Anthropocene Magazine

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Scientists have made jet fuel from plastic waste

A new process converts hard-to-recycle styrofoam waste into valuable jet fuel at a cost competitive with petroleum-based fuels.

Anthropocene TeamJun 11, 2026

Anthropocene Magazine

Mangroves are making a comeback. It’s a rare climate success story.

For decades, we've catalogued what we're losing to climate change. A sweeping new study offers something harder to find—evidence that one of the planet's most vital coastal ecosystems is actually winning.

Warren CornwallJun 10, 2026

Anthropocene Magazine

Europe’s energy crisis has a silver lining: It just made going green a lot cheaper

High fossil fuel prices have flipped the math on renewable energy. New research shows that accelerating Europe's green transition by a decade could now pay for itself—and then some.

Sarah DeWeerdtJun 9, 2026

Anthropocene Magazine

New US dietary guidelines would worsen carbon emissions and land use

Updated federal dietary guidelines finally take on ultra-processed junk food—but the push for more animal protein quietly erases every environmental gain, and then some.

Emma BryceJun 8, 2026

Anthropocene Magazine

Coal plants are dimming the world’s solar panels

Pollution from coal plants is canceling out roughly a third of every year's new solar capacity. The fix is obvious. The phase-out isn't.

Anthropocene TeamMay 21, 2026

Anthropocene Magazine

The unlikely ingredient that cleans wastewater and turns it into fertilizer: Bubbles.

Scientists discovered that plasma bubbles strip contaminants from industrial wastewater while locking in nitrogen. Garlic that grew in it nearly doubled in size.

Emma BryceMay 22, 2026

Anthropocene Magazine

A landmark MIT study debunks persistent myths about electric vehicles

Think EVs don't make sense in cold climates, or that a dirty power grid cancels out the benefits? Researchers find the opposite is true—and that EVs cost no more to own than a comparable gas car almost anywhere in the U.S.

Sarah DeWeerdtMay 26, 2026

Anthropocene Magazine

A shock to the system could slash cement’s emissions

By using electricity and recycled materials, researchers made a cement that cuts energy use by 70% and carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 98% compared with traditional cement production

Anthropocene TeamMay 28, 2026

Anthropocene Magazine

What happens to the small things when the big things disappear?

A 15-year field experiment in Kenya reveals that dung beetles—and the ecosystem services they provide—collapse when elephants disappear, offering evidence of coextinction in the wild.

Warren CornwallMay 28, 2026

Anthropocene Magazine

What doesn’t kill a soil microbe makes it stronger

Decades of agricultural stress appear to have forged unusually heat-resistant microbial communities. Researchers think cropland soils could be transplanted to restore fragile ecosystems.

Emma BryceMay 29, 2026

Anthropocene Magazine

Does energy efficiency reduce carbon emissions?

An argument from the 1860’s has profound consequences for modern climate policy.

James GainesMay 30, 2026

Anthropocene Magazine

To complete its green transition, Europe should mine its own trash

Lithium in old batteries. Cobalt in discarded electronics. The rare earths in retired wind turbines. A landmark EU-funded study finds these buried materials could supply over half of what the clean energy economy will need.

Sarah DeWeerdtJun 2, 2026

Anthropocene Magazine

What if DEET could become mosquito perfume rather than repellent?

Scientists tap into Pavlov's experiment to show they can train mosquitoes to love the smell of DEET.

Warren CornwallJun 3, 2026

Anthropocene Magazine

Solar-powered device extracts freshwater and lithium from the sea

A physicist borrowed a trick from spilled coffee to build laser-etched solar panels that pull fresh water from the ocean without producing toxic brine

Anthropocene TeamJun 5, 2026

Anthropocene Magazine

The environmental footprint of paper vs. electronic books

If you read a limited number of books, the paper book will most likely limit your greenhouse gas emissions. But for heavy readers, e-books have a smaller carbon footprint.

Pierre-Olivier RoyAug 13, 20205 min read

Anthropocene Magazine

La sorprendente riqueza de árboles nativos de la ciudad de Nueva York.

