Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Expansion of geothermal energy use across the globe is restricted by out-of-date prejudices. It is time for geothermal exploration to be extended to a broader range of environments and rejuvenated with the latest insights from relevant geoscience disciplines.
The recent disappearance of a commercial airliner has highlighted our poor knowledge of the ocean floor. Through the years, human tragedies have helped inspire deep sea research, but it is time to explore more systematically.
Over the past six years an increasingly complex view of water inside and on the surface of the Moon has emerged. Lunar water has moistened sticky questions, and so renewed lunar exploration efforts are needed to deepen our knowledge of the Earth–Moon system.
As well as being a milestone in technology, the Chang'e lunar exploration programme establishes China as a contributor to space science. With much still to learn about the Moon, fieldwork beyond Earth's orbit must be an international effort.
Livestock production accounts for a significant fraction of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Progress in mitigating the adverse environmental impacts of this industry can be improved by shifting research emphases and fostering communication between researchers and ranchers.
Large tracts of agricultural land are being bought up by external investors. Turning the land into a commodity can have detrimental effects, for generations to come, on the local communities that sell or lease the land.
Climate change could compromise food security over the coming century. Scientists working towards mitigation and adaptation have to win over those who work on the land.
Biochar has been heralded as a solution to a number of agricultural and environmental ills. To get the most benefit from its application, environmental and social circumstances should both be considered.
