News Feature in 2008

Proponents of a new US energy agency are hopeful it will finally take off. Kurt Kleiner reports.

Amanda Leigh Mascarelli looks at how far our understanding of climate change has come in the past twelve months.

Ocean acidification is the latest in a slew of threats to coral reefs. A team of scientists is now getting right up close to Florida's reefs to better understand how their inhabitants may be affected. Mark Schrope reports from the Aquarius Underwater Laboratory.

Carbon dioxide emissions and their associated warming could linger for millennia, according to some climate scientists. Mason Inman looks at why the fallout from burning fossil fuels could last far longer than expected.

Carbon capture and storage may be one way to achieve deep reductions in emissions, but ensuring the gas stays buried will be crucial to proving its viability. Mark Schrope reports on a promising new method for monitoring carbon dioxide deep underground.

A venerable conservation organization predicts how climate change will affect individual species. Will conservationists take pre-emptive action? Emma Marris reports.

The next US president will have a vital role in determining how the United States, and the world, tackles climate change. To further the debate, Amanda Leigh Haag submitted questions on climate and energy policy to both presidential candidates. The campaign for Democrat Barack Obama responded directly, but the Republican campaign did not respond. John McCain's views are taken from the Republican platform.

To lead the United States, and the world, on taking strong action to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the next president will first have to overcome obstacles in Congress. Amanda Leigh Haag reports.

Kurt Kleiner reports on whether nuclear power deserves its reputation as a low-carbon energy source.

Chemists claim that by mimicking photosynthesis in the lab, they could revolutionize fuel production within five years. Katharine Sanderson reports.

In elections this month, the UN climate panel's preference for consensus collided with competition between multiple strong candidates. Anna Barnett reports.

New insights into the disappearance of a massive ice sheet that once covered much of North America suggest that Greenland could melt more rapidly than predicted. Amanda Leigh Haag reports.

Experts who once disregarded it as a nutty idea are now working out the nuts and bolts of a conservation taboo: relocating species threatened by climate change. Emma Marris reports.

Two major US science agencies should merge to streamline research on problems such as climate change, say former agency heads. Anna Barnett reports.

Growth of the electronics industry will boost emissions of a 'hidden' — but extremely potent — greenhouse gas. Hannah Hoag reports.

The rapid decline of sea ice could accelerate inland warming over the Arctic region, radically transforming the landscape. Hannah Hoag reports.

Scientists are becoming increasingly open to using local knowledge to understand how climate change could affect the world's most vulnerable, and often inaccessible, regions. But how useful are these data to science? Dan Whipple reports.

Under attack from pine beetles that are thriving in a warmer climate, Canada's boreal forests could become a sizeable source of emissions in the coming decade. Brian Hoyle reports.

Its proponents say that underground coal gasification combined with carbon capture could allow the continued use of coal — without unacceptable emissions. Kurt Kleiner looks at whether the technology is likely to live up to expectations.