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Pollution

Permafrost covers 65 percent of Russian lands, but it’s melting fast.

Permafrost Thaw in Siberia Creates a Ticking ‘Methane Bomb’ of Greenhouse Gases, Scientists Warn

In 2020, temperatures in the region rose nearly 11 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, causing the limestone to release ancient methane deposits

A perfect storm of high demand clashing with supply chain issues, worker shortage and delivery problems is forcing restaurant owners to raise seafood prices on their menus.

Seafood Prices Soar Amid Supply Chain Issues and Worker Shortage

As demand for fish rises, restaurants are slammed with employment losses, port congestion, lack of product, rising costs and shipment snags

Noise pollution affects the structures within seagrass that help the marine plant detect gravity and store energy.

Seagrass Is Harmed by Noise Pollution

The plant may not have ears, but that doesn’t stop sound from causing serious damage to other structures

A brown trout caught in Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge

Meth Pollution in Waterways Turns Trout Into Addicts

Like humans, fish can get addicted to methamphetamines and go through withdrawal

Currently, single-use plastics lose 95 percent of their value after use, causing a $110 billion loss to global markets every year.

Innovation for Good

Plastic Waste Can Be Transformed Into Vanilla Flavoring

Researchers used microbes to convert plastic waste into the chemical additive

A Florida manatee swimming near the surface.

Florida’s Manatees Are Dying at an Alarming Rate

Experts say starvation appears to be the main cause of death. Polluted waters are likely smothering the manatees’ favorite food: seagrass

Homes next to oil refinery in Los Angeles' Wilmington neighborhood. Wilmington has one the highest risks of cancer due to air pollution from the Port of Los Angeles at Long Beach and several oil refineries in the vicinity. The neighborhood is more than 80 percent Hispanic or Latino.

New Research

Communities of Color ‘Disproportionately and Systematically’ Face Deadly Air Pollution, Regardless of Location or Income

A new study finds people of color in the United States are exposed to higher levels of fine particulate pollution

A new way of chemically recycling single-use plastics might offer an incentive to keep them out of landfills.

Innovation for Good

New Chemical Process Turns Single-Use Plastics Into Fuels

Researchers say their method can break down hard-to-recycle plastics using half the energy of existing techniques

The enzyme-enhanced plastic film had the same strength and flexibility as a standard plastic grocery bag.

Innovation for Good

This Biodegradable Plastic Will Actually Break Down in Your Compost

Water and heat activate plastic-munching enzymes that reduce the material to harmless chemical building blocks

Researchers found low levels of radiation from Cold War nuclear tests in local honey produced in the Eastern United States.

New Research

Fallout From Cold War Nuclear Testing Detected in U.S. Honey

The radiation found doesn’t represent a health risk for humans, but it might impact bees

Blue pieces of microplastic viewed under a microscope alongside dust, minerals and charcoal collected from a park in Idaho.

New Research

Airborne Microplastics ‘Now Spiral Around the Globe’

Researchers find the tiny synthetic particles can stay aloft for nearly a week and travel large distances in the wind

Twenty-eight incidents where wildlife was harmed by PPE were recorded and the first documented case included an American Robin found wrapped up in a mask in Canada, in April 2020.

Discarded Covid-19 Masks and Plastic Gloves Are Killing Wildlife

Biologists are finding single-use items are entrapping and entangling animals all over the globe

The object left a four-inch dent on the ground at a Washington farm.

After a Fiery Display, SpaceX Debris Landed on a Washington Farm

Officials are also investigating whether a cylindrical object that washed ashore in Oregon may also be from the SpaceX rocket booster

A new study found rat poison in the bodies of more than 80 percent of 133 dead bald and golden eagles from across the U.S.

New Research

Study Finds Rat Poison in Dead Eagles From Across the U.S.

More than 82 percent of 133 eagles tested had so-called anticoagulant rodenticides in their bodies

A study of ten narwhal tusks reveals how the animals are responding to a swiftly changing Arctic.

New Research

Study of Narwhal Tusks Reveals a Swiftly Changing Arctic

Chemical analysis of ten tusks shows shifting diets and increasing levels of mercury as climate change warms the polar region

Grasshoppers swarm a street light a few blocks from the Las Vegas Strip on July 26, 2019.

New Research

Las Vegas Was Inundated by 46 Million Grasshoppers on a Single Night in 2019

A new study says the horde of insects was drawn to the Vegas Strip by its famously bright lights

Monday's dust storm left Beijing, China, in an orange haze (left). By Tuesday the air was much clearer (right).

Largest Dust Storm in More Than a Decade Blanketed China This Week

Air quality readings in Beijing reached dangerous levels while residents were urged to stay indoors

For decades there were rumors of leaking barrels filled with the pesticide DDT littering the ocean floor off the coast of Santa Catalina Island dumped by the now-defunct, Montrose Chemical Corp, the largest global DDT manufacturer based in Los Angeles

‘Underwater Roombas’ Scan Southern California Coast for DDT Barrels

Hundreds of tons of the toxic chemical have likely littered the ocean floor near Santa Catalina Island for decades

Wisdom, a 70-year-old Laysan albatross, and one of her chicks from years past.

Oldest Known Wild Bird Hatches Chick at Age 70

Wisdom, a Laysan albatross, was first banded by scientists on a remote North Pacific atoll in 1956

The Oyapock river, between Brazil and French Guiana, is one of the few waterways that a new paper identifies as being relatively undamaged by humans.

New Research

One-Third of Freshwater Fish Species Are at Risk of Extinction

Humans have severely damaged more than half of the world’s rivers

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