Oceans June 13, 2019 Glowing 'blue tears' in China's seas are incredibly toxic — and they’re growing On summer nights, the waters surrounding Taiwan's Matsu Islands cast an eerie blue glow.
Pollution June 11, 2019 Gulf of Mexico 'dead zone' could reach a near-record level this summer, scientists warn Scientists warn that the “dead zone” wreaking havoc on marine life in the Gulf of Mexico will cover almost 9,000 square miles this summer.
Pollution May 28, 2019 Rogue Chinese factories damaging ozone with use of illegal gases In May 2018, a startling study revealed that there was an "unexpected and persistent increase" of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the atmosphere. At the time, scientists could not pinpoint the exact location of the ozone-depleting gas, but subsequent media reports suggested that the clues lead to a rural, industrial town in China. Now, a new study confirms that the rise in CFCs is indeed coming from northeastern China based on atmospheric observations.
Pollution May 22, 2019 Sorting out recycling programs: Which ones work best? Changing markets and confusion over what can be thrown in recycling bins has forced some communities to rethink or even suspend their recycling programs. But many more recycling programs are working well, experts say.
Pollution May 22, 2019 WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES: Plastic waste appears to have killed another whale It’s a sad but familiar story: A young whale has been found dead, washed ashore with a belly full of plastic.
Cities May 21, 2019 Trash heaps in downtown Los Angeles continue growing months after multiple typhus cases: report Trash is a growing problem for residents in Los Angeles and as the garbage piles up, so do the rats, fueling concerns about flea-borne typhus, according to reports.
Pollution May 21, 2019 Scientists went to one of the world's most remote island atolls. They found 414 million pieces of plastic The amount of plastic pollution previously thought to exist around the world may be a dramatic underestimate — because the vast majority of plastic pollution may actually be below the surface.
ENVIRONMENT May 16, 2019 414 million pieces of trash found on remote islands near Australia, study finds Even remote, mostly uninhabited islands are still covered in trash, a new study has found.
Pollution May 15, 2019 $2.5 trillion breathing problem? Ocean plastic endangers bacteria that create oxygen necessary for life It's already been cast as an economic villain, to the tune of $2.5 trillion, disrupting "almost all marine ecosystem services" and suffocating every industry it touches. Now, plastic pollution in oceans could actually be suffocating the planet – by harming the tiny microorganisms that are "are thought to be responsible for up to 10 percent of the total global oxygen production."
Pollution May 14, 2019 Historic deep dive into Pacific's Mariana Trench yields 'obvious human contamination' On the deepest dive ever executed into the Mariana Trench, an American investor-turned-explorer discovered what appeared to be plastic litter nearly seven miles below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.
Oceans April 26, 2019 Plastic pollution in worlds' oceans could have $2.5 trillion impact, study says A new study suggests that the plastic pollution problem in the world's oceans is having an economic impact that is startling – perhaps as much as $2.5 trillion.