Anthropocene

A condor, tagged with a transmitter for tracking, perches on California's coast.

Mercury-Laden Sea Lion Carcasses Threaten California's Coastal Condors

The new findings put a wrench in conservation of one of the world's rarest birds

What secrets do those lonely ice sheets hold?

A Radioactive Cold War Military Base Will Soon Emerge From Greenland’s Melting Ice

They thought the frozen earth would keep it safely hidden. They were wrong

Rising drought. Surging seas. Spiking temperatures. 2015 was just another year in a long pattern of Earth's changing climate.

World’s Climate Hit Extremes, Shattered Multiple Records in 2015

From rising temperatures and ocean levels to record greenhouse gas levels, 2015 was a rough year for planet Earth

New models of ocean currents suggest that the oceanic gyres thought to collect garbage actually have "exit doors" that allow plastic to eventually wash up on the shores of North and South America.

The Ocean's Great Garbage Patches Might Have Exit Doors

Garbage isn't destined to swirl in the ocean forever; new models show it eventually washes up on shore.

Municipal solid waste (aka garbage) being burned in an incinerator; this incinerator can handle 17 tons of trash an hour.

Is Sustainable Trash-Burning a Load of Rubbish?

Some experts say it lets us get away with producing more and more garbage.

A wheat field in Rajasthan, irrigated during the dry season with water from a johad.

Back to Basics: Saving Water the Old-Fashioned Way

Across the world, communities are reviving old ways of saving or storing water—with promising results

It looks like a rodent of unusual size, but the solenodon—a creature that has outlived the dinosaurs—is more closely related to moles and shrews.

Podcast: The Weird, Wild, Endangered Solenodon

The solenodon survived the impact that killed the dinosaurs, but after all that, we might be its downfall.

Crocodiles sun themselves at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Buena Vista, Florida in 2012.

Forced Closer to Humans, Crocodiles Face Their Greatest Existential Threat

These armored reptiles have long been considered indestructible, but new threats are shifting the equation

A drone shot of a researcher collecting data on cryoconite holes on the Greenland Ice Sheet.

The Tiny World of Glacier Microbes Has an Outsized Impact on Global Climate

Microbes living on glaciers collectively cover an area the size of New Hampshire—and they could have a big influence on global climate

Organic! Doesn't always mean what people think it means.

Podcast: Our Food, Our Selves

Food is a focal point for understanding broader environmental problems. In this podcast, we learn how food buyers are influenced in surprising ways.

The Mauna Loa observatory.

The Enduring Climate Legacy of Mauna Loa

Sixty years after a trailblazing climate scientist scaled its heights, the Hawaii-based observatory remains essential

Learning about bugs at Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio.

Americans Think National Parks Are Worth Way More Than We Spend On Them

An independent survey finds that although NPS's annual budget is around $3 billion, Americans are willing to pay much more

A male greater sage-grouse dances for a female.

New Schemes Pay You to Save Species—But Will They Work?

Programs being set up in the American West are taking a radical new approach: paying landowners to preserve animal habitat.

An astrophysicist makes the case that it might be worthwhile to revisit the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 to safeguard the practice of science on the lunar surface.

Can There Be Real Estate on the Moon?

A Harvard-Smithsonian astrophysicist thinks a legal crisis is waiting for us on the surface of the moon.

After the Deepwater Horizon oil blowout in 2010, rescuers rushed to save birds, like this pelican. In the end, it didn’t really matter, most birds died.

Why We Pretend to Clean Up Oil Spills

Six years after Deepwater Horizon spewed oil into the Gulf of Mexico, we still have no idea what we're doing

We’ve never cared less about a charismatic animal standing forlornly on a rapidly deteriorating landscape.

Podcast: Does Anybody Even Care About the Arctic Anymore?

This week's episode of Warm Regards asks why our coldest region has gotten the cold shoulder

Expanding human populations in India have pushed tigers into small, isolated habitats—and resulted in some unusual behaviors.

Sorry, Tiger Dudes: Your Ladies Are Faking It

India’s tigresses may be feigning interest in sex as the result of shrinking habitat and overlapping territories

Kim Stanley Robinson

Podcast: Kim Stanley Robinson Says 'Either You're An Environmentalist, Or You're Not Paying Attention'

Award-winning writer Kim Stanley Robinson discusses sci-fi's role in helping us understand the world.

In recent years, enough Arctic ice has melted to clear parts of the Northwest Passage for shipping traffic.

Melting Arctic Ice Might Mean Faster Internet for Some

The dwindling ice has an unexpected benefit: more underwater cables

Statue in front yard, Chalmette neighborhood

Plastic is Forever: The Art of Mass Consumption

For International Bag Free Day, an intimate look at American mass consumption through the eyes of photographer Chris Jordan

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