How to save the Earth

On Earth Day 2022, Inverse explores some of the most ambitious, exciting, and controversial efforts to save our planet.

One big idea...

How to build an Earthship

The trials and tribulations of going way off the grid in Taos, New Mexico.

by Nick Aspinwall
Nick Aspinwall

Future perfect

How to save the Earth

Can humans save the Earth?

For Earth Day 2022, Inverse considers six concepts that may reshape our relationship with our planet.

How to Save the Earth

Bill Gates is funding a controversial climate fix that could save the Earth — or doom it

To its advocates, Solar Radiation Modification is cheap, easy to do, and it can be done on a global scale. Whether or not you think it is brilliant, SRM is controversial.

Horizons

How a sand-guzzling box could power a future city on the Moon

TerraBox’s solar power technology could solve our energy problems on and off Earth.

Viewpoint

How to Save the Earth
If humans go to Mars, we need an Earth Flag — here’s why

Opinion: We are approaching the point when humans make the leap off Earth and onto other planets. When we get there, how will we represent ourselves?

by Oskar Pernefeldt
Science

Shells of Ancient Ice Age Marine Life Suggest A Common Weather Phenomenon Is About to Get Much Worse

By Doris Elín Urrutia

These tiny shells are speaking volumes about climate change and El Niño.

Science

Volcano Were Blamed for the Greatest of Earth’s ‘Big Five’ Mass Extinctions — Scientists Might Have Been Wrong

By Alex Farnsworth, David Bond, Paul Wignall and The Conversation

Scientists have generally blamed the mass extinction on greenhouse gases released from a vast network of volcanoes.

Science

Last Year A 600-Foot Mega-Tsunami Hit Greenland — And Researchers Had No Idea It Happened

By Stephen Hicks, Kristian Svennevig and The Conversation

The signal was unlike any previously recorded.

Science

Ancient Viruses Contain Hidden Secrets About Our Climate’s Past — Here’s What They Reveal

By Virginia Rich, Matthew Sullivan, Lonnie Thompson, Ellen Mosley-Thompson, Zhi-Ping Zhong and The Conversation

Massive ice structures like glaciers serve as nature’s freezers, archiving detailed records of past climates and ecosystems — including viruses.

Science

Two Upcoming Climate Phenomena Could Radically Shift the North Atlantic Ocean’s Hot Temperature

By Annalisa Bracco, Zachary Handlos and The Conversation

La Niña is part of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, a well-known climate phenomenon that has widespread effects on climate and weather around the world.

Science

What is Actually Happening to Antarctica’s ‘Doomsday Glacier?’ — A New Study Offers An Entirely New Perspective

By Mathieu Morlighem and The Conversation

What we are seeing with Thwaites Glacier right now is a disaster in slow motion.

Science

Inside the Controversial Effort To Move This Forgotten, Mysterious Creature From It’s Native Home

By Christine Peterson and Undark

Wolverines are real — and they love cold weather.

Science

This Piece of Coral In Fiji Is 600 Years Old — What It Reveals About Our Climate’s Future Is Nerve-Wracking

By Juan Pablo D'Olivo, Ariaan Purich, Jens Zinke and The Conversation

This coral record runs for 627 years and can tell us what the sea temperature was around Fiji between the years 1370 and 1997.

Science

Ancient Civilizations Used These Simple Measures to Cool Cities Down — Why Can’t We Do the Same?

By Brian Stone Jr. and The Conversation

People have recognized the power of cities to heat themselves up and cool themselves for centuries.

Science

This Victorian-Era Technology Is Still Astonishingly Accurate At Capturing Weather

By Giles Harrison and The Conversation

The Stevenson screen was a masterful innovation.