Environment

An image from NASA of algae blooms along the Gulf coast, seen here in teal. This image was taken by MODIS at an unspecified date.

The Gulf of Mexico's Dead Zone Is the Size of a Small State

The Gulf of Mexico's dead zone actually shrunk this year—but it's still the size of Connecticut

This hardware innovation will make it easier for conservationists to identify where illegal deforestation efforts are happening and stop them before the trees have been taken down.

How Solar-Powered Recycled Smartphones Could Save the Rainforest

A Silicon Valley non-profit is ready to give the forests of Africa and the Amazon ears to listen for loggers—and the ability to phone the authorities

Sardines Take 400 Times Less Fuel To Catch Than Shrimp

Your shrimp cocktail is secretly a major waste of fossil fuel

DDT Is Still Killing Birds in Michigan

DDT was banned in the United States more than 40 years ago, but it's still killing birds in a town in Michigan

Lead from mining operations in Broken Hill, Australia, reached Antarctica before humans did.

Pollution Beat People to the South Pole

Before people ever made it to the South Pole, a pollutant had beaten us there

"Watermarks" earned first place in the contest. “The way water in this picture found its way back to the ocean reminded me of a peacock's tail spreading under the sun or a woman's hair blowing in the wind,” Sadri writes.

Who Knew Fungi and Fruit Fly Ovaries Could Be So Beautiful?

Princeton University’s annual science art contest shines a light on the research world, adding a video element this year

The equivalent caloric amount of chicken, pork or eggs would represent an order of magnitude less greenhouse gas emissions than what was required to produce this beef.

Raising Beef Uses Ten Times More Resources Than Poultry, Dairy, Eggs or Pork

If you want to help the planet but can’t bring yourself to give up meat entirely, eliminating beef from your diet is the next-best thing

Suburban Skunks are on the Rise

Grand Rapids, Michigan, is basically enveloped in a cloud of stink

The Ongoing Drought Will Cost California $2.2 Billion and 17,000 Jobs

California is facing its greatest water loss on record, and it's not likely to get better any time soon

The Costa Concordia, refloated.

The Wrecked Costa Concordia Cruise Ship Is Finally Being Towed Away

The ship's remains will be broken down for scrap metal

Adult Common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) with gathered insect prey. This is one of the fifteen species shown to be affected by elevated imidacloprid concentrations in surface water in the Netherlands.

Popular Pesticides Linked to Drops in Bird Populations

This is the latest in a string of studies suggesting that some pesticides impact birds as well as pollinators

Dried bushmeat is displayed near a road of the Yamoussoukro highway. Experts who have studied the Ebola virus from its discovery in 1976 in Democratic Republic of Congo, then Zaire, say its suspected origin is forest bats. Links have also been made to the carcasses of freshly slaughtered animals consumed as bushmeat.

Chopping Down African Forests Increases Human Exposure to Ebola

Habitat loss brings humans and animals into closer contact, increases the spread of disease

14 Fun Facts About Fireworks

Number three: Fireworks are just chemical reactions

Harry Rossoll, who drew a popular "Smokey Says" newspaper cartoon in the mid-1940s, modeled his sketches after the campaign hat he wore as a member of the United States Forest Service.

Before Pharrell, Smokey Bear Donned This Now-Trendy Hat As a Symbol of Fire Safety

This is the story of Smokey Bear's hat, and how it was lost—twice—before finally joining the collections at the Smithsonian

If a beach has signs that warn about contaminated water, it's probably not the best idea to swim.

America's Cleanest—And Most Polluted—Beaches

Before you plan a trip to the sand this summer, check out this list of the best and worst beaches, based on water quality

Floodwaters gushing through a dam on the Yellow River.

Humans Have Been Messing With China's Yellow River for 3,000 Years

When humans try to tame nature things rarely go according to plan

When Trees Are Cut Down, Angkor’s Temples Begin to Crumble

People usually think of trees' destructive impacts on Angkor, but they also protect those iconic temples

The tiny little parasitic wasp Tamarixia radiata.

Scientists Think These Creepy Wasps Are Going to Save Oranges

Biological control—importing predators to fight an invasive species—has a nasty track record

Just Let Detroit’s Vacant Lots Run Wild

Neglected and overgrown lots are, it turns out, a boon to Detroit's allergy sufferers

Leaves of the plant Plantago lanceolata infected with powdery mildew.

What the Spread Of A Plant Mildew Tells Us About Forests

Fragmenting habitats into smaller pieces may let diseases spread more easily, a new study finds

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