The Accidental Invention of Terrariums
Victorian London became obsessed with Ward’s cases, which protected plants from the city’s toxic pollution—and piqued peoples’ imaginations.
The Environmental Cost of Cigarettes
Cigarette butts account for a huge amount of human-generated plastic pollution.
Civil Rights and New Deal America, Bruno Latour, and Bad Environmentalism
New books and scholarship from University of North Carolina, Harvard University Press, and University of Minnesota Press.
How Forest Fires Work in Finland
Finland's forest fires aren't as destructive as California's. That has more to do with climate and population than with forest management.
DNA Forensics Can End Ivory Trafficking. Will Countries Play Along?
Scientists pinpoint poaching hotspots, but authorities aren’t always eager to join the fight.
Questions for the Age of Automation
Back in the 1960s, scholars were making predictions about what the Age of Automation would look like. Where they right?
Indigenous Reserves and the Future of the Amazon
Swathes of the Amazon rainforest are set aside for Indigenous peoples to manage. While they aren't conservation areas, they are important to the ecosystem.
People Who Can’t Feel Pain
While exceptionally rare, congenital analgesia, or a total insensitivity to pain, is a real condition that can be quite dangerous.
Do Security Robots Signal the Death of Public Space?
A security robot targets the homeless, raising questions about whether private companies can expand their security detail to public spaces like sidewalks.
Why Ancient Egyptians Loved Cats So Much
Ancient Egyptians' love of cats developed from an appreciation of their rodent-catching skills to revering them as sacred creatures.