Oil spill clean up worker

Epic Cleanups: Hurricane Sandy, Nuclear Waste, and Oil Spills

From oil spills to nuclear waste, humans are good at making epic messes. Sometimes we come up with clean up ideas and sometimes we neglect repairs entirely.
sediment piles

Sand? Mine!

Orca Quarry in British Columbia is one of a handful of mines feeding the nearly insatiable desire for sand and gravel in major West Coast cities.
injection on raw chicken

Is Our Food Supply Toxic?

Yum. Scientists, policymakers, and journalists find that our food is polluted with pesticides, overdosed with antibiotics, and yet teeming with pathogens.
Forest fire burning, Wildfire at night in Chiangmai, Thailand

Welcome to the Age of Megafires

It's been a terrible year for fires in California and elsewhere around the world. Because then it always is now in the age of megafires.
Japanese tsunami debris

Marine Debris and Its Dangerous Hitchhikers

Larger pieces of floating debris, like that caused by the Japanese tsunami, may carry hitchhikers in the form of organisms native to their place of origin.
Ducks in algae bloom

The Problem With Algae Bloom

Climate change is a wild card that seems to be exacerbating conditions that can lead to Harmful Algae Blooms.
sulfur vent naples

Raging Seas, Blazing Smoke, and (Maybe) a Supervolcano

Have humans angered the planet? Smothering air pollution in California, rising seas in Oceania, and supervocanos that could cause global catastrophe.
Hypsilurus papuensis Papua Forest Dragon

Reptiles Need Your Love, Especially Now

A new study from Oxford and Tel Aviv universities found reptiles are underrepresented in conservation efforts, just in time for Reptile Awareness Day.
Fresh mushroom in sawdust

Company Uses Mushrooms to Grow Plastic Alternatives

Plastic has become ubiquitous in our home and work lives, but is a pollutant that won't break down. Mushrooms may provide a sustainable alternative.
Indian Chicken Shop

Is Human Mistreatment of Animals Killing Our Planet?

Most people treat animals as tools for improving human lives. But recent reports reveal (mis)treatment of animals is harming the planet as a whole.