La naturaleza urbana se retrata a menudo como degradada. Pero un nuevo estudio muestra que incluso la ciudad más poblada de los Estados Unidos contiene importante masa de bosques dominados por especies de árboles nativos.

Sarah DeWeerdtDec 26, 20183 min read

Anthropocene Magazine

Firing Brimstone

With 18 supersonic shots to the stratosphere, the Pina2bo system went fully operational right under the nose of an oblivious world. But would this hand-picked party of global elites back an American tycoon’s audacious scheme to reverse global warming?

Neal StephensonJan 28, 202428 min read

Anthropocene Magazine

Elegir uno sobre el otro reducirá a la mitad su huella de carbono en la dieta

Para los amantes de la carne en los Estados Unidos, un simple cambio en la dieta podría llevar a enormes ahorros de emisiones para el planeta.

Emma BryceJul 24, 20193 min read

Anthropocene Magazine

Eat Globally

Some experts are beginning to question whether locavorism is an effective solution to ensuring food security on a warming planet

Emma BryceJan 23, 20228 min read

Anthropocene Magazine

Human waste is a terrible thing to waste

Off-grid energy production is becoming affordable for smallholders, restaurants, and even families—thanks to a startup’s innovative biodigesters that turn food and feces into carbon-neutral cooking gas, fertilizer, and hot water.

Lina ZeldovichJan 23, 20228 min read

Anthropocene Magazine

La fusión entre granjas de cacao con bosques podría reducir el impacto climático del chocolate.

Según hallazgos de un nuevo estudio, el cultivo de árboles autóctonos en las granjas de cacao podría reducir las emisiones de carbono e impulsar la biodiversidad.

Emma BryceJun 1, 20183 min read

Anthropocene Magazine

Resetting carbon offsets from the bottom up

Inside one quest to restore tarnished carbon markets, one family forest at a time

Gabriel PopkinOct 2, 202310 min read

Anthropocene Magazine

Con la mitad del planeta reservado para la naturaleza, ¿tendremos suficiente para comer?

La idea de dedicar la mitad de la superficie terrestre de la Tierra a formas ricas e intactas de la naturaleza es una visión inspiradora. Sin embargo, ¿qué significaría para la producción de alimentos, que actualmente representa el mayor uso de la tierra humana?

Brandon KeimAug 20, 20185 min read

Anthropocene Magazine

Are We Approaching Peak Stuff?

Almost imperceptibly, we are stepping off the consumption treadmill

Fred PearceSep 10, 201813 min read

Anthropocene Magazine

Esto es a lo que podría parecer la geo-ingeniería localizada.

Un estudio reciente encontró que la geoingeniería para reflejar más el calor del sol en las tierras de cultivo y en las ciudades, podría reducir los extremos de las altas temperaturas en varios grados.

Emma BryceFeb 9, 20183 min read

Anthropocene Magazine

Designing a More Climate-Friendly Cow

The world has spent a century pumping up cows to produce more milk and meat. Can we now reinvent them to produce less damaging methane?

Kate GammonApr 15, 20246 min read

Anthropocene Magazine

Water-Harvesting and Arid-Adapted Agrobiodiversity

A revival of rainwater harvesting is occurring around the world, as desert communities restore traditional systems known as rain gardens, ak-chin agriculture, floodwater farming, gavias, karez, qanats and fogarras.

Gary NabhanNov 9, 20187 min read

Anthropocene Magazine

A memo from the year 2050

Here's how we avoided the worst of zoonotic diseases

Brandon KeimAug 13, 202010 min read

Anthropocene Magazine

Fly farming is a mini-livestock industry poised to get big

Nascent industrial-scale insect farms are starting to dot the globe, with big livestock-feed and pet-food players such as Cargill, Skretting, Bühler, and Purina getting into the game.

Lynn SchnaibergJul 10, 20206 min read

Anthropocene Magazine

The race is on to build an AC unit that doesn't cook the planet

There's a $1 million prize for anyone that can design a room air conditioner that costs no more than twice what a standard one costs and produces five times less greenhouse gas

Emily UnderwoodJul 8, 20208 min read