DARPA researchers are developing responses for accidental or malicious “genetic spills”
Categories: Environment, Science, Scientific American, Technology • Tags: biotech, CRISPR, DARPA, DNA, synthetic biology, Technology
Genetically modified organisms today usually have just one engineered gene. Scientists now want to create organisms with whole new gene clusters.
Categories: Business, Environment, Science, Technology, The Atlantic • Tags: agriculture, biotech, Climate Change, CRISPR, food, GMOs, iGEM, MIT, synthetic biology
The tools and flavors have changed, but the work of roasting and grinding fermented cacao beans, and mixing them with a few simple ingredients to create a divine food, is a practice that goes back to early Mesoamerican civilizations.
Categories: Lifestyle, Science, Smithsonian • Tags: cacao, California, chocolate, food, history, Mesoamerica, San Francisco, Startups
An ecologist records nature’s color signals to understand the feedback between plants and a changing climate.
Categories: Discover Magazine, Science • Tags: Andrew Richardson, carbon sinks, Climate Change, ecology, fall colors, forestry, Harvard Forest, Harvard University, PhenoCam, phenology, photosynthesis
As autonomous vehicles become a real choice for our neighborhoods, transit hubs, entertainment districts, and downtown cores, there is an opportunity for them to bring environmental benefits. But realizing those benefits will require us to take a hard look at how personal cars—even the driverless kind—fit into urban life.
Categories: Climate Confidential, Environment, Mobility & Transport, Policy, Technology • Tags: autonomous vehicles, CARB, Climate Change, congestion pricing, self-driving cars
Climate Confidential, an environmental reporting project I launched recently with a “supergroup” of independent journalists, is hosting its first live event on Wednesday, April 30 in San Francisco. I hope to see you there!
Categories: Climate Confidential, Miscellaneous • Tags: Events, Journalism
California’s record drought has parched crops, but hasn’t yet dimmed lights or choked the flow of electricity, even though the Golden State, with more than 300 dams, has long been a hydroelectricity leader among U.S. states.
Categories: Energy, Environment, National Geographic • Tags: California, Climate Change, drought, electricity, extreme weather, hydropower, natural gas, renewables, water
I’m launching a new reporting project with five of my favorite independent journalists. Each week, we’ll publish a new story focused on the intersection of environment and technology—but we need at least 800 subscribers before March 5 to bring this to life.
Categories: Environment, Miscellaneous, Technology • Tags: Climate Change, Journalism, Startups
An interactive map reveals where energy companies are using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to force tightly trapped oil and gas from fine-grained sedimentary rocks known as shale.
Categories: Energy, Miscellaneous, Smithsonian • Tags: California, Fracking
