New Atlas

Environment Audio available

The inconvenient truth about the environmental impact of organic farming

Rich Haridy December 13, 2018

A new international study into the impact of agricultural land use on climate change has found organic food production is worse for the climate than conventional farming, due to the fact that it needs greater areas of land to grow produce.

New research suggests organic farming has a greater impact on carbon emissions and the climate than ...

Environment

Microplastics discovered in the guts of sea turtles all over the world

Nick Lavars December 12, 2018

There remains a lot we don't know about the whereabouts of the all the plastic waste that washes into the ocean each year, but scientists are continuing to discover bits and pieces in increasingly concerning places, a list that now includes turtles.

A new study has found microplastics in the guts of 102 sea turtles

Environment Audio available

Aleph Farms serves up world's first lab-grown steak

Rich Haridy December 12, 2018

Israel-based Aleph Farms has just unveiled the world's first lab-grown steak. This milestone on the road to bringing a cruelty-free meat product to the market demonstrates, for the first time, the technology's ability to imitate the flavor, shape, texture and structure of a classic beef steak.

The world's first lab-grown steak takes about three weeks to grow from an initial cellular sample

Environment Feature

Beyond oil: Inside Dubai's Sustainable City

Nick Lavars December 10, 2018

The carefully planned Dubai Sustainable City is a reminder that between the towering skyscrapers there is plenty of environmental awareness to be found. As cranes hover at its edges expanding its footprint piece by piece, New Atlas ventured into the desert to see it all from the inside out.

A "central green spine" runs down the center of Dubai's Sustainable City

Environment Audio available

10-year study documents massive, mysterious ecosystem deep beneath our feet

Michael Irving December 10, 2018

A study has taken a census of life in the “deep biosphere” beneath the Earth's surface. Among the finds are bizarre creatures that can survive at record depths, pressures and temperatures, and even “zombie” bacteria that may live (in a loose sense of the word) for millions of years at a time.

Researchers have cataloged the extensive biosphere of life deep beneath the surface of the Earth

Environment

Ocean Cleanup Project struggles to get its system up to speed

Nick Lavars December 6, 2018

Around six weeks have passed since the Ocean Cleanup Project installed its trash-catching system in the Pacific, and it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for the huge floating barrier so far. The team reports that attempts to overcome some initial teething problems haven’t exactly gone to plan

Dubbed Wilson, the Ocean Cleanup Project’s first barrier is designed to work like a giant plastic-eating ...

Environment

Grim report details threats to human health posed by climate change

Anthony Wood November 30, 2018

A new report highlighting the grim threat posed by climate change to human health has estimated that in 2015 almost 3 million lives ended prematurely as a result of ambient air pollution, and that millions more living in cities - including the elderly - are at risk from extreme temperatures.

Air pollution and high temperatures pose a significant threat to vulnerable urban populations

Environment Audio available

State of the Climate report paints 2018 as a devastating, record-breaking year

Michael Irving November 29, 2018

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has released a Statement on the State of the Climate in 2018. Temperature records were shattered, sea ice shrank and extreme weather events devastated every continent in one of the hottest years on record.

According to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization, 2018 was one of the hottest ...

Environment

Scientists track sharks with everyday drones

James Holloway November 28, 2018

Small consumer drones can be used to detect and monitor big sea animals in shallow waters, according to new research from North Carolina State University. The team has shown that a quadcopter drone can be an easy means to collect reliable data.

Enie Hensel launches a DJI Phantom Vision+ 2 to observe marine fauna

Environment Audio available

UN report reveals global carbon emissions have reached a record high

Nick Lavars November 27, 2018

A new UN report that takes stock of climate action with respect to the targets outlined in the Paris Agreement has shone new light on how we continue to come up short. Among the key points are that, after stabilizing for three years, global carbon emissions are again on the rise.

Global carbon emissions reached a record high in 2017