60-Second Earth

By Scientific American

What's 60-Second Earth about?

Tune in every Sunday for quick reports on the science of the environment and the future of energy. It'll just take a minute!

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60-Second Earth episodes:

02.23.2015
New Map Knows Noise
National Park Service researchers recorded ambient sound from all over the country to find out where there’s still stillness. David Biello reports
02.15.2015
Oil-Eating Microbes Have Worldwide Underground Connections
Life thrives even deep inside Earth and scientists are beginning to suspect extensive connections among those underground environments. David Biello reports
02.08.2015
Siberian Winters See Temp Uptick
The long-term winter warming of Russia’s far north has gotten a boost from industrialization. David Biello reports
02.01.2015
Dig This: China Cuts Coal Production
The biggest single source of global warming pollution actually started to shrink in 2014. David Biello reports
01.28.2015
Is Recycling Worth the Effort?
The value of recycling depends on the material in question and whether all hidden costs and benefits go into the analysis. David Biello reports
01.20.2015
Tropical Forests Pay Price for Gold Rush
Desire for gold has made mining in tropical forests financially worthwhile, leading to ecosystem destruction. Cynthia Graber reports
01.12.2015
Cheap Oil Means Raise the Gas T-Word
Low oil prices present an opportunity to come to grips with our crumbling infrastructure and the cost of climate change. David Biello reports
12.30.2014
Meet the (Newest Known) Beetles!
Researchers announced the discovery of 98 beetle species previously unknown to science. David Biello reports
12.22.2014
Oil Spill Sullies World Heritage Site
The Sundarbans, part of the world's largest mangrove forest and stretching across India and Bangladesh, have been tarnished by a 350,000-liter oil spill. David Biello reports
12.15.2014
Plummeting Petroleum Price Gases Up Global Warming
Good news for gas and oil consumers can be bad news for the environment. David Biello reports
11.28.2014
Movies Can Boost Solar Power
The pattern that stores a film on a Blu-ray disc also can help improve photovoltaics. David Biello reports
11.24.2014
Sun's Magnetic Field Boosts Earth Lightning
When the Sun's magnetic field is pointed away from Earth, lightning strikes in the U.K. go up 50 percent. Christopher Intagliata reports
11.18.2014
Wildlife Crime? There's an App for That
A new tool may help officials crack down on the illegal wildlife trade. David Biello reports
11.10.2014
Protected Areas Get Short Shrift
Protected land and sea areas serve the wildlife within them as well as the humans who live near them. But countries are backtracking on their financial commitments to these vital regions. Steve Mirsky reports
11.02.2014
Clock Ticking on Climate Change Prevention
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's new synthesis report adds urgency to the need to cut additional greenhouse gas pollution
10.28.2014
Better E-Waste Handling Helps Environment and Health
Plastic-removal machines will enable Ghana's e-waste recoverers to get at valuable metal guts without burning off the exteriors. David Biello reports
10.19.2014
Bottling the Sun's Power on Earth
A breakthrough in fusion could solve the world's energy problems, but remains improbable. David Biello reports
10.13.2014
Ebola Gorilla Vaccine Could Prevent Human Outbreaks
Infected gorillas and chimps butchered for meat may be behind Ebola outbreaks. David Biello reports
10.05.2014
Wildlife Population Plummeted Since 1970
A World Wildlife Fund report estimates losses of 40 percent of all individual land and sea animals, and a 70 percent population crash of all river animals, since 1970. David Biello reports
09.20.2014
People Power Takes Aim at Climate Change
Participlants in the People's Climate March in New York City September 21st hope to persuade world leaders at the U.N. Climate Summit that follows. David Biello reports
09.15.2014
Ozone Hole Closing Up, Thanks to Global Action
The world united to combat the ozone hole, can we do the same for climate change? David Biello reports
09.07.2014
Historic Abundance of Blue Whales Returns in California
The mighty blue whale is back after being nearly hunted to extinction. David Biello reports
08.24.2014
How to Save the Woods
The first step in solving the world's forest problem is recognizing the world's forest problem. David Biello reports
08.17.2014
Spill Some Oil? Magnetize It for Cleanup
A physicist may have dreamed up a new way to clean up oil spills. David Biello reports
08.11.2014
Antique Markets Used to Launder Poached Ivory
Legal ivory markets that are supposed to only deal in stockpiles and antiques inevitably launder poached ivory. Close them all, says WCS vice president for species conservation. David Biello reports
08.03.2014
Bahamas Creation Linked to African Dust
Cyanobacteria fed by nutrients carried over the Atlantic in African dust may have initiated the process by which, over millions of years, calcium carbonate collected to build the Bahamas. David Biello reports
07.27.2014
Some Coral Should Produce Shells in Acidifying Ocean
