In the lagoons off the Pacific coast of Baja Sur, physical contact between tourists and whales is at the heart of a new model of marine conservation.

Activist-entrepreneur Christian Schiller’s global platform is where plastic sellers and seekers keep your old shampoo bottles out of the waste stream.

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

With “gratitude necklaces” and “gardens of emotions,” mental wellbeing classes help young people with anxiety and confidence.

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

Architecture pioneer Anna Heringer takes sustainable construction to a new — old — level, building with the earth beneath her feet.

Advocates shining a light on ecologically responsible bouquets want to do for the floral industry what locavorism did for food.

Long dismissed as hippie havens, off-grid communities are getting a fresh look as wasteful construction practices come under scrutiny.

The white mailboxes in schools and sports clubs were to encourage kids to write about their sorrows. They became a powerful tool for stopping child abuse.

Architect David Benjamin is bringing his biology-inspired recipe for construction materials to an affordable housing project in Oakland, California.

In a largely unseen system, abandoned bikes are repaired and shipped to people across the US — and around the world — who can use them to travel to school or work.

At the frontier of conservation, scientists are learning how to bring back “functionally extinct” species using cryogenically frozen cells from the past.

In what sounds like science fiction, geneticists are using cryogenically frozen animal cells to stop species from going extinct.

A Chicago nonprofit is reinventing the food bank with better-than-store-bought produce, friendly delivery and an emphasis on client satisfaction.

Abuse survivors can call helplines to stop the violence. Now abusers can, too.

A handful of companies own the patents on virtually every seed planted in the US. Now, a new crop of unowned seeds is bringing biodiversity back to farming.

A German engineer asked restaurants for their used chopsticks — and a sustainable furnishings business was born.

Utah, Virginia and Washington allow people to ban themselves from impulsively buying a gun. Many more states could follow their lead.

How a last-ditch attempt to save the few remaining California condors became a conservation victory for the ages.

“We believe citizens taking responsibility for their own energy supply is the future.”

With traffic deaths rising in the US, some cities are turning crosswalks and intersections into eye-catching murals — with life-saving results.

For the first time, two US cities are treating extreme heat as a crisis — and dealing with it accordingly.

With strategically placed channels for air flow, the birthplace of the automobile is using urban design to lower the temperature.

The countries with the lowest abortion rates have one thing in common: access to safe, affordable abortion.

Energy-hungry societies are confronting a dilemma: use precious land to harvest crops or green energy? A new kind of farm says you can do both.

In Düsseldorf, revenues from sales of works by famous artists are used to buy apartments for those who need them most.

In the Bavarian village where I was raised, guns are a part of life. Mass shootings are not.

Most Californians have never heard of the CalEnviroScreen — even those whose communities it has shielded from ecological disaster.

Threatened by development, five bodies of water are suing the State of Florida, making the unprecedented argument that nature has legal rights, too.

As alcohol consumption surges, groundbreaking new experiments are showing the vast potential of psilocybin to treat addiction.

New technology is intervening in the moments where speed matters more than anything. Welcome to the future of emergency medicine.

Airbnb-style home sharing is changing what it means to be displaced.

Giving people bicycles may be one of the cheapest, easiest ways to support them. One group is distributing them by the thousands.

A Berlin catering and food truck company is turning invasive species into haute cuisine. Will “invasivorism” be the next step in the sustainable food movement?

As cities and countries ban single-use plastics, sustainable alternatives are emerging.

As the only major Western city that is home to lions, L.A. is breaking new ground in infrastructure designed for big wildlife.

The same A.I. technology that runs Jason Barnes’ prosthetic arm can teach people how to read Braille or play the piano in a matter of hours.

Environmentally destructive palm oil is in countless products. Sustainable yeast oil offers a tantalizing alternative.

When political leaders dither, “the only instrument that leads to non-negotiable results is the court ruling.”

New research shows that the “gut health” microorganisms can enhance the immune systems of living coral.

For drought-stricken places, pulling drinkable water from the atmosphere could become one of the easiest ways to stay hydrated.

If you have a phone, you can be one of the 5.4 million volunteers who help the visually impaired with their daily tasks.

Technology exists to scan people’s devices for evidence of child abuse. Should we use it?

With branches in 80 countries, the Human Library allows you to borrow a person — a rugby player, a refugee, a sex worker — and ask them anything you want.

By only delivering it to people ask for it, the city is saving thousands of tons of paper per year.

Three U.S. states have legalized “natural organic reduction,” in which the dead are returned to the earth to help nourish its growth. 

Kristine Tompkins has conserved more land than any other single individual, calling it “capitalist jiujitsu” for the planet.

A group of “holistic engineers” wants to return the arid Sinai peninsula to the lush, green landscape it once was.

The growing carbontech industry is capturing CO2 from the air and turning it into everything from bras to vodka to fresh baked bread.

Legal systems around the world are beginning to confront an existential question: What rights does an animal have?

In California’s prisons, lifers — both human and canine — are setting each other free.

Some patients are undergoing difficult procedures while surrounded by fluffy bouncing bears and winter wonderlands.

A family-owned Italian denim manufacturer is turning one of fashion’s most toxic staples green, one global brand at a time.

As we speak, giant machines are removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in an urgent attempt to slam the brakes on climate change.

The air in these neighborhoods is getting cooler — with huge implications for sweltering cities worldwide.

An all-vegan stadium. A field fertilized with seaweed. How the owner of the sport’s most sustainable team is cultivating “a new kind of soccer fan.”

At 15 years old, Gitanjali Rao has half a dozen inventions to her name. Now she wants to reinvent the world of science itself.

When an architecture student’s dazzling ocean cleanup concept fizzled, she started thinking smaller — and tackled the problem at the source.

Human hair is becoming a major player in ocean cleanups as a free, highly effective resource that never runs out.

“I call it a ‘do-what-you-can day’ — stay at home, take it easy, cancel all your appointments, or come in and work as usual.”

When musician Yoko Sen ended up in the hospital, she was overwhelmed by the cacophony of noise. What if all those beeps and alarms could sound like music instead?

By minimizing wasted time, companies are increasing productivity — and workers are going home before lunch.

From the farmlands of rural Bavaria to the beaches of Southern California, our new colleague’s life has been a fantastic journey.

“When a woman places an ‘order’ and gives us her address, that’s the signal for us to send the police.”

Can the notoriously hardline force become an ally to Black communities?