CO2 molecules make up only a small percentage of the atmosphere, but their impact on our climate is huge. The reason comes down to physics and chemistry.

We look at research from the Earth Institute and beyond to answer questions about the impacts of beef, soy, and more.

In celebration of Earth Month and Earth Day, our scientists are tackling reader questions on science and sustainability.

Summer temperatures on the archipelago of Svalbard, 400 miles north of Norway, are now higher than at any other period in the last 1,800 years, according to a new study in the journal Geology.

Researchers at the Earth Institute’s Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy working in collaboration with PepsiCo, Inc. have developed new software that rapidly calculates the carbon footprints of thousands of products simultaneously.

     Though most attention last week focused on the Supreme Court ruling upholding federal reform of the health-care system, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued the most important judicial decision on climate change in five years.  That decision upholds the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to regulate greenhouse gases, and it… read more

The huge Brazilian Amazon state of Mato Grosso will cut its emissions of greenhouse gases by more than half if it sticks with current plans to reduce deforestation substantially by 2020, says a new study. The research, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, uses 105 years of historical data… read more