Climate knowledge What is the difference between conservation and preservation? A hundred-year-old debate that pitched environmentalist against environmentalist still casts a shadow today.
Climate knowledge How can I eat sustainable food? The way we eat is simply untenable, for the climate and for the earth and for us. But what can we do?
Climate knowledge Why is there debate over climate change? It doesn't help to think of the climate debate as an us-versus-them battle. There are a wide variety of views on the topic—and to move forward, we need to find the places of agreement.
Climate knowledge A simple guide to the Paris Agreement The U.S. has dropped out of the Paris Agreement. Here's what that treaty is all about.
Climate knowledge What solutions can reduce deforestation? If we want to keep carbon out of the atmosphere, it's essential that we hold on to the world's trees. So what strategies work best?
Climate knowledge What is the Green New Deal? Think of the Green New Deal as a challenge: an attempt to raise the stakes of the climate conversation.
Climate knowledge How does a carbon tax work? Most economists agree that carbon taxes are effective. So why aren't there more of them?
Climate knowledge The many types of pollution Humans have a talent for tarnishing the earth. It's a problem we'll have to consider even as we fight climate change.
Climate knowledge A guide to non-renewable resources and the climate Non-renewable resources take eons to be replaced—sometimes longer than the entirety of human history. Still, some of these materials are essential in our quest to stop climate change.
Climate knowledge How to plant a tree Want to add a bit of carbon—and a lot of beauty—to your yard? Just plant a tree.
Climate knowledge Essential facts on deforestation The rate of cutting is slowing. Still, on average we're losing 270 square kilometers of forest each day.
Climate knowledge Climate solutions, pt. 2: What you can do Your carbon footprint is just one small piece of the puzzle, but your actions can illustrate the scale of the emergency.
Climate knowledge Climate solutions, pt. 1: Global priorities There is no silver bullet for the climate crisis. But there are some solutions we already know we need to pursue.
Climate knowledge A simple guide to the Kyoto Protocol The Kyoto Protocol launched the first global effort to fight climate change. Behind its tangle of terminology, this treaty contains some easy-to-grasp ideas that still affect our approach today.
Climate knowledge What is happening to the polar ice caps? Ice shelves are crumbling. Sea ice is melting. It's opening a vast new world of economic possibility—and a whole lot of trouble, too.
Climate knowledge What is a carbon sink? Features of the natural landscape, from swamps and forests to certain kinds of rocks, can pull carbon from the sky. Can this help us avert disaster?
Climate knowledge Why is biodiversity important? Global warming is a threat to nonhuman life on this planet—which turns out to be one more threat to us, too.
Climate knowledge What does 'cap and trade' mean? Cap-and-trade initiatives use the logic of the marketplace to decrease emissions. The goal is to make cleaning up the atmosphere as cheap and easy as possible. But does it work?
Climate knowledge What do projections say about the future climate? The worst-case scenario now seems unlikely. But don't breathe easy yet.
Climate knowledge What is ocean acidification? Climate change is not the only carbon problem. Fossil fuels are pushing the oceans towards a watery apocalypse.
Climate knowledge How much will climate change cost? The short answer: we can't know precisely. But, unless we change things, it will cost more than we can afford.
Climate knowledge Could the runaway greenhouse effect come to earth? Get enough greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and you set off an unstoppable feedback loop of warming. Could it happen on earth?
Climate knowledge What does 'global warming potential' measure? Carbon dioxide may be the most famous greenhouse gas, but it's not the only factor in climate change. "GWP" helps us compare other gases, too.
Climate knowledge What is geoengineering? Geoengineering aims to directly manipulate the climate. It is not just mad science—though it does get plenty of people mad.
Climate knowledge What is a carbon footprint and how is it calculated? There are various environmental "footprints" measured by researchers. So where did the idea come from, and what do those numbers really mean?
