future of the environment

In our annual Future of the Environment issue, we take a look at the monumental problems facing our world as we continue into the 21st century, as well as solutions ranging from the audacious to the everyday to, quite literally, save the planet.

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Everyday behavior, things that it's easy to take for granted, have a significant effect on the planet. Some habits are easy to change, but others are more deeply entrenched. And so, despite your good intentions, you're probably wrecking the environment as we speak. See the five ways you're ruining things (and how to turn them around) here.

And check out PopSci's complete coverage of the future of the environment at popsci.com/futurecity.

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Here at Popular Science, we're pretty optimistic about the potential for large-scale technological projects. But sometimes the cutting edge can cut in destructive ways. Join us as we look at five upcoming projects that have the potential to wreak destruction on the environment.

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What are the dirtiest industries? Sometimes the most innocuous-seeming are the worst culprits. PopSci takes a look inside five of the sectors most responsible for unleashing destruction upon the planet.

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You may already know about the pollution plight of Linfen, China. But how about the heavy metals Pittsburghers breathe in on a daily basis? Or the incomparable smog Milanesi put up with? PopSci has culled an eye-opening selection of some of the world's most problematic cities. From the painfully high cancer rates in Sumgayit, Azerbaijan to the acid rain destroying La Oroya, Peru, writer Jason Daley will walk you through the lowest of the low; and explain why, despite it all, there's still hope for these places.

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Making a dent in the climate crisis is going to take more than solar panels and recycled toilet paper. Scientists are finding ever more creative ways (pig pee! DIY tornadoes! mini nuclear reactors!) to clean up the Earth

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Among his other unusual hobbies (he also builds sculptures featuring fire-spewing robots), 32-year-old Justin Gray makes custom electric motorcycles. To create his latest drag racer, the R144, Gray tore the motor and gasoline systems out of a 1999 Yamaha R1, a bike with a frame large enough to hold the extra parts he needed for the conversion. Since the gas engine had been an important structural element in the original bike, he built his own aluminum motor bracket to hold the modified bike together.

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From converting your lawn mower to solar power to brewing your own biofuel, there are plenty of steps the more industrious green citizen can take beyond recycling and CF bulbs. Get started below.

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Crunching massive, geographical data visualizations used to require expensive mapping software and powerful computers. Now, Google Earth is becoming the go-to application for scientists who need a cheap way to animate huge sets of 3-D data right on their home desktop. These five projects show how a simple tool can reveal hidden patterns in everything from ash to emotions.

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