Pollution

What you need to know about the gases, toxins, and garbage that make their way into water, air, and land.

Latest in Pollution

Smiling man standing next to Barbie Power Wheels Dream Camper next to gas pump at gas station

Handyman adapts Barbie Dream Camper to handle soaring gas prices

Illustration showing clouds of space junk orbiting Earth

Almost half of everything orbiting Earth is space junk

Young white boy in grey pullover holds a robot turtle posing in front of a small pond.

Teen builds ‘Bionic Underwater Robotic Turtle’ to detect ecological threats

By Laura Kiniry

Artemis patch against capsule window in Orion with Earth beneath it

Why you can’t see space junk in Artemis II photos

Little baby and stack of diapers on bed, closeup

Japan makes breakthrough in dirty diaper recycling

Minamitorishima island in Pacific Ocean seen from above

Japan eyes distant island for nuclear waste dump

Poison warning label layered atop brown hair

Hair samples reveal the benefits of lead regulation

Lake Lipno frozen with green cyanobacterial blooms in winter

Toxic algae turned a frozen lake green

a big group of oysters still in the shell

Pills, powders, and opioids stress out oyster babies

By Laura Baisas

Electric plane flying over green mountains

Air New Zealand tests a new generation of electric planes

Inside the mouth of this anchovy, plankton particles are captured by the gill arch system.

Sardine-inspired washing machine filter removes 99% of microplastics

White LEVOIT air purifiers on a dark blue Amazon 2025 Black Friday background

Editor-approved LEVOIT air purifiers are hundreds off for Black Friday

A shallow depth-of-field close-up of a stainless steel frying pan sitting on a black, glossy induction cooktop, with steam rising from food cooking inside the pan. The kitchen background is blurred, showing a window and a refrigerator.

Are induction stoves better? These chefs think so.

Butter is slowly melting in a frying pan

New recycling method turns Teflon into toothpaste fluoride

Close up of Neanderthal skull

Lead has been poisoning humans for over 2 million years

A photo collage with a vintage illustration of a futuristic, brown and orange sailboat, with a large sail-like structure and a smokestack, positioned on a deep blue sea with white waves. In the background, there's a faint, light-tan newspaper clipping with the headline "A Sailing Ship" and a masthead for "POPULAR SCIENCE" from February 1925.

100 years ago, ‘ghost ship’ sails baffled Einstein—now they’re making a comeback

By Bill Gourgey

White and purple Dyson air purifiers titled and tiled against a white background

Dyson air purifiers are up to $150 off for Labor Day

By Heather Kuldell-Ware

A dramatic, high-contrast shot of the snow-capped summit of Mount Everest, with jagged ridges and a glacier visible below. The peak is set against a deep blue sky and partially surrounded by bright white clouds.

Mount Everest has a poo problem. Are drones the answer?

By Mack DeGeurin

close up of Cuban brown anole

These New Orleans lizards are full of lead

A bunch of white Coway Airmega 100 air purifiers against a blue background

Clean your air and derrière with Coway purifiers and bidets up to 27% off at Amazon