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Pollution

There are now zero waste supermarkets from Brooklyn to Sicily to Malaysia to South Africa.

The Rise of ‘Zero-Waste’ Grocery Stores

A growing number of supermarkets sell food without packaging in an effort to reduce the toll of plastic on the environment

A harbor seal checks out one of the team's divers.

A High Schooler Discovered Thousands of Golf Balls Polluting California’s Coastal Waters

She is now the co-author of a study that seeks to quantify this underreported problem

Trending Today

Joshua Tree National Park Closes During Shutdown Due to Damage to Namesake Trees

Many national parks remain understaffed during the government shutdown while instances of vandalism and destruction rise

New Research

Arctic Ice Is Retreating and Reindeer Are Going With It

Herds in Canada, the U.S. and Russia have dropped by over half in 20 years—and some may not recover

New Research

Satellite Data Detects Hundreds of New Sources of Ammonia Pollution

Detailed data shows livestock operations and fertilizers plants are major sources of the pollutant

Smaller nanoplastics spread throughout the scallops' muscles, gills, gonads and other organs, while larger ones stayed mainly in the intestines

It Only Takes Six Hours for Billions of Plastic Nanoparticles to Accumulate in Sea Scallops

The particles accumulated with rapid speed, but it took up to 48 days for them to disappear from the mollusks’ systems

A platypus living in the most contaminated site could be routinely exposed to up to half of an adult human’s daily dose of antidepressants

Australian Rivers Are Contaminated With Pharmaceuticals. That’s Bad News For Platypuses, Study Says

The team found evidence of human medications in every insect tested, including those from national park previously believed to be free of contaminants

The Donora Smog of 1948 began on October 27 and lasted until October 31, when rain cleared the combined smoke, fog and pollution that had become trapped over the town.

The Deadly Donora Smog of 1948 Spurred Environmental Protection—But Have We Forgotten the Lesson?

Steel and zinc industries provided Donora residents with work, but also robbed them of their health, and for some, their lives

Nine out of 10 common types of microplastics were found in the participants' stool samples

Microplastics Found in Human Poop for the First Time

The pesky particles were present in all eight stool samples gathered for pilot study

Anna Du is one of 30 Broadcom Masters finalists.

This 12-Year-Old Girl Built a Robot That Can Find Microplastics In the Ocean

Massachusetts seventh grader Anna Du has developed an ROV that moves through water and detects microplastics on the seafloor

Plastic on a beach in St. Helena.

New Research

Remote South Atlantic Islands Are Flooded With Plastic

In less than ten years, plastic pollution around St. Helena, East Falkland and Ascension Islands has increased tenfold, and 100 times in the last 30 years

Plastic Whale organizes boat tours along Amsterdam's canals to collect garbage--in particular plastic--which it then recycles and uses the repurposed material to build boats.

Fishing for Plastic Is the Latest Way to Clean Up Amsterdam’s Canals

Plastic Whale offers visitors an opportunity to see the city by boat while also cleaning up its waterways

Garbage that was found after the eruption of the Ear Spring geyser.

This Yellowstone Geyser Spat Out a Pacifier From 1930s—And Lots of Other Trash

Park officials found items like a cement block, coins, aluminum cans and a pacifier from the 1930s

Thousands of migratory birds fly over Northern California in February.

Photo Contest Featured Photographer

From Lava Tentacles to Abandoned Car Lots, This Acclaimed Violinist Turned Aerial Photographer Captures Our World From 2,000 Feet Up

Jassen Todorov, a professor of music, shares his journey into the world of aerial photography

Researchers fed microplastics to mosquito larvae in the lab.

New Research

Mosquitoes Are Passing Microplastics Up the Food Chain

These reviled insects are adding another charge to their rap sheet: ferrying harmful microplastics ingested from contaminated water

New Research

How Much Plastic Does It Take To Kill a Sea Turtle?

A new study suggests one piece of plastic has a 22 percent chance of killing a turtle that eats it, and 14 pieces will kill half

In 2017, scientists identified 2,189 new species of fungi, including the Galapagos Island lichen pictured here

Fungi Call Oil Paintings, Cockroach Guts Home Sweet Home

Scientists say they have identified a fungus species that could aid the fight against plastic pollution

Rice University scientists have programmed drones to coordinate their tracking efforts with each other.

Teaching Drones to Sniff Out Toxic Air

Swarms of the flying devices, using sensors and AI, will learn to find and track harmful gases

The device is designed to function as an artificial shoreline, drifting with ocean currents and collecting plastic in a 10-foot net-like screen

2,000-Foot-Long Plastic Catcher Released to Aid Cleanup of Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Skeptics argue the device will endanger marine wildlife, exacerbate existing pollution problems

Toxic Chemicals Banned 20 Years Ago Finally Disappearing From Arctic Wildlife

But the appearance of new chemicals is creating an uncertain future for polar bears, orcas and seabirds

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