Generative AI, those astonishingly powerful language- and image-generating tools taking the world by storm, come at a price: a big carbon footprint. But not all AIs are equally dirty.
Egyptian workers push Coca-Cola branded refrigerators, provided free to grocers, through a Cairo street.
Mohammed Al-Sehiti/AFP via Getty Images
Fires in Canada have sent smoke across several US states, leaving cities including New York, Chicago and Denver with some of the worst air quality in the world – even far from the flames.
Raising kids on a farm, as Kerissa Payne is doing, isn’t simple.
Photo courtesy of Kerissa and Charlie Payne
Access to affordable child care affects farm productivity, safety and ultimately the nation’s food supply. Farm families across the U.S. are struggling without it.
A bumblebee lands on the flowers of a white sloe bush.
Soeren Stache/picture alliance via Getty Images
Fossil fuel power plants can avoid most emissions by capturing carbon dioxide and pumping it underground. But to be a climate solution, that carbon has to stay stored for thousands of years.
The Jharia coal field in India has been on fire underground since 1916.
Jonas Gratzer/LightRocket via Getty Images
The Supreme Court has upheld a controversial California law requiring pork sold in-state to be humanely raised, no matter where it’s produced. Pork producers say it could drive up food prices.
The James H. Miller coal power plant in Alabama emitted as much carbon dioxide in 2021 as 4.6 million cars.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
After the Supreme Court overturned the Obama administration’s strategy for reducing power plant carbon emissions in 2022, the Biden administration is taking a narrower but still ambitious approach.
Natural gas power plants could find a lifeline in carbon capture and storage.
Vithun Khamsong/Moment via Getty Images
Hydrogen is getting a lot of attention as the EPA prepares to propose new emissions rules for power plants. But it has a problem: almost all of it used today is made from fossil fuels.
Small-scale farmers, organic producers and local markets receive a tiny fraction of farm bill funding.
Edwin Remsberg/VWPics/Universal Images Group/Getty Images
A Steller’s sea eagle, native to the Asian Arctic, has traveled across North America since 2021. A scholar questions whether the bird is lost – and how well humans really understand animals’ actions.
ESG investing looks for companies that do well on environmental, social and governance benchmarks.
Zhengshun Tang/Moment via Getty Images
The tiny organisms that cause harmful blooms of algae can have a big impact on your trip to the shore. A toxicologist explains what causes these events and how to keep people and pets safe.
Common household products such as cleaning agents can contain a wide range of harmful chemicals.
gawriloff/istock via Getty Images
Manufacturers don’t usually have to disclose what’s in products like shampoo and household cleaners, but a new study finds that these products can contain hazardous ingredients.
Expecting black-and-white answers can make it hard to see the truth.
bubaone via Getty Images
A psychologist explains how opponents of climate policies use a common thinking error to manipulate the public – and why people are so susceptible.
Habitat loss has driven Asian elephants, like these foraging at a garbage dump in Sri Lanka, into human areas.
Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/AFP via Getty Images
Nationally, 57% of the population says they’re not prepared for a flood disaster. Surveys and disasters show that those most at risk are least prepared.
Kivalina sits on a narrow barrier island on the Chukchi Sea.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
In the years since the Supreme Court rejected Kivalina’s appeal on May 20, 2013, the community’s search and rescue team has faced increasing climate disasters: ‘We just can’t adapt this fast.’
A bison herd on the America Prairie reserve in Montana.
Amy Toensing/Getty Images
Governments and wildlife advocates are working to protect 30% of Earth’s lands and waters for nature by 2030. An ecologist explains why creating large protected areas should be a top priority.
Shipping is responsible for about 3% of global carbon dioxide emissions – that’s more than most countries produce.
Querbeet/E+ via Getty Images
Shipping companies have billions invested in fleets that were built to last decades. Now, the US is calling for zero emissions by 2050, and the EU is raising the cost of fossil fuel use.
The higher your vantage point, the more likely you’ll see more of the rainbow’s circle.
Chen Hui/VCG via Getty Images