Earth Wise

In March, United Airlines began using a new biofuel for flights between Los Angeles and San Francisco.  The fuel is a renewable product called Honeywell Green Jet Fuel that can replace up to half of the petroleum jet fuel used in flight without any changes to the aircraft technology and it meets all current jet […]

There are approximately 3,500 mosquito species in the world. Of those, only a few hundred are known to bite humans. And just two have adapted to breed almost exclusively in urban environments where they are in close proximity to people. Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes hail from Southeast Asia and Africa respectively. But thanks […]

Grizzly bears, also known as North American brown bears, once roamed much of North America and symbolized the continent’s untamed wilderness.  But hunters and trappers nearly wiped them out across most of the Lower 48 states by the late 1800s.  In 1975, grizzly bears were formally listed as a threatened species, when it was thought […]

As droughts have become more commonplace, researchers are looking at natural systems for effective ways to capture water from the air.  A team from Harvard University has drawn inspiration from three different organisms to develop a better way to promote the condensation and transportation of water droplets. Organisms such as cacti and desert beetles survive […]

Ecotourism is increasing on a global scale.   Ecotourism is generally defined as responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education.  Visitor numbers to many protected areas around the world are expanding every year.  Ecotourism provides rich experiences for the traveler and often […]

Water is a simple chemical compound containing two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom connected by covalent bonds.  It covers 71% of Earth’s surface and is vital for all forms of life.  Despite its abundance, water that is safe for drinking is globally in short supply.  In fact, a new study has found that at […]

There are many renewable energy sources to be exploited.  Solar and wind power justifiably get the most attention, but they are not the only game in town.   There is a growing sustainability movement to capture energy from various kinds of waste, including even the wastewater we flush down the toilet. Harnessing energy from wastewater is […]

De-extinction, or the act of bringing extinct species back from the dead, has been riding a wave of enthusiasm. Nearly 2 million people have watched Steward Brand’s TED talk on the topic, and Beth Shapiro’s book How to Clone a Mammoth has received rave reviews. As Shapiro describes, the end product of de-extinction isn’t literally […]

Rivers concentrate the water and resources of an entire region.  They are literally the lifeblood of much of the world’s fish population.  They are also the fuel for hydropower, a critical energy source for human civilization. There is always a looming confrontation between hydropower and fish.  Three of the world’s great river basins – the […]

China passed the U.S. as the largest emitter of greenhouse gases on Earth back in 2007, mostly due to manufacturing.  However, the great majority of all the products China produces are exported to the rest of the world.  China’s per capita consumption-based environmental footprint is actually small.  If you put the responsibility for environmental impacts […]