Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 211 results  for your search.  View and Refine Your Search Terms

  • The world is poorly designed. But copying nature helps.

    In 1989, when Japan’s bullet train debuted, it reached nearly 170 miles per hour, but was also exceptionally loud as it left any tunnel. To remedy this, engineers and designers turned to nature – mimicking different bird features in their redesign of the train. Known as biomimicry, the practice of looking at nature’s forms, processes, and ecosystems and incorporating them into human-made designs has gained in popularity in the last three decades.

    Read More

  • Inventing a Vocabulary to Help Inuit People Talk About Climate Change

    A graduate student from British Columbia, the Arctic Energy Alliance, and the elders of the Inuvialuit people may seem a strange team, but together they are tackling the dual concerns of climate change and the loss of indigenous language in Canada. By inventing new terms and words in the Inuvialuit language to describe renewable energy technologies, they are increasing awareness about sustainable development while helping preserve the culture and heritage of this unique population.

    Read More

  • These dogs live to work — and threatened animals live because they do

    The challenges of wildlife conservation are numerous, including illegal hunting and habitat loss. Numerous organizations, including the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia, are training people, from farmers to scientists, to use an ancient tool to help: domesticated dogs. Better than any existing technology, working canines are helping conservationists on numerous fronts, from sniffing out poachers to tracking elusive species, as well as protecting livestock, removing the rancher's perceived need to kill predators like cheetahs.

    Read More

  • Teaching the Next Generation to Fight Ocean Plastic Pollution

    The 5 Gyres program is a pilot project that takes high school students from low-income districts out on boat expeditions to study the shocking amounts of plastic that can be found in our oceans, hoping to simultaneously raise awareness about this serious environmental issue for the next generation, while sparking interest in the sciences to underserved students.

    Read More

  • Green movement pivots toward minorities

    The largely homogenous demographic of those working in conservation contributes to disparities in representation, which in turn can lead to issues like the Flint water crises. Now several organizations, including the Alliance for the Great Lakes in Cleveland and the Environmental Fellows program at the University of Michigan, are working to include the diverse voices of different races, ages, and backgrounds in the conversation.

    Read More

  • ‘Fingerprinting' the Ocean to Predict Devastating Sea Level Rise

    As temperatures continue to steadily and consistently rise because of climate change, the warming ocean has become an increasing threat to the livelihoods of those living near any shore. From Hurricane-force winds to rising sea levels that threaten floods, the potential for future storm surges is only becoming more apparent. In an effort to mitigate and potentially minimize loss, scientists from around the world are "fingerprinting" sea level rise by the use of satellites in an attempt to predict which coastal areas are most at risk from these impending storms.

    Read More

  • As Big Marine Reserves Proliferate, a New Focus on Enforcement

    Scientists and conservationists have been pushing for more marine protected areas, regions that restrict human activity to protect marine life. But, they're quickly realizing it’s not about the quantity of mpa’s, but the quality.

    Read More

  • The Sex Life Of Coral: Why Scientists Think It Could Save Us All

    Climate change is destroying coral reefs at a startling rate - threatening the livelihoods of millions of people, increasing the damage caused by storm surges, and affecting the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. Scientists are now exploring revolutionary - and sometimes controversial - methods to learn more about and preserve coral reefs, including selective breeding of those species proven to survive conditions such as high toxicity and heat, and cultivating the regrowth of colonies one centimeter at a time.

    Read More

  • Network Effect: The Robots, Sensors and Satellites Digitizing the Ocean

    Despite advancements in technology in most sectors of life leading to an increase to access of information about practically anything, little is still known about the ocean and its behavioral patterns. Liquid Robotics – a Silicon Valley-based company – is trying to change that. Engineers here have created the "Wave Glider," which essentially acts as a router within the ocean powered by wave energy and solar panels. This invention can transmit data on tectonic activity that has the potential to predict tsunamis.

    Read More

  • Race to Decode Coral DNA to Save World's Reefs From Extinction

    After nearly back-to-back coral bleaching events made headlines internationally, there's been an increased awareness around the need to save what's left of the species. The newest strategy being implemented has to do with genetic technology that helps scientists determine via DNA markers which types of coral may be the most weak and the most resilient. “Scientists’ goal right now should be to take the steps necessary to optimize coral species so that each successive generation is more resilient,” explains marine biologist Ruth Gates. Although still early in its debut, this is the goal of genetic technology.

    Read More