Never mind its chilly name—as a travel destination, Iceland is hot. Visitors to the North Atlantic island, known as Europe's "land of fire and ice," topped 300,000 last year, more than Iceland's entire population.

Sacred Planet, a new giant-screen movie that pays homage to nature's harmony and indigenous cultures around the world, opens today, Earth Day. The film's director says he wanted to raise public awareness about the environment by focusing not on Earth's destruction, but on its splendor.

Most scientists agree that global warming presents the greatest threat to the environment. If our planet's ice caps and glaciers continue to melt the sea level will rise and submerge vast territories, from entire countries to large parts of the United States.

An upstart Los Angeles-based limo service has earned rave reviews from the rich, eco-friendly Hollywood set for its fleet of "green" SUVs. The swanky rides feature bars stocked with organic snacks and soy vodka and, perhaps better still, engines powered by natural gas.

They breathe rust, clean up polluted groundwater, generate electricity, and may harbor clues to life's origins. That's a lot for one family of microbes. But Derek Lovely, the researcher who discovered the first Geobacter bacteria species 17 years ago, says the wonder bugs continue to amaze.

Manhattan's gridlocked streets were a proving ground this week for the first production gas-electric hybrid sport-utility vehicle. As fuel prices rise, more automakers are getting into the hybrid game—promising dozens of the fuel efficient, low-emission vehicles over the next few years.

Greenland's ice sheet could disappear within a thousand years if global warming continues at its present rate, according to a new study. Scientists predict the thaw could raise sea levels and swamp coastal cities, including London and Los Angeles.

A microorganism too small to see with the naked eye may be the answer to one of the U.S. Department of Energy's largest environmental problems: hundreds of billions of gallons of groundwater contaminated with uranium and other toxic chemicals—the byproducts of nuclear bombs made during the Cold War.

While 11.5 percent of the planet's land surface is now officially protected for nature conservation, a new study reveals that hundreds of critically endangered species range completely outside those sanctuaries. Conservationists question whether the world's governments have protected the wrong places.

Indonesia's poorest province, Papua, is a natural-resource trove that is awaiting exploitation and begging for protection. Conservationists say a new software program will help residents guide the province to sustainable development—by forecasting the consequences of their decisions.

The budget-starved U.S. National Parks Service has been warning for years that it has a growing backlog of deferred maintenance of facilities. Now park managers are being asked to consider ways to cut services—ranging from reducing lifeguards and guided tours to closing visitor centers and even entire parks on certain days.

Select hotels are dimming their outdoor lighting, says National Geographic Traveler's Jonathan B. Tourtellot. The hostelries aim to treat guests, once again, to stunning views of star-filled skies.

Fifteen years ago, human error caused the oil tanker Exxon Valdez to spill 11 million gallons (40 million liters) of crude into Alaska's Prince William Sound. While scores of other tanker accidents have dumped far more oil into the seas, few, if any, have caused more environmental damage.

The vernal equinox—one of two times each year when night and day are officially of equal length—is upon us. But day is actually longer than night during an equinox.

Specializing in bizarre-looking plants that grow in dry tropical terrain, Mexico-based plant biologist Mark Olson searches the world for species that have been found, filed away, and forgotten. His quest carries him to some of the most remote—and dangerous—spots on the planet.