A shrinking fraction of the world’s major crops goes to feed the hungry, with more used for nonfood purposes

Rising competition for many of the world’s important crops is sending increasing amounts toward uses other than directly feeding people. These competing uses include making biofuels;...

Trees aren’t a climate change cure-all – 2 new studies on the life and death of trees in a warming world show why

When people talk about ways to slow climate change, they often mention trees, and for good reason. Forests take up a large amount of the planet-warming...

Climate change isn’t just making cyclones worse, it’s making the floods they cause worse too – new research

Super cyclones, known as hurricanes or typhoons in different parts of the world, are among the most destructive weather events on our planet. Although wind speeds...

What is dead pool? A water expert explains

Journalists reporting on the status and future of the Colorado River are increasingly using the phrase “dead pool.” It sounds ominous. And it is. Dead pool...

A tug of war between survival and fitness: how chameleons become even brighter without predators around

Invasive species offer a rare research opportunity, as they often colonise new environments very different to their native habitat. One such species is the Jackson’s three-horned...

Climate breakdown: even if we miss the 1.5°C target we must still fight to prevent every single increment of warming

Is it game over for our attempts to avert dangerous climate change? For millions of people in India and Pakistan the answer is clearly yes as...

A new earthquake warning system will prepare Canada for dangerous shaking

Large earthquakes can wreak enormous violence upon lives, livelihoods, infrastructure and the environment. High-density urban populations in the relatively small, seismically active areas of British Columbia...

Beyond honey: 4 essential reads about bees

6 months after the climate summit, where to find progress on climate change in a more dangerous and divided world

Six months ago, negotiators at the United Nations’ Glasgow climate summit celebrated a series of new commitments to lower global greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience...

The window of opportunity to address increasing drought and expanding drylands is vanishing

Chile, Argentina and the American West are in the midst of a decade-long, megadrought — the driest conditions those regions have seen in a century. And...