Energy

an overhead shot of land split in three. the left side is dry and dusty. the middle has some vegetation, and the right side has a lot.

Desertification is destroying fertile land. Here’s how we’re fighting it.

a female presenting person in a lab coat holding a solar cell

New “tandem” solar cell breaks world record

A new tandem solar cell containing layers of silicon and perovskite has demonstrated an unprecedented efficiency of 33.7%.

Kristin Houser

Clean Energy

These 4 charts show the unstoppable growth of solar

Solar is growing fast enough to displace fossil fuels from the entire global economy before 2050, but infrastructure needs to keep up.

Andrew Blakers

Agriculture

After millennia of agricultural expansion, the world has passed “peak agricultural land”

This marks a historic moment in humanity’s relationship to the planet.

Hannah Ritchie

Clean Energy

China successfully tests space-based solar power components

Researchers at China’s Xidian University have successfully tested a proof-of-concept for collecting solar power via satellites.

B. David Zarley

Why growing food indoors is the future of farming

In partnership with Million Stories

How a poker prodigy “accidentally” created a booming lettuce company.

Freethink Team

Agriculture

This starchy wondercrop could help alleviate food insecurity

Enset, a perennial banana-like fruit cultivated in southwestern Ethiopia, is an underexploited starch crop with significant potential.

Emma Charlton, World Economic Forum

Clean Energy

A groundbreaking solution could unleash our hydrogen future

German researchers have created genetically engineered bacteria that can rapidly store and release hydrogen fuel.

Sam Jarman

Oceans

Where does the plastic in our oceans come from?

Which countries and rivers emit the most plastic to the ocean? What does this mean for solutions to tackle plastic pollution?

Hannah Ritchie

Clean Energy

MIT grads demonstrate first ammonia-powered tractor

Amogy, a startup founded by four MIT grads, has transformed a John Deere into the world’s first zero-emission, ammonia-powered tractor.

Kristin Houser

Clean Energy

Massive turbine turns deep ocean currents into electricity

Deep ocean currents could be an economically viable source of clean energy, based on a recently wrapped demo in Japan.

Kristin Houser

Clean Energy

Portugal set to start up Europe’s largest floating solar park

Floating panels don’t require costly real estate and those on reservoirs used for hydropower are particularly cost effective.

Miguel Pereira and Sergio Goncalves

Planet Earth

A world map of private islands (some are a steal!)

Private islands exert a special attraction on the imagination. While they're often the realm of the rich, some are downright cheap.

Frank Jacobs

Sections

Video

Freethink

We focus on solutions: the smartest people, the biggest ideas, and the most ground breaking technology shaping our future.