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Pollution

Mustard gas from wars past is decaying in the world's oceans—but scientists don't yet know how dangerous it could be. Here, U.S. Navy ship prepare for scheduled deployment in the Pacific Ocean in 2014.

Chemical Weapons Dumped in the Ocean After World War II Could Threaten Waters Worldwide

How worried should we be? Chemists are racing the clock to find out

Smog often chokes New Delhi's skies, but this year's cloud is the worst on record.

Trending Today

New Delhi Scrambles to Curb Record Smog

Will the measures be enough to help the smoke-choked city improve air quality?

Trending Today

10,000 Scrotum Frogs Found Dead Near Lake Titicaca

Over 10,000 of the world’s largest water frogs were found dead along the Coata River, a tributary of the heavily polluted lake

Not all clothes are created equal.

Doing Laundry Can Be Deadly for Clams, Mollusks and Other Marine Animals

Pick your wardrobe carefully—the lives of sea animals may depend on it

A new WHO report reveals that China has the most air pollution deaths per year.

New Research

Nine in Ten People Worldwide Breathe Dangerous Air Every Day

The WHO just released the most detailed air pollution report ever—and the results are sobering

The Billion Oyster Project is trying to help restore oysters to New York City's waterways.

Cool Finds

Thousands of Toilets Submerged in NY Harbor Go From Bathroom Throne to Oyster Home

It’s much too soon to eat them, though

Diesel fumes, like the ones emitted by trains, vehicles and industrial operations, are thought to be to blame for magnetite in the human brain.

New Research

Your Brain Is Full of Magnetic Minerals, and You Might Not Like the Reason Why

Blame air pollution for the microscopic minerals that go up your nose and into your noggin

A street scene in Kigali. The city's population is expected to nearly triple by 2020.

Cool Finds

Why This Rwandan City Bans Cars Once a Month

Kigali’s #CarFreeDay is a first for Africa

California condors rebounded after almost going extinct—but that doesn't mean the precious, weird birds are in the clear.

New Research

Humans Still Threaten Endangered Condors

Thanks to industrial byproducts and pesticides, birds face more contamination than their cousins inland

The view looking into the Shenandoah Valley can be hugely obscured by haze.

Age of Humans

Even in ‘Pristine’ National Parks, the Air’s Not Clear

And cleaning it up might take centuries

Look up—there's more to the Grand Canyon than geology.

Cool Finds

Grand Canyon Turns Down Its Lights to Become a Dark Sky Park

Star gazers, rejoice—the skies above the Grand Canyon will never lose their sparkle

Trending Today

Bug Poop Is Turning the Taj Mahal Green

To make matters worse, constant cleaning is damaging the monument’s delicate marble

Not only does it cost the Mint more to make a penny than it's worth, but making the penny has an environmental cost, too.

Age of Humans

How Much Does it Really Cost (the Planet) to Make a Penny?

All that copper and zinc for a coin most people throw away—what’s the sustainable solution?

The Black Sea's fish stocks have been plummeting as of late and may be beyond repair.

The Black Sea Is Dying, and War Might Push it Over the Edge

Surrounded by six countries, all with their own agendas, the massive body of water is at risk of becoming another casualty of regional strife

Los Angeles: City of Angels...and smog.

New Research

More Than Half of All Americans Breathe Polluted Air

166 million people a year are exposed to air that’s too dangerous to breathe

Steamboat Willie, aka Mickey Mouse, one of the Disney animation cells protected from pollutants by a new artificial "nose"

New Research

A High-Tech “Nose” Will Protect Mickey Mouse and Simba During Their Visit to China

A new sensor detects tiny amounts of pollutants that can ruin artwork

A worker sorts plastic in a recycling plant in Bangladesh. A new bacteria could make her job obsolete

New Research

Could Plastic-Gobbling Bacteria Save the Environment?

Japanese scientists discovered a microbe that digests one of the most common plastics

Cool Finds

Chow Down on a Plastic-Eating Fungus

Plastic trash could have a delicious future

Antarctica as viewed from space. The world's largest ozone hole—now shrinking—opens over Antarctica every year during local summer and shrinks in the winter.

Age of Humans

The Ozone Hole Was Super Scary, So What Happened To It?

When the ozone hole was discovered, it became a worldwide sensation. Thirty years later, what’s become of it?

A man pulls a cart full of empty PC cases that'll be broken down by recyclers in Agbogbloshie, in Accra, Ghana.

Age of Humans

The Burning Truth Behind an E-Waste Dump in Africa

Ending the toxic smoke rising from an iconic dump in Ghana will take more than curbing Western waste

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