Pollution

Anthropocene

Why Tens of Thousands of Toxic Mines Litter the U.S. West

The spill in Colorado’s Animas River highlights the problem of wastewater building up in abandoned mines

August 13, 2015

Thin Sensors on Our Skin or in Our Clothes May Warn Us of Environmental Hazards

Australian researchers are developing flexible sensors that track dangers that humans cannot detect with their own senses

August 11, 2015

Trending Today

What’s Next for the Animas River?

Cleanup efforts are underway at the river, which turned a bright orange-yellow after a catastrophic chemical spill

August 10, 2015

Cool Finds

Scientists Have Been Talking About Greenhouse Gases for 191 Years

The first explorations of the greenhouse effect began in 1824

August 3, 2015

Trending Today

Why the International Olympic Committee is Worried About Water Quality in Rio

Viruses and bacteria may threaten swimmers in the 2016 summer games

August 3, 2015

Scientists Find a Natural Way to Clean Up Oil Spills, With a Plant-Based Molecule

Researchers at the City College of New York are testing a spray made of phytol, a molecule in chlorophyll, on oil in lab wave pools

July 29, 2015

The EPA Has a New Tool For Mapping Where Pollution and Poverty Intersect

To better target its efforts, the agency is identifying problem areas, where people are facing undue environmental risks

July 14, 2015

New Research

How Air Pollution Makes Floods Worse

A better understanding of how aerosols interact with weather could lead to better flood forecasts, fewer floods

July 9, 2015

Adidas Just Made a Running Shoe Out of Ocean Trash

The apparel company recently released a prototype that incorporates recycled ocean plastic

July 8, 2015

Cool Finds

Here’s What People Are Asking Google About Climate Change

The visualization reveals what people want to know about the environment

June 22, 2015

To Get Rid of Space Junk, Shoot It Down With Lasers

Proposals to send debris-targeting craft into orbit are piling up, and one mission may soon start test firing from the space station

April 24, 2015

How Scientists Are Monitoring Water Quality With Tampons

The feminine hygiene products glow under ultra-violet light after absorbing pollutants called optical brighteners

April 24, 2015

Art Meets Science

This Artist Transforms Beach Trash Into Stunning, Majestic Images

Mandy Barker didn’t have spend too much time on the shores to collect enough debris for her masterpieces

May 2015

Smog-Eating Buildings Battle Air Pollution

Sunlight triggers chemical reactions in the façades of buildings in Mexico City and Milan to improve air quality

March 27, 2015

New Research

Got Allergies? Air Pollution Could Be to Blame

New research suggests that ozone and nitrogen dioxide can alter allergens, creating more potent immune responses

March 23, 2015

Trending Today

What’s Causing This Village’s Weird Sleeping Sickness Epidemic?

About a quarter of residents in a small town in Kazakhstan have fallen into a deep sleep for days at a time—and no one knows why

March 23, 2015

With Wearable Devices That Monitor Air Quality, Scientists Can Crowdsource Pollution Maps

Emerging technology means anyone with a smartphone can become a mobile environmental monitoring station

March 12, 2015

Trending Today

China’s Smog Might Be to Blame for the East Coast’s Rough Winter

A NASA visualization shows how particles from East Asia can swirl into Pacific storms—a source of precipitation for the U.S.

March 9, 2015

New Research

Tiny Bits of Plastic May Be Clogging Up Corals

Researchers find that microplastic pollution has become a new threat to the health of ocean reefs

February 25, 2015

Anthropocene

Spanish Conquest of the Incas Caused Air Pollution to Spike

A sample of Peruvian ice has revealed a surge in pollution linked to mining that wasn’t exceeded until the Industrial Revolution

February 9, 2015