-eating catfish, Antarctic trash, and more: A list of surprising, alarming and exciting discoveries about our planet from the past year

None

The Colorado: America’s Most Endangered River

A new report points to drought, climate change and increased demand for water as the reasons the iconic river no longer reaches the sea

An artist’s rendering of Fog Bridge at the Exploratorium in San Francisco.

An Artist Creates Artificial Fog in San Francisco

Fujiko Nakaya works with an unusual medium. The Japanese artist is sculpting fog clouds at the Exploratorium's new site at Pier 15

None

Trees Make Noises, and Some of Those Sounds Are Cries for Help

Knowing what kinds of noises trees in distress produce means researchers may be able to target those most in need of emergency waterings during droughts

Drought in western Kentucky

Don’t Blame the Awful U.S. Drought on Climate Change

Scientists can attribute particular natural disasters to climate change--just not the 2012 Great Plains drought

Page 77 of 90