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Pollution

Henderson Island, world's garbage can.

New Research

This Remote Island Is Covered with 37 Million Pieces of Your Trash

Immaculate no more, the island now looks more like a dump than a pristine paradise

A woman wears a mask to protect against air pollution in Anyang. New research shows that Northeastern China could get more polluted when there is lest dust in the air.

New Research

Dust May Help, Not Harm, Air Pollution in China

When it comes to some of Earth’s smoggiest cities, less dust isn’t necessarily better

White plastic horse, 3. Plamacina retroversta ic. III. Specimen collected from Cobh shoreline, Cove of Cork, Ireland

Art Meets Science

These Haunting Photographs Call Attention to Plastic Trash Swirling in the Ocean

Award-winning photographer Mandy Barker explores the beauty and tragedy of marine plankton and plastic waste

Environmental chemists are developing a method that could suck toxic metals out of marine environments.

How Electrified Steel Could Suck Toxic Metals From the Ocean

After a century of strip mining and deforestation, New Caldonia researchers are working to de-contaminate marine waters

U.K. Killer Whale Contained Staggering Levels of Toxic Chemical

Lulu had one of the highest concentrations of PCBs ever recorded in a marine mammal

Cool Finds

Stunning Map Shows Changes in Light at Night Around the World

The satellite images show where the most light is making night skies bright

A piece of plastic after 10 worms nibbled it for 30 minutes

New Research

This Caterpillar Can Eat Plastic

The find could lead to new techniques for breaking down our ever-growing plastic waste

Microplastics mixed in with plankton from an Arctic Ocean sample

New Research

Ocean Currents Are Sweeping Billions of Tiny Plastic Bits to the Arctic

Currents are acting like a conveyor belt for plastic, dumping the bits in pristine northern waters

Birth weights declined near the Paradise Fossil Plant in Kentucky during the 1980s.

New Research

Coal-Fueled Power Plants Linked to Lower Birth Weights in Tennessee Valley

When nuclear power plants pressed pause, coal stepped in—and birth weights began to decline

Ganges River

Trending Today

India’s Ganges and Yamuna Rivers Are Given the Rights of People

A few days after a New Zealand river gained the rights of personhood, an Indian court has declared that two heavily polluted rivers also have legal status

Flame retardants and lead in Mardi Gras beads may pose a danger to people and the environment.

The Toxic Truth Behind Mardi Gras Beads

Every year, 25 million pounds of plastic beads made by Chinese factory workers get dumped on the streets of New Orleans

A child stands in the Côte d’Ivoire charcoal yard where his mother works.

Trending Today

WHO Warns That Pollution Is Killing Millions of Children

New reports say that one in four deaths of young people under the age of five can be attributed to the environment

Emissions from steel production in eastern China are fertilizing nearby oceans.

Age of Humans

Human Pollution May Be Fertilizing The Oceans. That’s Not a Good Thing

Our iron emissions from coal and steel may be fuelling ocean life, and trapping carbon in the process

Our global greenhouse gas emissions may not be any lower overall, but the historic treaty established a framework for an international plan of action.

Age of Humans

Twelve Years Ago, the Kyoto Protocol Set the Stage for Global Climate Change Policy

The predecessor of today’s Paris Agreement got us one step closer to an international plan of action on climate change

A bobtail squid is imaged by the Deep Discoverer remotely operated vehicle during Dive 07 in Atlantis Canyon. The squid is less than one foot in length.

Surprising Levels of Pollution Found in the Depths of the Mariana Trench

Even deep-sea creatures can’t escape pollutants

Trending Today

Why Michigan Banned Banning Plastic Bags

A new state law prevents cities and counties from restricting use of plastic bags or disposable cups and utensils

Ocean Legacy has a task not even Sisyphean would envy: picking up, sorting and recycling the vast amount of plastic that ends up on our shores.

Future of Conservation

Turning Ocean Garbage Into Gold

From the common plastic water bottle to the shoes of tsunami victims, one recycling organization tries to find a home for all ocean refuse

This year, the Great Barrier Reef was found to be hiding another reef beneath it.

Top Eight Ocean Stories That Made Waves in 2016

2016 wasn’t all bad: Stubborn environmental problems were livened up thanks to new solutions, “gee whiz” discoveries and mysterious orbs

A flock of snow geese safely land on a lake at the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware.

Trending Today

Thousands of Snow Geese Die at Abandoned Pit Mine

Despite attempts to scare them away, thousands of geese landed on the acidic Berkeley Pit, which is full of toxic heavy metals

Radiocarbon dating has been used to determine of the ages of ancient mummies, in some cases going back more than 9000 years.

Age of Humans

Thanks to Fossil Fuels, Carbon Dating Is in Jeopardy. One Scientist May Have an Easy Fix

If only there were such an easy fix for climate change

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