Featured Story

Trees to Power Their own Wildfire Sensors

MIT researchers have discovered that trees carry a (small) charge. Now, green energy takes on new meaning with wildfire sensors powered by the woody plants themselves. Here's how it works.

Previous Earth & the Environment Stories

U.N. Puts Greenhouse-Free Clean Coal on the Back Burner Negotiators met this week for the United Nations Climate Change Conference to discuss what to do to reduce climate change after the Kyoto Protocol expires.
Can Offshore Grids Solve Our Wind Power Woes? The race is on for offshore wind power. The U.S. Department of Energy says that wind power, including offshore wind farms, could account for up to 20 percent of America's electricity generation by 2030.
How to Save and Purify the World's Water Supply: Experts Weigh In Four water experts came to the Hearst Tower in New York City to discuss how the country can deal with the water crisis, why global warming will exacerbate the problem and what will happen if we do nothing.
Scientists Recommend Permanent Method For Carbon Sequestration: Turn CO2 into Rock A breaking study indicates that 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year could be locked up in rock formations that cover half of Oman—finally putting a dent in global greenhouse gases.
Recycling Myths: PM Debunks 5 Half Truths about Recycling Is chucking a soda can in the trash an unforgivable sin? That depends who you ask: You'll find plenty of people on both sides of the great recycling debate, each equally convinced the other side is ill informed.
How Geoengineering Works: 5 Big Plans to Stop Global Warming Surely there's an easier solution to global warming than altering the Earth's atmosphere. But when compared with the daunting alternative, some scientists are beginning to take the seemingly outrageous schemes a lot more seriously.
6 Radical Solutions for U.S. Southwest’s Peak Water Problem About 38 million people in seven states and Mexico depend on the Colorado River for their water supply—a supply that is straining as demand grows. Here are six solutions to keep the faucets running. (Published in the November 2008 issue)
Inside Solar Power's Top 5 Next Game-Changing Technologies It seems like every week there's a new "breakthrough" in the world of solar energy. PM cuts through the hype and scans the startups with a detailed analysis of the green industry's real priorities for fulfilling the promise.
Poop Power: U.S. Farms Save Big Turning Manure to Kilowatts For farmers already operating on slim margins, the trick to staying afloat could be right under their feet. PM visits one dairy farm that's already saving $60,000 a year by turning cow manure into energy using an anaerobic biodigester.
Newest Arctic Melt Record Leaves Scientists Scratching Heads The summer minimum of Arctic ice cover, about 1.74 million square miles, wasn't quite as low as last year, but a new study reports that the rate of ice melt this August was the fastest that anyone has ever recorded for the month.
View Full Science: Earth & the Environment Archive

Digital Hollywood

Geeked-Out Movies '09

The holiday movie season has come and gone without so much as a certified blockbuster. Thank goodness for 2009!

PLUS: The Top 10 F/X Scenes of 2008

Solar Thermal Power May Make Sun-Powered Grid a Reality
It's solar's new dawn. Now new innovations are exiting the lab and plugging into the grid - turning sunlight into serious energy.

Automotive

Detroit's Wild Ride in '08

There's never been a wilder year for the automotive world than 2008. Here are the most important events of the year.

PLUS: 5 Reasons GM Teeters on the Edge

Current Issue

Out Now: Snoop Tech

For January, PM explores how gadgets are leaving our personal info vulnerable to hackers. With features on hi-def epics, full-size pickups, welding and more!