A study of dozens of city gardens and urban farms across the US and Europe found several ways to boost their benefits, not just for their neighborhoods, but for the planet.
Global plastics production is set to double by 2040. The upcoming UN meeting is a chance for New Zealand to stake a stronger position on a proposed treaty to reign in plastic pollution.
The environmental footprint of milk containers varies substantially.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
In Canada, milk is available in jugs, cartons, bags and glass bottles. A new analysis reveals which type of container has the smallest environmental footprint — from container production to disposal.
A woman holds a menstrual cup in Kenya.
Gioia Forster/picture alliance via Getty Images
This is a crucial dinosaur for palaeontologists; the variety of fossils available means researchers can study the species’ growth through its whole life span.
Periodical cicada in Washington, D.C., May 2017.
Katha Schulz/Flickr
Life-cycle assessments of food packaging often omit the impact and possible toxicity of plastics leaking into the environment. Excluding these factors gives plastics an unjustified advantage.
Passengers disembark high speed trains at London’s St. Pancras International station in London, UK.
EPA/Andy Rain
In New Zealand, where more than 80% of electricity is renewable, the carbon footprint of electric cars is 62% lower than that of fossil cars. But their lithium battery has other environmental impacts.
Automation can be a more efficient use of resources, but it may also mean people consume more.
Detail from Reed Plummer’s photograph Surge, in which a breaking wave drops tons of water even as it pulls tons of sand from the sea bed.
South Australian Museum
Both natural and artificial Christmas trees have environmental impacts, but they’re not major. What matters most is what happens to the trees after the holidays.