Industrial pollution takes a major toll on human health in poor countries. Why we need to pay more attention to the biggest environmental problem out there
health
Leaks, Rats and Radioactivity: Fukushima’s Nuclear Cleanup Is Faltering
The Fukushima meltdown hasn’t been the public-health disaster that many critics feared, but TEPCO has struggled with the cleanup. The latest news that groundwater is becoming contaminated by the stricken reactors is one more …
Meltdown: Despite the Fear, the Health Risks from the Fukushima Accident Are Minimal
The nuclear accident at Japan’s Fukushima plant caused the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people and sparked fears of a health catastrophe. But nearly two years after the meltdown, a World Health Organization reports says …
Unbreathable: Air Pollution Becomes a Major Global Killer
According to a new analysis published in “The Lancet,” more than 3.2 million people suffered premature deaths from air pollution in 2010, the largest number on record
How Silent Spring Became the First Shot in the War Over the Environment
50 years old this month, Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring helped kickstart the environmental movement and led the U.S. to ban the pesticide DDT. So why do some people blame Carson for millions of malaria deaths in Africa?
A New Pollution Tracker: Glow-in-the-Dark Fish
This year’s TIME 100 is, as always, full of personalities whose influence is at once lasting and admirable, and who have done big, powerful things to shake the world. But many big, powerful things have their roots in small, …
Your Time 100 Energy and Environment Influencers
It’s that time of year again—and no, I don’t mean International Jugglers Day, or even worse, Newspaper Columnists Day. It’s the annual unveiling of the TIME 100 list, our roundup of the most interesting and influential people …
Virological Trade: Screening Imported Wildlife for Emerging Microbes
Border customs agents are on the look out for many things: illegal drugs, stolen goods, smuggled liquor and sometimes even people. Add one more target: animal-borne viruses. In a new study published on Tuesday in the journal PLoS …
Moneyball for HIV
Bjorn Lomborg’s middle name is not actually “controversial,” but maybe it should be. The Danish economist—and TIME 100 selection—gained notoriety for books like The Skeptical Environmentalist and Cool It that called into question the basic green assumptions that the world is getting worse and that climate change is an existential …