From improved teamwork to a drop in absenteeism, theatrical immersion in the stories of historic heroes yields dramatic results.

Women are still underrepresented in medical research. But thanks to trailblazers like cardiologist Marianne Legato and patient advocate Carolyn Thomas, that’s starting to change.

By swiftly redistributing perishable fruits and vegetables, Food Forward addresses two issues at once: food insecurity and food waste.

When given the option, more and more farmers and their kids want to quit factory farming. The Transfarmation Project helps them do just that.

It isn’t as simple as prohibiting all devices — but going phone-free can help kids thrive, especially when they’re offered fun alternatives to screen time.

While Black artists often top the charts, minorities are heavily underrepresented in music management. The B-Side aims to change that.

Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg is transforming the way we see gardens — by designing them as living artworks geared toward pollinators’ tastes rather than our own.

First Nations architect Wanda Dalla Costa’s designs reflect Indigenous culture, proving that buildings can be much more than “little boxes.”

When Curtis Shuck learned that the oil and gas industry had left orphaned wells all over the US, he made it his mission to cap as many as he could.

Scientists say we have all the solutions we need to limit global heating to a 1.5°C increase. So what can we, as individuals, do?

Maanasi’s innovative, women-focused strategy has been so successful that it has already been copied in Kenya, Lithuania and elsewhere.

At Flavors From Afar, each chef brings their own unique history to the table — with vibrant, triumphant and delicious results.

Fourth of July celebrations have long featured flashy pyrotechnics. But more environmentally friendly spectacles could take their place.

Most menstrual products contain plastic, and more ecological options are pricey. But the “sustainable menstruation” movement is finally gaining traction.

Health care nonprofits are sharing new screening and treatment methods, aiming to one day eradicate this preventable disease completely.

In the growing field of “ecoacoustics,” scientists use the ocean’s natural sounds to monitor the health of marine ecosystems — and even restore them.

These massive sea creatures communicate in complex, techno-like patterns. Listening in could prove key to saving them.

Personalized, flexible support is helping low-income Californians navigate an intense real estate market.

Artificial intelligence tools have the potential to prevent thousands of heart attacks every year — if researchers can meet the technology’s challenges.

The controversial animals graze on the grass and brush that fuel blazes. So one California naturalist asks: Why not send them to fire-prone wilderness?

Lots of kids feel socially isolated — especially at lunchtime. A national movement is working to change that.

Millions of children in the US grow up without books at home. A book bank aims to change that.

In a “time bank,” members accumulate bankable hours, for instance by babysitting or doing repairs, and get “repaid” with assistance when they need it, usually later in life.

The strategy behind the “No-Blame” approach is counterintuitive but effective: enlisting the bullies’ help to solve the problem.

Evidence-driven stories about solutions shed light on what’s possible, helping readers to overcome feelings of helplessness.

With an emphasis on mindfulness and human connection, New York’s legendary theater is using culture to cultivate well-being.

Sylvia Earle, a pioneer of both deep sea diving and ocean conservation, has made it her mission to protect the ocean’s biodiversity, one spot at a time.

In a world where formerly homeless and incarcerated folks struggle to find work, an industry is opening its arms.

When one woman pasted her father’s brief biography on the walls, his caregivers became his champions. Now, more patients are sharing their stories.

The “reclusive fisherwoman” turned “controversial hell-raiser” is battling some of the biggest petrochemical companies — and winning.

Investing just one percent of food and beverage sales in regenerative agriculture could be key to changing the food system.

When it comes to maximizing carbon sequestration, one key strategy lies beneath farmers’ feet.

Every student in the city will engage in two to five minutes of daily mindfulness, a tactic that has shown positive effects in schools around the world.

Surf therapy is being embraced — from the US Navy to the British health service — as a surprisingly effective treatment for depression, anxiety and trauma.

In the absence of legal protections, one nurse-researcher is educating workers on how to stay safe amid punishing heat waves.

For families with neurodiverse children, travel can be tough. In Mesa, locals have learned how to make it much easier.

Meet the intrepid e-bikers who are helping others to travel ecologically and give back along the way.

Wastewater recycling is gathering steam. If you’ve been to Disneyland lately, you’ve already tried the clean water it can produce.

Birds and cats aren’t usually allies. But in Zambia, a common threat — and a concerted effort to fight it — unites them.

In Oregon and California, efforts to repopulate these furry engineers could revive struggling ocean ecosystems.

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?