We all know about the mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs, but scientists now see evidence that we’re in the midst of another mass extinction—this one caused not by an asteroid but at least in part by human activity. This review of Elizabeth Kolbert’s book The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History discusses how humans have altered nature and what we’re doing about it.
You’ve probably seen remarkable images of irrigated land, rich with crops, in the midst of barren desert. New approaches are helping to alleviate hunger by developing crops in some of the most forbidding places on earth—but at what cost to the environment?
Nature not only has the power to stir human emotions—it also has the power to kill us. This website details the dangers hidden in a beautiful river and how to avoid them.
Some human creations, such as the pyramids of Egypt, have lasted for millenia; however, most are considerably more fragile. This History® television series explores what might happen to what humans have built if nature had its way.
Astronomers like to think our solar system has remained more or less the same for billions of years. However, in studying the spectacles of Saturn’s rings and Jupiter’s moons, some researchers are challenging that notion.
Bees play a critical role in the natural world, but they are mysteriously disappearing from their hives. Learn more about Colony Collapse Disorder and about what scientists are trying to do about it.
