Tonic for tumultuous times.

Latest Stories

Why Won’t You Recycle My Batteries?

5 min read

Europe’s ubiquitous recycling system for household batteries means virtually none get thrown away. How come the US doesn’t have something similar?

Book Review: How Urban Biodiversity Can Help Cities Thrive

5 min read

Ben Wilson’s “Urban Jungle” explores how cities teem with life — and the vital role urban ecology plays in the era of climate change.

Saving the Rainforests Is Pandemic Prevention

2 min read

In Borneo and Madagascar, communities committed to protecting trees instead of logging — and people got healthier.

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‘Dead’ Electric Car Batteries Find a Second Life Powering Cities

5 min read

What do you do with old EV batteries that are too weak to run a car? Connect them by the hundreds to power vital urban infrastructure.

How Tokyo’s Farms Have Survived for Centuries

6 min read

In the world’s biggest concrete jungle, over a thousand small farms continue to grow crops protected by a powerful ally: the city itself.

An ‘Unsexy’ System for Greening Fashion That Actually Works

4 min read

Forget pants made of car tires — to truly make fashion more sustainable, a collaboration between dozens of brands is slashing the industry’s carbon footprint.

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Editors’ Picks

A Microhome Village in Austin Ends Homelessness for Hundreds

5 min read

It’s billed as the country’s only master-planned development for people coming out of homelessness. Residents call it the best neighborhood they’ve ever lived in.

Home Sweet School District

6 min read

Burnout, low pay and high-cost housing have driven teachers away from rural schools. One town gave them a reason to come back.

The San Francisco Housing Policy That’s Stopping Displacement

5 min read

In the city’s Mission District, renters are collectively buying their buildings before they get priced out.

Most Popular

Seed-Planting Drones Are Reforesting Canada With Lightning Speed

4 min read

Dropping five seed pods per second into wildfire-scarred lands, aerial tree planting is quickly creating biodiverse forests from the sky.

Recycled Glass, Turned into Sand, Is Restoring Louisiana’s Coastline

5 min read

It’s just one example of how pulverized glass has become an upcycling hero, finding new purpose in landscaping, construction, even coastal restoration.

Heat from an Amazon Data Center Is Warming Dublin’s Buildings

5 min read

Cities are capturing heat emitted by computer servers and using it to warm everything from government buildings to college dorms.

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