Of four common corals and algae tested, three still produced shells in conditions that mimic oceans if atmospheric CO2 concentrations reached 1,000 ppm. David Biello reports
07.21.2014
Ants Could Help Warming Cry Uncle
At test sites, the exposure of rock by ants accelerated the absorption of atmospheric CO2 by the rock by as much as 335 times compared with ant-free areas. David Biello reports
07.14.2014
Urban Growth Defines This Century
How existing cities expand and new cities emerge will determine how humanity fares in the 21st century. David Biello reports
06.29.2014
Environmental Crime Funds Terrorism
Environmental destruction—from smuggling elephant tusks to illegal dumping of toxic waste—generates as much as $213 billion annually for criminals and terrorists. David Biello reports
06.23.2014
Future Smog Looks More Persistent
Computer models show that increased levels of greenhouse gases, along with their trapped heat, will make the atmosphere more stagnant, leading to many more days of unhealthy air. David Biello reports.
06.15.2014
Poisoned Poor Killed in Millions by Pollution
The Global Alliance on Health and Pollution calls for a war against pollution to save the lives of more than eight million people annually. David Biello reports
06.08.2014
I Just Want to Say One Word to You: Plastiglomerate
Thanks to us humans, there's a new type of rock in the geologic record. And it's part plastic. David Biello reports
06.01.2014
Better Car Labeling Could Pump Up Fuel Efficiency
When gas mileage cost was explicitly revealed on new car window stickers, potential consumers were more likely to choose the most efficient vehicle. David Biello reports.
05.25.2014
Pope Francis Pleas for the Environment
In a May 21 speech Pope Francis warned that despoiling the environment would come back to haunt humanity. David Biello reports
05.19.2014
Poetry Poster Sucks Up Smog
A building-sized poem shows how billboards could help cut pollution from cars. David Biello reports
05.14.2014
Hurricanes Move Away from Equator with Expanding Tropics
Since the 1970s the locations where tropical cyclones (hurricanes and typhoons) reach their maximum intensities have shifted toward both poles at a rate of about 35 miles per decade. David Biello reports
05.05.2014
Bumper Corn Looks Dicey in Drought
Corn plants bred to be planted very close together thrive in good weather but appear to be particularly vulnerable to the droughts predicted in the coming decades. Cynthia Graber reports
04.20.2014
Biodiversity Survives Extinctions for Now
A meta-analysis of ecosystems finds that species losses in any given place do not yet translate to large changes in the number of different species in that place. David Biello reports
04.14.2014
Fish Smell Badly in More Acidic Oceans
Some fish living in waters with currently naturally high levels of CO2 lose their sense of smell, and with it their ability to perceive predators—a possible portent to a global situation in the near future. David Biello reports
04.06.2014
Earthquake Deflection Takes a Tiny Step
Building on light-cloaking work, physicists took a small step toward the goal of shielding cities from earthquakes by deflecting incoming energy. David Biello reports
04.01.2014
Citizen Environmental Monitoring Could Keep Officials Honest
Smartphones, cheap satellite imaging and crowdfunded enterprises have made citizen oversight possible that was undreamed of by past transparency advocates and environmentalists. David Biello reports
03.24.2014
Space-Based Solar Collectors Could Have a Sunny Future
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory has a working prototype for a space-based solar energy collector and distributor that would beat the cloudy-day problem. David Biello reports
03.16.2014
Realistic Climate Models Exhibit Greenhouse Gas Sensitivity
A consideration of the role of sootlike particulates and ozone implies that the climate should will not be insensitive to increasing levels of greenhouse gases. David Biello reports
03.13.2014
Lighting May Cut Seed-Rich Bat Guano Production
Bats ate less fruit in lit areas than in dark ones, which may lessen their seed-dispersal activities needed to bring back slashed rainforests. Cynthia Graber reports.
03.02.2014
Air-Gun Oil Exploration Wrongs Right Whales
The U.S. government has given industry permission to use of lethally loud seismic devices up and down the east coast. David Biello reports
02.23.2014
Climate Currently Pays for Increased Human Wealth
A new study attempts to quantify CO2 emissions if economic growth continues. David Biello reports
02.18.2014
Cities Befriend Select Plants and Animals
As more people move to cities, careful planning could mean a happy home for both humans and a substantial amount of wildlife. David Biello reports
02.09.2014
Global Warming Freezes Penguin Chicks
More rain related to a warming climate soaks Magellanic penguin chicks to the skin before their waterproof feathers grow in, killing them from hypothermia. Allie Wilkinson reports
02.02.2014
China Holiday Travel Puts Spotlight on Transportation
Lunar New Year means tens of millions of travelers in China, mostly by bus but increasingly by car, which is bad news for air quality. David Biello reports

