Yale e360

Renewable power is on pace to produce close to half of the electricity used globally by 2030, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency, which finds that in nearly every country large wind and solar plants are the cheapest forms of new…

Ten years after officials seized $50 million worth of illegally harvested rosewood, the logs have been returned to the traffickers and sit in limbo in a Singapore port. The legal saga highlights the ongoing corruption and gaping holes in efforts to save…

Last year, the world's rivers had their driest year in at least three decades, according to a new U.N. report, which warns that heat and drought are sapping vital waterways.Read more on E360 →

Over the last four decades, vegetation cover on the Antarctic Peninsula has grown tenfold, a new study finds.Read more on E360 →

Twenty years ago, scientist Richard Thompson sounded the alarm on microplastics pollution. Now, as understanding of the problem has grown, he says it is critical that international negotiators produce an effective plastics treaty when they meet next month in…

Scientists have found evidence of plastic additives in the air over Southern California, including one additive that has been banned from use in toys.Read more on E360 →

Farming once thrived in the Black Mesa region, before overgrazing and climate change wreaked havoc with the land. Today, the Navajo are restoring their watersheds — and boosting their food sovereignty — with earthen berms and small dams made of woven…

Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, Britain is this week shutting down its last coal plant. Starting Tuesday, its power grid will be permanently coal-free.Read more on E360 →

The world is nearly on track to triple renewable power by the end of this decade. A major barrier to meeting that goal, or surpassing it, analysts say, is the speed of permitting wind and solar projects and of building new transmission lines.Read more on E360…

As the world’s largest producer of advanced computer chips, Taiwan is struggling to meet demand for electricity. Highly dependent on imported fossil fuels, soon to shutter its last nuclear plant, and slow to build out renewables, the island is heading toward…

At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the Earth saw a surge in emissions of heat-trapping methane. While some research shows the spike was related to the global drop in traffic during the pandemic, a new study suggests the sudden rise in methane levels…

Scientists have found that some extinct volcanoes, which have not erupted for thousands or millions of years, may contain key metals used in clean energy.Read more on E360 →

A series of dams and years of conflict have transformed the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which gave rise to some of the world’s earliest civilizations. Kurdish photographer Murat Yazar focused his lens on these rivers of his homeland and on the people who…

A half-century ago, scientists posited that whales might able to talk with each other across great distances, but for decades, no one had managed to catch two whales in the act. A new study offers the first compelling evidence that baleen whales can…

The world is set to install a third more solar capacity this year than it did in 2023, surpassing forecasts by both industry experts and independent analysts.Read more on E360 →

A surge of pollen in spring can affect the formation of clouds and rainfall, according to a new study. The authors say that, as the planet warms, pollen counts are expected to grow, potentially giving rise to more springtime rainfall. Read more on E360 →

An African Union ruling finds that parts of a Congo national park should be returned to the Batwa people, who were evicted decades ago. Advocates say the ruling must be implemented and that the Batwa will need support to protect the park’s rare gorillas and…

Brazilian officials say they have nearly rid Indigenous Yanomami territory in the northern Amazon of the thousands of miners who had been operating illegally in the region. Read more on E360 →

Indigenous Peruvians have long faced violent attacks by miners, loggers, coca growers, and drug traffickers, but a troubling new report finds that murders of environmental defenders are on the rise.Read more on E360 →

With support from a $5 billion EPA program, school districts across the country are starting to switch from polluting diesel to electric buses. Advocates point to the health benefits for children and communities but say more needs to be done to promote this…

The Line Fire in Southern California is giving rise to massive billowing "fire clouds."Read more on E360 →

By practicing agroforestry — growing trees alongside crops and livestock, for example — farmers can improve soils, produce nutrient-rich foods, and build resilience to climate change. Now, a movement is emerging to bring this approach to the depleted lands…

The city of Linhares, Brazil, has granted legal rights to the waves at the mouth of the Dolce River, the first instance in which a government has conferred rights upon part of the ocean.Read more on E360 →

The summer of 2024 set new records, European scientists have found. The world has never seen temperatures reach so high between June and August. Read more on E360 →

In the Mojave Desert, rising temperatures, less rainfall, and more intense wildfires are killing off Joshua trees. California officials are working on a plan to protect the distinctive yucca tree and its desert ecosystem by establishing refuges and controlling…

Global warming has fueled an exceptional drought on the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia, a new analysis finds.Read more on E360 →

Scientists in Brazil are racing to gather fossils uncovered by recent heavy floods before they are destroyed.Read more on E360 →

The Supreme Court of Indonesia has withdrawn approval for a zinc mine and dammed waste pond being built near a fault line in North Sumatra. The ruling comes as a relief to locals, who feared an earthquake would destroy the dam, flooding villages below with…

In “Way of the Shepherd” — the First-Place Winner of the 2024 Yale Environment 360 Film Contest — filmmaker Matthew Boyd follows a Peruvian shepherd, two tenacious border collies, and a herd of goats that are reducing overgrowth on the fire-prone…

From 2022 to 2023, Germany saw installations of new wind and solar power nearly double, a shift driven in part by sweeping changes to simplify permitting for clean energy projects.Read more on E360 →