Archive
Explore Anthropocene’s story archive by clicking on the topics below or entering your own search terms.
A 100-year-old freezer rule has a hidden climate cost
Frozen food worldwide is still kept at −18°C (0°F). Raising that by just three degrees could avoid 17 million tons of emissions a year, and an 18-month study found most foods stay safe and tasty.
Engineers just mapped a narrow path to greener flying
Flying behind commercial jets, a team pinpointed the exact combination of fuel and engine technology that cuts both soot and the contrails warming the planet.
What’s the better bargain, protecting a rainforest or regrowing it?
A new study finds that stopping logging and wildfires could do more for rainforest wildlife than halting deforestation—and it costs far less than restoration.
Researchers had a hunch about how to solve the climate problem caused by wastewater treatment
Scientists expected their artificial floating wetland to help only after cleaning the water. Instead, greenhouse gas emissions dropped months earlier, and nobody is sure exactly why.
What happens to the world’s farms if everyone eats less meat?
Researchers ran the numbers on a worldwide sustainable-diet transition—and found a food system that looks nothing like today’s.
Scientists made an ultra-black wool. And it turns saltwater into drinking water
The natural biodegradable material, which costs less than $1 for a piece the size of a sheet of paper, could provide an purification for vulnerable communities.
The humble tree hole turns out to be a remarkable climate refuge
A new analysis shows that cavities inside trees can run several degrees cooler than the surrounding air during heatwaves—a finding that reframes the role of forests in a warming world.
Why less steel and concrete isn’t the same as more sustainable
A provocative new study argues that a building’s real environmental cost is measured by how well it survives disaster, not by how little it weighs.
Scientists develop a plastic that can be turned into fertilizer
Researchers say a modified plant-derived polymer offers a possible alternative to conventional plastics—one designed to end its life as crop fertilizer, not landfill waste.
Building codes are holding back low-carbon concrete. A new study shows why.
Building standards treat all concrete the same, hindering the use of greener concrete, but climate conditions play a much bigger role in determining a structure’s durability
