Environment

Meet the Ozark hellbender, an elusive creature that has become only more so as of late.

What the Heck Is a Hellbender—And How Can We Make More of Them?

Why the Saint Louis Zoo decided to invest in this slimy, surprisingly adorable amphibian

Recent research found that fully one third of humanity can't see the Milky Way because of light pollution

Is Light Pollution Really Pollution?

As countries grow richer, light pollution gets worse–but some are fighting to change that

From the Batpod to the Batcomputer, the Caped Crusader's gadgets use up a whole lot of energy and spew a whole lot of carbon. But when it comes to carbon footprints, Gotham's techiest hero has nothing on some of pop culture's other saviors.

Which of Your Favorite Superheroes Is Destroying the Earth?

Measuring the carbon footprints of your favorite comic book heroes, from Batman to Jessica Jones

Pringles: Snacktime Hero or Recycling Villain?

The UK Recycling Association speaks out against hard-to-recycle products

The unassuming face of one of twentieth-century America's most dangerous men, even to himself

One Man Invented Two of the Deadliest Substances of the 20th Century

Thomas Midgley Jr.'s inventions have had an outsize impact—not all of it good—on humankind

This forest in Guatemala was burned to make way for agricultural development. A new study suggests that drug traffickers contribute to rainforest loss by laundering money with agriculture in forest lands.

Cocaine Is Destroying Forests in Central America

Once-forested lands are being used in money laundering operations

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.

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

In a post-9/11 world, border walls between countries have become more common. But the science is severely lacking in our understanding of how they impact species and fragment ecosystems. Here, a continuous wire fence marks the border between the U.S. and Mexico near Tijuana.

How a Border Wall Could Wreak Ecological Havoc

Also in this episode of <i>Generation Anthropocene</i>: The case of U.S. Navy ships, beached whales and deadly sonar pings

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

This Caterpillar Can Eat Plastic

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

An early oil well.

A Civil War Colonel Invented Fracking in the 1860s

His first invention was an 'oil well torpedo,' but it was followed by others

A sea otter floats in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.

The Remarkable Return of Sea Otters to Glacier Bay

Rarely do apex predators recover from human oppression. These otters are an exception

“Very, very early in my boyhood,” Hudson wrote, “I had acquired the habit of going about alone.”

The Naturalist Who Inspired Ernest Hemingway and Many Others to Love the Wilderness

W.H. Hudson wrote one of the 20th century’s greatest memoirs after a fever rekindled visions of his childhood.

Scientists Want to Freeze and Pulverize Your Old Computers

E-waste is a growing problem worldwide, but a new method could help take a byte out of the issue

Seahorses are valued for their use in traditional medicine.

The Secret Massacre of Millions of Seahorses

Millions of seahorses meet their doom each year as by-catch in a fisherman’s net. Less-charming fish may share the same fate

What’s the Environmental Footprint of a T-Shirt?

In-depth life cycle analyses are teaching us more about the environmental costs of the things we wear

Busting apart this aging dam on the Jeremy River in Connecticut opened up 27 kilometers of salmon habitat and spawning gravel for the first time in close to 300 years. Other fish will benefit too, including the eastern brook trout, sea lamprey, American eel, and river herring.

The Environmental Price of Dams

Why some conservationists are demolishing dams in the name of rivers and fish

David Fairchild in 1940, tasting the fruit of an antidesma tree in Indonesia.

This Swashbuckling Botanist Changed America’s Landscapes

Not always for the better

Lionfish Are a Plague. Can Training Sharks to Eat Them Work?

Lionfish, which are native to the Indo-Pacific but were accidentally introduced to the Caribbean, are decimating native fish species

Miles of pipe slated for the Keystone XL stacked in a field near Ripley, Oklahoma after construction stalled in 2012.

Trump Administration Approves Construction of Keystone XL Pipeline

Supporters say that the pipeline will bolster job development in the U.S., but opponents worry about the project's environmental impact

Why 10 Daily Tons of Ant Poop Keep This Rainforest Thriving

The soil in the rainforests of Barro Colorado is packed with nutrients, but where does it come from?

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