What's 60-Second Earth about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

60-Second Earth episodes:

New Map Knows Noise

Oil-Eating Microbes Have Worldwide Underground Connections

Siberian Winters See Temp Uptick

Dig This: China Cuts Coal Production

Is Recycling Worth the Effort?

Tropical Forests Pay Price for Gold Rush

Cheap Oil Means Raise the Gas T-Word

Meet the (Newest Known) Beetles!

Oil Spill Sullies World Heritage Site

Plummeting Petroleum Price Gases Up Global Warming

Movies Can Boost Solar Power

Sun's Magnetic Field Boosts Earth Lightning

Wildlife Crime? There's an App for That

Protected Areas Get Short Shrift

Clock Ticking on Climate Change Prevention

Better E-Waste Handling Helps Environment and Health

Bottling the Sun's Power on Earth

Ebola Gorilla Vaccine Could Prevent Human Outbreaks

Wildlife Population Plummeted Since 1970

People Power Takes Aim at Climate Change

Ozone Hole Closing Up, Thanks to Global Action

Historic Abundance of Blue Whales Returns in California

How to Save the Woods

Spill Some Oil? Magnetize It for Cleanup

Antique Markets Used to Launder Poached Ivory

Bahamas Creation Linked to African Dust

Some Coral Should Produce Shells in Acidifying Ocean

Ants Could Help Warming Cry Uncle

Urban Growth Defines This Century

Environmental Crime Funds Terrorism

Future Smog Looks More Persistent

Poisoned Poor Killed in Millions by Pollution

I Just Want to Say One Word to You: Plastiglomerate

Better Car Labeling Could Pump Up Fuel Efficiency

Pope Francis Pleas for the Environment

Poetry Poster Sucks Up Smog

Hurricanes Move Away from Equator with Expanding Tropics

Bumper Corn Looks Dicey in Drought

Biodiversity Survives Extinctions for Now

Fish Smell Badly in More Acidic Oceans

Earthquake Deflection Takes a Tiny Step

Citizen Environmental Monitoring Could Keep Officials Honest

Space-Based Solar Collectors Could Have a Sunny Future

Realistic Climate Models Exhibit Greenhouse Gas Sensitivity

Lighting May Cut Seed-Rich Bat Guano Production

Air-Gun Oil Exploration Wrongs Right Whales

Climate Currently Pays for Increased Human Wealth

Cities Befriend Select Plants and Animals

Global Warming Freezes Penguin Chicks

China Holiday Travel Puts Spotlight on Transportation