Plastic is actually a pretty revolutionary material -- we wouldn't want to go back to a time before it existed (just a time before people started throwing it in the ocean). But it's made from petroleum, and we haven't really got any to spare. So viable plastic alternatives -- corn plastic, algae plastic, chicken feather plastic -- could be big business. The newest approach comes from art student Erik de Laurens, who developed a plastic made out of fish scales discarded by the fishing industry. There's nothing added to it but dye for color, so you could probably throw it …

Back in 2006, Dr. Charles Monnett published an article that included observations about polar bear deaths in the Beaufort Sea. In the report, co-authored with another scientist, Monnett reported seeing four dead polar bears in 2004. Monnett works for the federal government, and this month he was put on administrative leave while the government investigates "integrity issues" connected to that report. Administrative leave means he has to put all current research on hold. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a watchdog organization, has formally complained about the investigation. In its complaint, the group includes portions of an interview the Department of …

For the climate skeptics who dragged us all through Climategate on the conviction that climate scientists are lying jerks, here is the data you wanted to see. Here it is. The University of East Anglia put it online for all to access. This might make it harder for scientists to get shared data in the future, since people don’t always like it when you give away their work for free, but it is worth it just to shut you up. Happy now? Oh, what, you actually have no idea how to interpret this raw data?   Trevor Davies, who's in …

Photovoltaic cells, the basic unit of solar power systems, turn light into electricity. But fueling photovoltaics with sunlight isn't always practical. MIT scientists came up with a way around this issue: They found a really efficient way to turn heat into light. Scientists have known for awhile that this is possible, but the MIT scientists figured out how to use a certain type of pitted material to force heat into generating the sort of wavelengths the PV cells love the most. Basically, it's as if this material turns grass into chocolate: both are forms of energy, but humans like to …

Japanese people are already kicking Americans' butts when it comes to energy efficiency: They use half as much energy as we do already, despite their proclivity for gadgets like automatic toilets. But since the Fukushima meltdown, they've gotten even more hyper-aware of the need to save energy. In Tokyo, the government is hoping to cut electricity use during work hours by 15 percent compared to last year, and they're on track to do it. Offices dim the lights and keep the thermostat hovering around 83 degrees, businessmen are wearing shorts, and plugging in a fan at your desk is a …

Bill Nye's years of experience teaching science to children seem to have prepared him well for talking to Fox News hosts. Here, he attempts to help Happening Now host Jon Scott grasp difficult concepts like "volcanoes are not connected to the burning of fossil fuels" and "the science that happens on the moon ... is the same science that happens on Earth." Favorite line: "When you say to yourself, well, I'm going to ignore all the evidence of climate change, you're saying, I'm going to ignore the best ideas anybody's ever had." The best part of BIll Nye's show, for my …

This infographic from the BBC shows how much newly built North American, and especially U.S., homes dwarf those currently being built in Europe. The average new U.S. home is more than twice as big as the average new home in the U.K.

A one that is not cold is scarcely a one at all, but keeping beer frosty on a hot day normally sucks up energy. Not anymore. This ancient innovation uses clay pots, sand, and water to keep stuff cool even on a hot day. 

Both options currently on the table for raising the debt ceiling would cut environment and energy spending. The president will announce new fuel economy standards -- cars and light-duty trucks will need to be at 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. The EPA is proposing the first air standards for fracking. Flat screen TV use less than half the energy they did in 2008. The secret is just using LEDs. Jon Huntsman believes "conservation is conservative." Maybe the next president will appoint him head of the EPA. Consumers are starting to wonder if it's such a good idea to clean …

Plastic bags are the genital warts of litter -- they're incredibly widespread, nearly impossible to get rid of, and can lead to much worse problems down the line. The only thing that works is prevention -- i.e. not using them in the first place. But the plastics industry doesn't take too kindly to that. Here's a sampling of the tactics the industry has used to keep people from weaning themselves off plastic bags: Lobbying (to the tune of millions of dollars) against legislation that would ban or put fees on plastic bags at the local level. Trying to trade bag …