Scientists Want to Use Honey From Beehives to Monitor Pollution
When Kate Smith brings her samples into the lab, she has to wear a special suit. Even a speck of dust brought in on her…
How We Turned Gulls Into Trash Birds
For most of his life, British author and BBC radio producer Tim Dee has been a birdwatcher. But it’s not finches and…
Nearly All U.S. Coal Plants Are Contaminating Groundwater, Report Finds
When Hurricane Florence slammed into North Carolina last year, concerns grew over whether the flood waters would breach…
Underground Garbage Fire in Arkansas Has Been Burning for Over Seven Months
An underground garbage fire at an illegal Arkansas dumping site has been burning for over seven months straight, the As…
A U.S. City Just Granted Legal Rights to a Lake
Crystal Jankowski went into labor during the 2014 water crisis in Toledo, Ohio. The city’s 276,000 residents couldn’t…
Samsung Will Start Making the Switch to More Sustainable Packaging in 2019
Our plastic pollution problem is absolutely out of control. We know it’s bad, and the companies selling us shit know…
This Simple Video Game Shows You How to Sort Your Trash
How many of us are guilty of throwing compostable chopsticks in the garbage? Or food-soiled aluminum containers in the…
Human Medicine Use Loading Up River Creatures With Dozens of Different Drugs
Medicines do an excellent job of increasing the quality of life for humans around the world, but the drugs don’t stay…
Over 90 Percent of Table Salts May Contain Microplastics, Study Finds
New reports of microplastics turning up in just about everything from our bottled water to our beer pop up often to…
Inside Florida's Algae-Fueled Nightmare
The shape of things to come in U.S. politics could be decided, in no small part, by foul-smelling, fish-killing slime.
Florida’s Toxic Red Tide Algae Makes ‘Extremely Rare’ Jump to the Atlantic Coast
The red tide algae bloom that’s plagued Florida’s Gulf Coast for months has now jumped east to the Atlantic. Florida…
Mass Die-Off of Orcas Feared Due to Chemicals Banned in the '70s
A group of industrial chemicals humans started banning decades ago could cause many of the world’s orca whale…
The EPA Is Failing to Keep Students Safe From Asbestos: Report
The Environmental Protection Agency has been slacking when it comes to monitoring asbestos in schools. It did such a…
Huge, Maybe Ineffective Pollution Scooper Launches Towards Great Pacific Garbage Patch
The Dutch nonprofit Ocean Cleanup deployed a 2,000-foot-long, $20 million unmanned boom designed to gather some of the…
National Prison Strike Spotlights Toxic Conditions in Jails
On August 21, people incarcerated in states across the U.S. stopped working, went on hunger strikes, and started…
Wow, Spain Sure Has a Lot of Pigs
There are now enough pigs in Spain that technically everyone could have one, and there’d be pigs to spare. Per the…
Why Florida's Largest Lake Is Filled With Toxic Algae, Again
In what has become a deeply unwelcome summertime tradition, Floridians are once again finding their waterways befouled…
Meet the New EPA Chief, Same As the Old EPA Chief (But Maybe Less Obviously Corrupt)
Andrew Wheeler, former aide to climate change denier Sen. James Inhofe, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee…
Hell Yeah, No More Plastic Straws in Seattle
Here’s another reason to love Seattle if you don’t already: The gray city just became the first major one in the U.S.…
Earth Has Many More Rivers and Streams Than We Thought, New Satellite Study Finds
Rivers and streams cover much more of the planet than geologists previously estimated, according to a new study…