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Pollution

Researchers analyzed blood samples taken from 43 great white sharks captured and released off of the South African coast in 2012

Great White Sharks Thrive Despite Heavy Metals Coursing Through Their Veins

The apex predators likely absorb these toxins by eating fish lower down on the food chain

For more than 30 years, plastic Garfield phones have been washing up on French beaches

Why Have Garfield Phones Been Washing Ashore in France for 30 Years?

The mystery has been solved, but environmental advocates aren’t celebrating

New York is the second state to pass a ban on single use plastic bags. California was the first.

New York to Introduce State-Wide Ban on Plastic Bags

But the plan has drawn criticism from both business groups and environmental advocates

Honey gathered from urban beehives offers a surprisingly accurate measure of surrounding communities’ air quality

How Urban Beehives Can Help Researchers Detect Air Pollution

Trace elements found in honey may be able to lead researchers straight to the source of environmental contamination

African-Americans breathe in 56 percent more pollution than they generate, while Hispanic Americans breathe in 63 percent more

White Americans Produce More Air Pollution Than They Consume

African-Americans and Hispanics consume fewer pollutant-generating products, but get hit hardest by the negative effects

The Lady K tow boat kicks up a wake full of green algae a few hundred feet from the city of Toledo's Water Intake on Lake Erie, for testing on Monday, August 4, 2014.

Trending Today

Toledo, Ohio, Just Granted Lake Erie the Same Legal Rights as People

A controversial referendum passed this week establishes a bill of rights for the Great Lake and grants it legal standing in suing polluters

It was during another experiment in his lab that Naohiro Kato realized that microalgae might be a good ingredient for bioplastic.

Made From Microalgae, These Mardi Gras Beads Are Biodegradable

Louisiana State University molecular biologist Naohiro Kato is confronting plastic pollution one necklace and doubloon at a time

Plastic debris is providing a new vessel for potentially invasive species to cross large distances.

Sea Creatures Still Arriving in the U.S. on Plastic Debris From the Japanese Tsunami Eight Years Ago

Marine biologists don’t know how long different species can survive adrift in the open ocean, and some may become invasive when they reach new shores

A plume of sediment off the coast of Queensland after recent flooding.

Trending Today

Australia Allows One Million Tons of Sludge to Be Dumped on Great Barrier Reef

A loophole in Australian federal law allows dredging spoils from port maintenance to be dumped in the marine park

Coal-colored snow has blanketed Siberia's Kuzbass region this winter, provoking local outrage and health concerns

In Siberia, Toxic Black Snow Reveals the Toll of Coal Mining

Authorities in one town reportedly attempted to cover up coal-polluted snow with white paint

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

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