In January 2011, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) jointly announced that 2010 tied 2005 as the hottest years in recorded human history, and all of the 10 hottest years on record have come after 1998. Despite more than two decades of scientific research on global warming and countless dire warnings, the United States has continued to discharge more heat-trapping greenhouse gases (GH...

Nine years ago on what was otherwise a regular summer day in Northern Ohio, a high-voltage transmission line sagged because of the high current passing through it and clipped an untrimmed tree branch nearby. Within two hours, large portions of the Northeastern United States and neighboring Canada were without electrical power. Although the catalyst for this event was nothing more dramatic than a sagging line, the resulting blackout was huge – more than 500 generating...

In northern Tajikistan nearly 55 million tonnes of uranium waste remains in uncovered and unsecured sites. One of the largest dump sites, with about 12 million tonnes of radioactive waste, is in Taboshar. Some residents of the town often walk to Old Taboshar to visit family that live in this outer lying area. Going just a few kilometres along the road, the era of uranium mining and its legacy are clear. Stretching out from the road for hundreds of metres on either side...