Pollution

Diesel fumes, like the ones emitted by trains, vehicles and industrial operations, are thought to be to blame for magnetite in the human brain.

Your Brain Is Full of Magnetic Minerals, and You Might Not Like the Reason Why

Blame air pollution for the microscopic minerals that go up your nose and into your noggin

A street scene in Kigali. The city's population is expected to nearly triple by 2020.

Why This Rwandan City Bans Cars Once a Month

Kigali’s #CarFreeDay is a first for Africa

California condors rebounded after almost going extinct—but that doesn't mean the precious, weird birds are in the clear.

Humans Still Threaten Endangered Condors

Thanks to industrial byproducts and pesticides, birds face more contamination than their cousins inland

The view looking into the Shenandoah Valley can be hugely obscured by haze.

Even in 'Pristine' National Parks, the Air's Not Clear

And cleaning it up might take centuries

Look up—there's more to the Grand Canyon than geology.

Grand Canyon Turns Down Its Lights to Become a Dark Sky Park

Star gazers, rejoice—the skies above the Grand Canyon will never lose their sparkle

Bug Poop Is Turning the Taj Mahal Green

To make matters worse, constant cleaning is damaging the monument’s delicate marble

Not only does it cost the Mint more to make a penny than it's worth, but making the penny has an environmental cost, too.

How Much Does it Really Cost (the Planet) to Make a Penny?

All that copper and zinc for a coin most people throw away--what's the sustainable solution?

The Black Sea's fish stocks have been plummeting as of late and may be beyond repair.

The Black Sea Is Dying, and War Might Push it Over the Edge

Surrounded by six countries, all with their own agendas, the massive body of water is at risk of becoming another casualty of regional strife

Los Angeles: City of Angels...and smog.

More Than Half of All Americans Breathe Polluted Air

166 million people a year are exposed to air that’s too dangerous to breathe

Steamboat Willie, aka Mickey Mouse, one of the Disney animation cells protected from pollutants by a new artificial "nose"

A High-Tech "Nose" Will Protect Mickey Mouse and Simba During Their Visit to China

A new sensor detects tiny amounts of pollutants that can ruin artwork

A worker sorts plastic in a recycling plant in Bangladesh. A new bacteria could make her job obsolete

Could Plastic-Gobbling Bacteria Save the Environment?

Japanese scientists discovered a microbe that digests one of the most common plastics

Chow Down on a Plastic-Eating Fungus

Plastic trash could have a delicious future

Antarctica as viewed from space. The world's largest ozone hole—now shrinking—opens over Antarctica every year during local summer and shrinks in the winter.

The Ozone Hole Was Super Scary, So What Happened To It?

When the ozone hole was discovered, it became a worldwide sensation. Thirty years later, what's become of it?

A man pulls a cart full of empty PC cases that'll be broken down by recyclers in Agbogbloshie, in Accra, Ghana.

The Burning Truth Behind an E-Waste Dump in Africa

Ending the toxic smoke rising from an iconic dump in Ghana will take more than curbing Western waste

Pollutants hang in the air at a coke plant in Pennsylvania. This plant was photographed in 1973, but humans have been polluting their air for many years before that.

Air Pollution Goes Back Way Further Than You Think

Thousands of years ago, humans were adding lead fumes and other pollutants to the air

A white stork forages for food at a landfill in Beja, Portugal.

These Photographs Show the Bleak New Home for the White Stork: A Landfill

Dutch wildlife photographer Jasper Doest followed the path of the white stork's migration route, forever altered by human activity

In Parts of China, Clean Air Costs Extra

People are being charged for fresh air

Part of the Capitol Christmas Tree's splendor comes from marine debris collected along the Alaska coast.

The Capitol’s Christmas Tree Is (Partially) Made of Trash

Marine debris bedecks a 74-foot tree from Alaska

Microplastic poses a growing concern in oceans and other aquatic habitats.

Five Things to Know About Congress' Vote to Ban Microbeads

Included as exfoliators in many common soaps and cosmetics, microbeads now pollute waterways worldwide

A cyclist braves Beijing's smog with a face mask last month.

Beijing Just Issued Its First “Red Alert” for Smog

Will the city's latest smog crisis spur international action on climate change?

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