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Environment

Ocean drainage basins of the world

These Entrancing Maps Capture Where the World’s Rivers Go

Cartographer Robert Szucs uses satellite data to make stunning art that shows which oceans waterways empty into

Left, Bartram’s illustration of Annona grandiflora, a member of the pawpaw family, which appeared in the naturalist’s 1791 Travels, right.

More Than 200 Years After He Toured Florida, America’s First Great Environmentalist Is Inspiring Locals to Reconnect With Nature

A new generation is discovering the rambling Southern route of William Bartram and his legendary 1791 travelogue

A turtle appears to smile as a dragonfly alights on its nose.

See 25 Breathtaking Images From the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest

Representing some of the world’s best nature photography, the pictures are being put to a popular vote for the People’s Choice Award

Lake Michigan, pictured here in December 2022, had 0.1 percent ice cover on Jan. 1, 2024.

The Great Lakes Reached a Record Low for Ice Cover on New Year’s Day

The ‘extreme’ lack of ice follows warm temperatures in December and calls attention to recent downward trends in ice coverage on the lakes

Sultan al-Jaber, the president of COP28, and other participants at the conference applaud. The final document resulting from COP28 mentioned transitioning away from fossil fuels, rather than phasing them out over time.

The Six Biggest Takeaways From COP28

The United Nations climate change conference drew praise for new pledges and criticism for watered-down language

Keālia Pond National Wildlife Refuge

Could Climate Change Cause More Lakes to Turn Bright Pink?

While rosy-hued waters exist naturally around the world, a pond in Hawaii recently turned pink, and Australian scientists say the same could happen there

Seabirds, such as puffins, have a well-earned reputation as sentinels of change in marine environments.

How Seabirds Can Help Us Predict the Size of Fish Stocks

The scientists who study terns, puffins and other birds are trying to get fisheries managers to heed their warnings

COP28 president Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber and others applaud after nations adopted the first climate deal calling for a transition away from fossil fuels. A lead negotiator for 39 small island nations noted that the group was not in the room when the final agreement was reached.

Nations Agree to ‘Transition Away From Fossil Fuels’ in Landmark Climate Deal

The agreement, which ended the COP28 climate conference, is not legally binding, but it’s the first to explicitly call for moving away from fossil fuels

Electric eels can discharge up to 860 volts of electricity.

Eels Can Genetically Modify Nearby Fish With Their Electrical Pulses

In laboratory experiments, gene transfer occurred in 5 percent of zebrafish larvae that were near eels when they discharged electricity

Boat docks sit on dry, cracked earth at the Great Salt Lake's Antelope Island Marina on August 1, 2021.

Could a 550-Mile Pipeline From the Ocean Save the Great Salt Lake? Scientists Say Probably Not

New research suggests the electricity costs would exceed $300 million per year and carbon dioxide emissions could approach one million metric tons annually

Why can't machines process CO2 the way trees do?

Why Can’t Machines Process CO2 Like Trees? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

An oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Officials spotted an oil slick three to four miles wide off the coast of Louisiana last Thursday.

Oil Spill Dumps as Much as 1.1 Million Gallons Into Gulf of Mexico, Raising Concerns About Wildlife

The U.S. Coast Guard is still searching for the specific source of the leak, which occurred last week

Researchers plan to launch the wooden artifical satellite in summer 2024. 

Could Wooden Satellites Reduce Space Junk? The First Is Set to Launch Next Year

NASA and Japan plan to test a biodegradable satellite made of wood, which burns up more easily than metal on reentry

Dividing the estimated length of 240,000 miles of stone wall by the geographic area of the New England heartland yields about six linear miles of stone per square mile of land.

How Stone Walls Became a Signature Landform of New England

Originally built as barriers between fields and farms, the region’s abandoned farmstead walls have since become the binding threads of its cultural fabric

A captive breeding program has seen the return of Galápagos giant tortoises to Española in the Galápagos Islands. As the tortoise population rebounds, the island ecosystem is in the process of transforming.

Galápagos Giant Tortoises Are Ecosystem Engineers

A decades-long project shows how the reptiles are changing the island of Española

John Akomfrah at his London studio, 2016

Artist John Akomfrah Is Having a Moment

The works of the recently knighted filmmaker address contemporary issues in two different Smithsonian museums

A shot of Hurricane Ian, taken from the International Space Station on September 28, 2022

Atlantic Hurricanes Are Getting More Dangerous, More Quickly

If such changes are in response to climate change, the future may feature more sudden, daunting storms

California condors are attracted to shiny things and sometimes ingest wrappers, coins and padlock keys.

‘Love Locks’ at the Grand Canyon Could Be Harming Endangered California Condors

Park service officials urged visitors to stop attaching padlocks to fences and throwing keys into the canyon below, where the birds could eat them

Pamela Singh's Chipko Tree Huggers of the Himalayas #4, 1994

Art Meets Science

London Exhibition Explores the Link Between Gender and Ecology

“Re/Sisters,” now open at the Barbican Art Gallery, features the works of nearly 50 women and nonbinary artists

Male elephant seals can weigh up to 4,400 pounds.

How This Small Nonprofit Helped Save California’s Elephant Seals

Volunteers with Friends of the Elephant Seal educate tourists to prevent conflicts, inspire awe and keep the marine mammals safe

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