As Canadian River Shrivels, Northern Communities Call for a Highway

With the Mackenzie River too low for barge traffic, villages in the Northwest Territories are flying in food, fuel, and other essentials. A proposed highway could offer a lifeline as climate change further reduces flows, but the project faces big challenges in a warming Arctic.

As Africa Loses Forest, Its Small Farmers Are Bringing Back Trees

The loss of forests across Africa has long been documented. But recent studies show that small farmers from Senegal to Ethiopia to Malawi are allowing trees to regenerate on their lands, resulting in improved crop yields, productive fruit harvests, and a boost for carbon storage.

How Small Family Forests Can Help Meet the Climate Challenge

As efforts grow to store more CO2 emissions in forests, one sector has been overlooked — small, family-owned woodlands, which comprise 38 percent of U.S. forests. Now, a major conservation initiative is aiming to help these owners manage their lands for maximum carbon storage.

As High-Tide Flooding Worsens, More Pollution Is Washing to the Sea

As sea levels rise, high-tide flooding is becoming a growing problem in many parts of the globe, including cities on the U.S. East Coast. Now, new research shows that as these waters recede, they carry toxic pollutants and excess nutrients into rivers, bays, and oceans.

After Two Murders, a Brazilian Indigenous Leader Steps Up the Fight

In an interview with e360, Beto Marubo, a leader of Brazil’s Indigenous Amazon people, discusses the recent murders of an activist and a journalist and excoriates President Jair Bolsonaro for opening Indigenous territories to a host of environmentally destructive activities.

Green Hydrogen: Could It Be Key to a Carbon-Free Economy?

Green hydrogen, which uses renewable energy to produce hydrogen from water, is taking off around the globe. Its boosters say the fuel could play an important role in decarbonizing hard-to-electrify sectors of the economy, such as long-haul trucking, aviation, and heavy manufacturing.

How Native Tribes Are Taking the Lead on Planning for Climate Change

With their deep ties to the land and reliance on fishing, hunting, and gathering, indigenous tribes are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Now, native communities across North America are stepping up to adopt climate action plans to protect their way of life.

As Evidence Mounts, New Concerns About Fracking and Health

Two decades after the advent of fracking, a growing number of studies are pointing to a link between gas wells and health problems, particularly among children and the elderly. Researchers are now calling for new regulations restricting where wells can be located.

As the Climate Warms, Could the U.S. Face Another Dust Bowl?

Improved agricultural practices and widespread irrigation may stave off another agricultural calamity in the Great Plains. But scientists are now warning that two inescapable realities — rising temperatures and worsening drought — could still spawn a modern-day Dust Bowl.

At 11,500 Feet, a ‘Climate Fast’ to Save the Melting Himalaya

Sonam Wangchuk has long worked to help people in India’s Ladakh region adapt to climate change. In an e360 interview, he explains why he fasted for 21 days to pressure the government to grant legal protections to the region’s fragile ecosystem and its life-giving glaciers.

Warming Signs: How Diminished Snow Cover Puts Species in Peril

As the world warms, snow cover has been diminishing from the Alps to the Rockies. The dwindling snowpack is having a profound effect on ecosystems, disrupting the adaptive advantages of such northern species as lynx, wolverines, and snowshoe hares.

How a Mongolian Activist Is Helping Snow Leopards and Herders Coexist

Mongolian activist Bayarjargal Agvaantseren spearheaded the creation of the world’s first reserve for endangered snow leopards. In an e360 interview, she describes how she helped win over the local herders who once sought to kill the leopards but now patrol the reserve to protect them.

The Pandemic Has Taken Cars Off Urban Streets. Will It Last?

With a sharp drop in auto traffic due to the coronavirus, cities around the globe have closed streets to cars and expanded pedestrian thoroughfares and bike lanes. But as life edges back to normal, will these initiatives survive, especially if virus-wary citizens shun mass transit?

Why Protecting Tribal Rights Is Key to Fighting Climate Change

Fawn Sharp, president of the National Congress of American Indians, talks with Yale Environment 360 about how climate change is hitting Native Americans especially hard and why protecting tribal sovereignty is critical for tackling the climate crisis.

How Warming Ruined a Crab Fishery and Hurt an Alaskan Town

As the world warms, extended spikes in ocean temperatures are triggering the collapse of key marine populations. For the Aleut community of St. Paul, Alaska, the loss of the snow crab fishery is having a profound economic impact and raising questions about the future.

With CO2 Levels Rising, World’s Drylands Are Turning Green

Despite warnings that climate change would create widespread desertification, many drylands are getting greener because of increased CO2 in the air — a trend that recent studies indicate will continue. But scientists warn this added vegetation may soak up scarce water supplies.

In a Rare U.S. Preserve, Water Pressures Mount As Development Closes In

The largest expanse of open space in the U.S.’s heavily populated Northeast corridor is the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. But with development encroaching on the Pineland’s main aquifer and its rare wetland habitats, some conservationists say it’s time to limit growth in the surrounding region.

As Climate Fears Mount, Some in U.S. Are Deciding to Relocate

As wildfires worsen and sea levels rise, a small but growing number of Americans are choosing to move to places such as New England or the Appalachian Mountains that are seen as safe havens from climate change. Researchers say this phenomenon will intensify in the coming decades.

Will Floating Turbines Usher in a New Wave of Offshore Wind?

As locations for wind energy fill up onshore and near-shore, companies are deploying floating turbines that can be sited in deep waters, out of view from the coast. Proponents contend the new technology could boost the wind industry, but daunting challenges, including costs, remain.

In Warming World, Global Heat Deaths Are Grossly Undercounted

Kristie Ebi, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington, has been studying the human health impacts of climate change for decades. In an interview with e360, she makes a case for standardizing how heat deaths are reported and for additional investment in heat resilience.