Subscribe now

US approves controversial Willow oil drilling project in Alaska

14 March 2023

The hotly debated Willow oil drilling project has been approved in Alaska, a decision that could exacerbate climate change and imperil wildlife
MAMMOTH LAKES, CA - JULY 28: An aerial view of a forest killed by carbon dioxide near drought-shrunken Horseshoe Lake which may again release deadly levels of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, on July 28, 2022 near Mammoth Lakes, California. During a series of earthquakes in 1989 and 1990, magma movement opened underground cracks that began releasing Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas that killed a nearby section of forest. The invisible, odorless and tasteless gas is heavier than air and tends to settle over the lake and in snow, and could quickly prove deadly to humans in large amounts. The overwhelming majority of climate-effecting greenhouse gas emissions by humans is carbon dioxide. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

Warming temperatures are creating 'zombie forests' in California

3 March 2023

A fifth of conifer forests in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains are now in places that are too hot for them – meaning they may not regrow if wiped out by wildfire or disease
An abandoned pomegranate orchard during a drought

The US megadrought won't just end – it will change the land forever

1 November 2022

Patterns of drought and deluge are common throughout history, but human-driven climate change is disrupting these cycles, making it more difficult to predict exactly how the current megadought in south-western North America will end

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

Sign up
Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop