Archaeologists working in Indonesia say they have discovered the earliest artwork that depicts a story. It is a tale told in red pigment on a cave wall. The scene, in the scientists’ interpretation, shows supernatural people hunting wild animals. People living on the island of Sulawesi drew this image of pigs and horned animals as...Read More

As an ice-cream maker, Ben & Jerry’s relies on cow’s milk, but not from just any cows. For four decades, the company has built a reputation for ice cream that does good while tasting good. Its core values, which consumer-goods giant Unilever says it has maintained since acquiring Ben & Jerry’s in 2000, are supposed...Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Scientists said on Monday that for the first time, a satellite on a routine global survey identified and measured methane gas escaping from a gas well explosion, a tool that could be important in efforts to curb climate change. Oil and gas accidents have long emitted vast amounts of methane, a gas...Read More

Impact investing emerged in 2007 out of global discussions on how to mobilise more capital to tackle societal problems. Credit: shutterstock Governments, communities and industries are grappling with issues such as climate change, inequality and social justice – and how to mobilise more funding to tackle these issues. One possible solution is impact investing. Impact...Read More

A powerhouse coalition of impact investors hopes to build out the field through a donor collaborative launched last week with an initial $12.5 million in commitments. The mission of the new Tipping Point Fund (TPF) is creating and scaling a high-functioning market that operates with integrity. The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance will manage the work. Fran Seegull, its...Read More

Combating Global Climate Change at the Regional Scale Panelists from left to right: Alex Halliday, Ruth deFries, Joshua Fisher, Lisa Sachs, Jason Bordoff, V. Faye McNeill. Photo: Eileen M. Barroso/Office of Communications and Public Affairs With climate change affecting different parts of the world in different ways, a group of Columbia University faculty members gathered...Read More

  The VMD tiny home is an eco-conscious dwelling that is built using shipping-containers Mexican architectural studios Studioroca and Taller Escape have recently joined forces to create a prefabricated housing model that is move-in ready in just 99 days from ordering. Dubbed VMD, the 30-sq-m (323-sq-ft) tiny home is an eco-conscious dwelling that is built...Read More

“The next 10 years could be the best 10 years we’ve ever seen or the worst decade, and that depends less on the technology and more on the choices we make.” That observation, from Erik Brynjolfsson, director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, feels particularly prescient as we take stock of the 2010s...Read More

Abhijit remembers walking into a meeting at the EU headquarters and immediately noticing that this was very different from the ones he was used to. No suits, no ties, no high heels; lined faces, scruffy winter jackets, and also an eagerness he associated with college freshmen in their first week. These were people, he was...Read More

Downloadable Resources Open interactive popup Article (PDF-2MB) Hydrocarbons have powered economic growth for 150 years, but their emissions are destabilizing the earth’s climate. Now that the atmospheric impact of fossil fuels is widely recognized, the sector is under increasing pressure. Policy makers, investors, and society are pressing for change, threatening operators’ license to operate. Operators...Read More