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Greenhouse gases

Image of an illegally deforested area on Pirititi Indigenous lands.

The Amazon rainforest is likely adding to global warming, says a new study

Climate Change

The Amazon rainforest, known as the “lungs of the Earth,” was thought to limit the damage from climate change. A new study suggests it now may be contributing to it.

Two trees are covered in instruments strapped to their bases

The Amazon used to be a hedge against climate change. Those days may be over.

The Amazon's carbon tipping point
Smokestack and trees

As global carbon dioxide levels climb, plants are becoming better at photosynthesis

Environment
A combination picture shows the coal-fired Castle Gate Power Plant

Trump is ending Obama-era emissions cuts. How will CO2 emissions change?

Environment
More than 30,000 people traveled to the UN's COP21 climate summit in Paris last month from aroudn the world. The UN set up a website where attendees could offset the carbon footprint of their travel.

People who traveled to the Paris climate summit can offset their carbon emissions — but it isn’t easy

Environment
Justin Trudeau

How a new prime minister will reshape Canada’s environmental policies

Environment

The presidential race is heating up across America, but north of the border a new face from a fabled political dynasty just romped into power with a landslide win that signals considerable change. Gone is the oil-friendly Stephen Harper and taking over as prime minister is Justin Trudeau, son of popular leader Pierre Trudeau, of the left-leaning Liberal Party. What does this mean for controversial energy projects in Canada and the US?

Exxon tanker

Exxon helped pioneer climate science — then disavowed its own research. Was it a crime?

Environment

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Exxon was at the cutting edge of climate change research. Its scientists and its senior management understood that burning fossil fuels would warm the planet in destructive ways. But in the 1990s, Exxon began funding climate-denying organizations and speaking out publicly against climate science.

Trees and other green plants are nature's tools for sucking CO2 out of the air, but scientists say there aren't nearly enough trees to remove all the waste gas we've put into the atmosphere. So some are trying to create new devices that work like trees —

Is an artificial tree part of the solution to climate change? These guys think so.

Environment

Trees are nature’s tool for pulling carbon dioxide out of the air, but there aren’t enough trees in the world to suck up all the CO2 humans are putting there. That’s why researchers are pushing to create artificial leaves to help fight climate change. The World’s Ari Daniel visits with two teams of researchers pursuing different approaches to the formidable challenge.

A bank of this lake thawed in the Gates of the Arctic National Park in Alaska, allowing the Okokmilaga River to cut through and drain it to sea.

Earth’s biggest natural fridge is turning into a greenhouse gas machine

Environment

The Arctic permafrost is like the world’s refrigerator, holding onto and preserving organic material. But when it thaws, as it’s increasingly doing now, microbes in the soil kick into action and produce enormous amounts of greenhouse gases.

The Houston Ship Channel stretches 52 miles from the Gulf of Mexico to the city of Houston. Sea levels have risen 2.2 feet over the last century at Galveston, the main barrier island protecting the Ship Channel from a big storm.

The ‘Texas miracle’ is fueling huge economic growth — and the climate change that may end it

Environment

Texas is the biggest climate polluter in the U.S. It’s also is also extremely vulnerable to some of the impacts of climate change. But the state’s most prominent politicians say they don’t believe that climate change is real. It all adds up to a big problem for Texas and the rest of us.