The Future of the Environment

A blueprint for the eco-tropolis of the future with fresh air, pristine water and cheap energy. Plus, 48 audacious ideas to save the planet

By PopSci Staff | Published Jun 13, 2008 8:34 PM EDT

Environment

An eco-savvy blueprint for tomorrow's megacity. Kevin Hand

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.

This year we turn much of our focus toward a bold blueprint for the city of the future. Check out our interactive tour of a future green megalopolis, the 10 most audacious engineering solutions for saving the planet, as well as the most problematic cities, industries, and projects looming on the horizon.

The Good News

A Green Megalopolis: The Plan

What does the eco-conscious megacity of tomorrow look like? Launch our interactive tour to find out

10 Audacious Ideas to Save the Planet

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!) to clean up the Earth

Green DIY Guide

It’s not too late to reverse the damage. See some bold steps any DIYer can take

Charging Ahead

A smart power strip delivers just the right amount of juice

Riding Clean

Google Earth Environment Guide

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.