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

Ecosystems

Turning Appalachia’s contaminated creek water into art

Acid mine drainage turns thousands of creeks orange in Appalachia. True Pigments is pulling that pollution to create paint pigments.

B. David Zarley

Oceans

We finally know why sunscreen kills coral reefs

Stanford researchers have discovered the mechanism by which a sunscreen compound can harm coral and other marine life.

B. David Zarley

Ecosystems

Why haven’t plastic-eating bacteria fixed the plastic problem yet?

Texas scientists have created an enzyme that could keep billions of pounds of plastic out of landfills.

Toby Muresianu

Clean Energy

A massive kite is now generating carbon-free electricity

Airborne wind energy systems put turbines in the sky, where the wind tends to blow faster and more consistently.

Kristin Houser

Clean Energy

IKEA will now sell solar panels

Furniture retailer IKEA will begin selling home solar solutions to US customers to encourage sustainable living.

Kristin Houser

Planet Earth

What the world will look like in the year 250,002,018

On Pangaea Proxima, the supercontinent of the future, Cape Town and Mexico City are just a day’s drive apart.

Frank Jacobs

Climate Crisis

A more efficient way of urban mining gold

Researchers at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology say they have developed the world’s most efficient way of urban mining gold

B. David Zarley

Transportation

You can finally reserve a Tesla Semi

Members of the public can now reserve a Tesla Semi, an all-electric, heavy-duty vehicle that Elon Musk first unveiled in 2017.

Kristin Houser

Clean Energy

Solar + battery hybrids are poised for explosive growth

Solar panels and battery storage can generate renewable power when solar energy is at its peak during the day and then release it as needed.

Will Gorman and Bentham Paulos and Joachim Seel

Clean Energy

Finland prepares world’s first “nuclear tomb”

Deep beneath Finland, a “tomb” for nuclear waste is set to be a test for geological disposal facilities.

B. David Zarley

Sections

Video

Freethink

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