From The Magazine

feature stories

A Dream of Bears
In the wild, rain-swept valleys of the Pyrenees, it takes a pure heart to find the last survivors of a race of giants.
Comments (1) | August 26, 2009
A Sunny Day in Rizhao
As China struggles to reduce its carbon footprint, the rooftops of an obscure port city may hold the key to a nation’s solar-powered ambitions.
Comments (1) | August 26, 2009
The (New) Web of Life
What happens when the dusty files of the nineteenth century meet the bots and algorithms of the twenty-first? Perhaps a revolution in our understanding of the natural world.
Comments (0) | August 26, 2009
The New Diseases on Our Doorstep
We're in the midst of a national debate about health-care reform. What better time to design a system strong enough to cope with the new wave of diseases that will accompany climate change and globalization? First up: dengue fever.
Comments (5) | August 26, 2009
Designing Woman
For the visionary landscape designer Diana Balmori, green roofs are just scratching the surface. The real challenge is to rethink how our cities relate to their natural surroundings.
Comments (0) | May 28, 2009
India, Enlightened
Thanks to Slumdog Millionaire, India is hot. Thanks to entrepreneurs, it's booming. Now a new government has to raise a billion people out of poverty without wrecking the environment. What's a poor country to do?
Comments (2) | May 28, 2009
Parkinson's: The Pesticide Link
Study upon study is convincing scientists that the chemicals we spray on our crops are one cause of a dreaded disease -- especially if we are exposed to them at a young age.
Comments (10) | May 28, 2009
Graze Anatomy
Here's a modest proposal for an agricultural revolution: Make beef with grass instead of corn, as nature intended.
Comments (11) | February 27, 2009
On the Fast Track
The rest of the developed world has high-speed rail. We don't. But that's finally about to change.
Comments (13) | February 27, 2009
Selling the Sun
The sun is the ultimate renewable energy source, and Jigar Shah believes it's ready for prime time. As the brains behind the business model that made solar power easy and affordable, he should know.
Comments (13) | February 27, 2009