Green Science

That's the goal for these minuscule technologies with their array of seemingly miraculous materials, supernatural conductivity and paranormal photonics. Can you name one?

By Nicholas Gerbis

How do we reduce greenhouse gas emissions? A carbon tax is one answer. A simpler alternative to cap-and-trade schemes, a carbon tax encourages energy efficiency and reduced consumption.

By Sarah Dowdey

It's not really green. It's "green." Unlike asphalt, green pavement is permeable, which means it lets rain soak through to the ground rather than roll off. How does this help our environment?

By Debra Ronca

When you're camping, it's nice to have a light in your tent. But lanterns can catch fire and flashlights eventually run out of batteries. Does the sun offer a better solution?

By Julia Layton

The word "ozone" gets tossed around conversation as casually as a softball, but how many of us could really describe what the ozone layer is? The "hole" in it isn't exactly a hole.

By Jane McGrath

If you've ever walked the New York City streets in July, you've experienced the misery of this phenomenon. Why do cities heat up like furnaces while surrounding rural areas remain cooler?

By Jane McGrath

Scientists say that as of May 2007,. more people now live in urban than in rural areas. So how do planners make cities work for all those people?

By William Harris

They may seem like a fun water sport or a noisy nuisance, but whatever your stance on personal watercraft, there's no denying they pollute. So how bad are they?

By Julia Layton

Plastic bags are generally unsustainable. Even if they are biodegradable, they take roughly 1,000 years to fully break down. Minnesota company NatureWorks has come up with a green plastic bag, but how eco-friendly is it?

By Josh Clark

Earth Day is the ideal time of the year to form new eco-oriented habits. Here are 10 things you can do to celebrate our planet all year long.

By Julia Layton & Sarah Gleim

Everyone knows air pollution isn't good for your lungs, but it turns out that it's not doing your heart any favors either. Why do the particulates in the air we breathe interfere with our heart's basic job: to keep things ticking?

By Julia Layton

The worst bad guys in the world of video games aren't virtual. Vampire power, overpackaging and energy-draining consoles make gaming unnecessarily bad for the environment. What are video game manufacturers doing to go green?

By Stephanie Watson

If you've ever seen a kid frying ants with a magnifying glass, you know that the concentrated power of the sun can create great heat. But what if that heat were applied to something a bit more productive -- something like cooking food?

By Julia Layton

Recycling proponents tell us that everything that can be recycled should be. Some items, however, can use more energy to recycle than it would cost to make new ones. Are we better off throwing some things away?

By Jonathan Strickland

Most scientists agree that human interference in the environment has something to do with the recent trend of rising temperatures on the Earth. If we got ourselves in this pickle, what can we do about it?

By Jonathan Strickland

If ranchers and landowners invest in grass banks, will their payout be nothing but green? Or is grass banking a temporary solution, delaying Mother Nature's inevitable bankruptcy?

By Jennifer Horton

We've been warned plenty about the mercury content of fish. And most of us know our new high-efficiency CFLs also contain the shiny neurotoxin. So which source should cause us more concern?

By Julia Layton

Is the same substance that makes your shampoo so sudsy really going to give you cancer? Here's the real dirt on whether sodium lauryl sulfate is bad for you.

By Julia Layton & Valerie Stimac

Can you walk to restaurants from your home? Or do you have to hop in the car for every outing? How do you determine your neighborhood's walkability without taking to the streets yourself?

By Maria Trimarchi

When Thomas Malthus warned that the human population would eventually outpace Earth's resources, he wasn't anticipating the green revolution. So why do rising food costs have some folks worried we're running at capacity?

By Julia Layton

Wind energy is great, but what happens when there's no breeze? The Iowa Stored Energy Park will store compressed air underground. Can it replace traditional energy sources?

By William Harris

Environmentalists have found a way to harness the military precision of missile-tracking technology for a decidedly nonviolent mission: replanting forests. So what do C-130 aircraft have to do with reforestation?

By Jennifer Horton

Plants absorb carbon dioxide and feed us oxygen. So it's pretty much a no-brainer: Plowing down our forests is a bad idea. What's driving the destruction? And is anything being done to stop it?

By Debra Ronca & Sascha Bos

Green, clean energy sounds good at first: Harness the power of the wind to run our creature comforts. But could the sounds people hear (and don't hear) from wind turbines endanger their health?

By Julia Layton & Austin Henderson

We humans like to trade one problem for another. We give up drinking only to take up smoking. Will we also exchange a reliance on dwindling fossil fuels for a food shortage caused by ethanol production?

By Robert Lamb