Articles by Christopher Mims

'Cling-film' solar panels are 1/200th the thickness of Saran Wrap

New 'cling-film' solar panels can be printed like newspapers, and then self-organize into layers of plastics that can turn sunlight into electricity. The result is a useful solar panel that's only 60 nanometers thick -- or 1/200th the thickness of Saran Wrap.

How China accidentally geoengineered the climate

Between 2003 and 2007, China burned so much coal that it increased global consumption of the stuff 25 percent. That put so much sulfur into the air that it more or less literally (temporarily) blotted out the sun, masking some of the global warming that otherwise would have occurred during the first decade of the 21st century.

Gigantic, gorgeous visualization of humanity's transport footprint on planet Earth

It's the Atlantic, as you've never seen it before: Cities are red, shipping routes blue, roads green and air networks in white. Click on the image to see the full map of the entire planet.

World's first fracking bans come through in France and New Jersey

While we were all distracted by the possibility that New York State will allow fracking for natural gas, two big milestones in the battle to restrict the notoriously environmentally destructive process arrived on successive days:

New Jersey bans fracking

On June 29, New Jersey became the first state in the Union whose legislature passed a ban on fracking.