U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry addresses delegates before he signed the COP21 Climate Change Agreement on Earth Day, April 22, 2016, at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York, N.Y.

The Paris Agreement: Annotated

Adopted by almost 200 parties at the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference, the Paris Agreement captures international ambitions for cooperative climate action.
A bodega in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx

A Food Desert in an Urban Neighborhood

Food deserts have complex causes, and require multiple solutions.
Barechested workers erect a Nazi flag on a hill at Buckeberg in preparation for a Harvest Festival.

Why National Pride Could Make or Break Climate Action

Nationalism and environmentalism have a history of pairing in dark ways. What does this mean for international climate negotiations?
A collage of book covers

What We’re Reading in 2020

Funk music, floating cities, poetic prose, and a return to the classics.
A network server

How Much Carbon Will It Cost to Read This Story?

Just how significant is the internet’s carbon footprint?
Crane lifting waste out of landfill

Waste-to-Energy: Sustainability Solution or Ponzi Scheme?

Waste-to-energy involves generating electricity by converting waste into gasses. Many are wondering: does it work? And is it scalable?
Side-by-side image of Dubai and Manhattan

The Key to Environmentally-Friendly Urban Planning

Manhattan and Dubai are both bustling, crowded cities with dense populations. So do Manhattanites have smaller ecological footprints?
A bloat of hippos in a watering hole

Hippo Poop Kills Fish, but There’s an Upside

A robot disguised as a crocodile is helping scientists understand that mass fish die-offs serve a purpose.

An Astro-Ecology Team Brings Stellar Software Down to Earth

This new AI will protect endangered species from poachers, says a team of conservationists and astrophysicists.