Environmental Science
The environment is truly a thing of beauty and should be protected whenever possible. What can we do to save the environment, and what new technology is available to help us?
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For more than 40 years, scientists have tried to figure out what's causing large parts of Canada to be "missing" gravity. The force of gravity around Hudson Bay is lower than surrounding areas. Learn about two theories that may explain the phenomenon.
Vertical farming is a method of large-scale farming in an urban environment. Learn about the benefits of a vertical farm and vertical farming technology.
It may look like a wasteland now, but a mysterious mound-building civilization once called Peru's arid valleys home. Did a shift in climate drive them to settle -- and eventually disappear?
By Julia Layton
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Ashes to ashes, dust to dust -- unless of course you've been embalmed, buried in a steel and hardwood coffin and interred in a concrete vault. For some people, the luxurious excess that accompanies traditional burial is no longer appealing.
What if the land you relied upon simply blew away? In the 1930s, poor stewardship and crushing drought created black blizzards and an internal American exodus known as the Dust Bowl.
Electrifying dance moves might impress your friends, but they usually don't help power the club you're dancing in. What's piezoelectricity, and how could it help twist the future of energy generation?
Drilling down thousands of feet in lightless ocean depths and transporting that oil to the surface without spilling it isn't exactly easy. Did we mention the rough seas?
By Robert Lamb & Desiree Bowie
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Laws, treaties and the limits of human technology have kept some petroleum reserves just beyond the reach of oil companies. So where are they dying to drill?
By Robert Lamb
Researchers think the Chicxulub crater was caused by the massive asteroid that also killed off the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. What else do we know about this peak-ring crater?
By Mark Mancini
As high-yield oil supplies become harder to find, energy companies are turning to oil sands: mixtures of bitumen, sand and water. How do you extract oil from mucky, viscous soil?
Haunted by ideas of your body polluting the Earth after you're gone? Microbial fuel cell technology could allow you to harness the energy of your own decomposition to power batteries.
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Experts expect more than 1 billion climate refugees by the year 2050. Where will they go and how will the world feed, clothe and shelter them?
While it's good to be environmentally accountable, too much eco-angst can spiral into an actual anxiety disorder. What makes people lose sleep thinking about their big, muddy carbon footprints?
Did you know that sand dunes can sing? And, their artistic curves certainly make for a gorgeous photograph. In fact, you might call the sand dune the diva of the desert.
By Debra Ronca
With the global food crisis, some people feel that using food to make biofuel just doesn't make sense. Could algae be a solution? How could algae possibly fuel cars and even airplanes?
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Wetlands may look murky and even creepy, but their value is clear. They soak up floodwaters and filter runoff before it enters our lakes and streams. How can we protect these spongy areas?
By Debra Ronca
Are wind farms and other renewable energy sources the closest we can come to free energy? Isn't there some crackpot invention out there that you can set up in your backyard?
What if you could scrub out carbon dioxide emissions before they ever dirtied the atmosphere? This exciting technology could do just that, but will the benefits outweigh the costs?
Dinosaur eggs and the embryos inside can teach us a lot about dinosaur reproduction and behavior. But how do scientists get the rocky embryos out from the equally rocky shells?
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It's colorless, odorless and definitely life-sustaining, but is it invisible to the naked eye? Not usually. So what's going on with everyone's favorite liquid?
By Robert Lamb
Popeye used the iron from spinach to morph into a formidable sailor. We know that iron is an essential component of the human body. But could it also be the answer to global warming?
A sustainable community might not be as radical as you think. What's so crazy about minimizing waste, reducing consumption and preserving green space?
We all know the cartoons of prehistoric people running from dinosaurs aren't realistic. But many animals living today have ancestors from that time.
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Everyone knows that once a bone has fossilized, it's hard as a rock, right? So how did scientists find soft tissue inside a broken dinosaur bone?
In "Back to the Future," Doc Brown throws garbage into Mr. Fusion, powering his time machine. We might be closer than you think to generating electricity for our homes using trash.