Pollution (Page 2)

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

Latest in Pollution

a plastic bag and other garbage on a shoreline

Plastic bag bans work, new study shows

By Lauren Leffer

A factory on the edge of a cliff

Certain AI prompts generate 50x more CO₂ than others

By Mack DeGeurin

Darvaza (Derweze) gas crater (Door to Hell or Gates of Hell) in Turkmenistan

Earth’s fiery ‘Door to Hell’ is starting to close

Tools for measuring home air quality on a blue background with a dust cloud

How to measure the air quality in your home by yourself and with a pro

By Terri Williams

Air Purifiers for asthma

The best air purifiers for asthma in 2025, according to experts

By Terri Williams

three researchers padding a canoe on a polluted waterway under a bridge

Pollution-eating microbes are thriving in infamous NYC canal

By Lauren Leffer

debris field in water

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch isn’t just a floating trash pile

By RJ Mackenzie

Coway Airmega air purifiers in a row on sale at Amazon

Amazon is blowing out some of our favorite air purifiers just in time for allergy season

By Stan Horaczek

Gold mining operation on banks of river in Amazon rainforest

Trees can snitch on illegal gold miners in the Amazon

Clorox air purifiers arranged on a plain background on sale at Walmart

If you have allergies, you need this $70 Clorox HEPA air purifier, on sale for just $30

By Stan Horaczek

African Woman Blowing Bubble Gum Playful Portrait

Chewing gum can shed hundreds of microplastics into your mouth

Four portable air purifier product images sliced and diced and made into a composite header

The best portable air purifiers for 2025

By Terri Williams

Levoit P350 Air Purifier next to a black dog on the floor.

The best air purifiers for pets, tested and reviewed

By Abby Ferguson

Dyson air filter fans header arranged in a row on a plain background

You can get a $329 Dyson air purifying fan for just $179 while they last

By Stan Horaczek

Tiny pieces of plastic were found lodged in blood vessels in the brains of mice.

Microplastics look like a ‘car crash’ in mice brains

Modern eco home illustration. Building modern design. Energy conservation and wind turbine. Flat vector linear illustration. Tree and bushes. Trendy line style vector.

6 easy ways to make your home more sustainable

Modern Kitchen with wooden table, kitchen utensils, cooking pots and others, white background.

Recent panic over black plastic started with a math error

leaded gasoline reminder

Childhood leaded gasoline exposure damaged Americans’ mental health

By Lauren Leffer

A Mila mini air purifier and a Mila air purifier next to each other.

My Mila air purifiers are the most stylish ones I’ve tested, and they’re almost 30% off for Cyber Monday

two leopards fighting in dirt

14 dramatic moments from the 2024 Nature’s Best Photo Awards

By Popular Science Team

Spare parts of plastic 'Garfield' phones are displayed on the beach on March 28, 2019 in Plouarzel, western France, after being collected from a sea cave by environmental activists.

6 of the weirdest things to ever wash up on the beach

By Lauren Leffer

Geospatial scientists have found a way to detect plastic waste on remote beaches, bringing us closer to global monitoring options.

Satellite imaging can now spot plastic trash hiding on beaches

By Mack DeGeurin

Jumping carp disrupt recreational boating and other water-based activities.

Chicago’s dirty water may be keeping invasive species at bay

By Lauren Leffer

The best smart air purifiers on a plain white background.

The best smart air purifiers, tested and reviewed

By Terri Williams

Migrating birds introduce forever chemicals into the food chain.

Migrating seabirds are bringing forever chemicals into the Arctic

By William von Herff / Hakai Magazine

a microscope image of a small crustacean with a round body, two large antennae come from its head, and several small legs

Sorry, zooplankton don’t want to eat your poop

By Laura Baisas

Turns out, micro and nano plastics degrade differently.

Scientists finally get a 3D view of degrading microplastics

By Mack DeGeurin

water flowing from pipes

How heavy rain can make you sick

By Lauren Leffer

Starship test launch in 2021

SpaceX accused of dumping polluted Starship wastewater in Texas for years

bee on dandelion

Air pollution makes it harder for bees to smell flowers

By Katarina Zimmer / Knowable Magazine

aerial drone view of an industrial installation that produces per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS

LED lights may be key to breaking down forever chemicals

VERO four legged robot vacuuming cigarette butts

This plodding robot sucks up cigarette butts

Thick clouds of fine particulate matter blow off China in this 2016 satellite photo (oriented with north to the left).

How the Blob was born

By Michael Allen / Hakai Magazine

Dragonfly resting on flower

Dragonflies reveal how toxic mercury moves in nature

WIPP site in New Mexico

Finding a forever home for nuclear waste

By Sarah Scoles/Undark

Best air quality monitors sliced header

The best air quality monitors, according to experts

By John Alexander

Golden Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis) in the Red Sea, Egypt

Mass extinction 183 million years ago offers dire warning for modern oceans

Ocean trash can now be tracked from space

Microplastic pile close-up

Every human semen sample contained microplastics in new study

Close-up of three cows

Cow poop might make cleaner hydrogen gas a reality

The best air purifiers for smoke on a plain white background.

The best air purifiers for smoke, tested and reviewed

By Terri Williams

Private jet on tarmac at sunset

Tracking private jets just got much harder

Factory worker overseeing steel forge

Zero-emission ‘electric cement’ is an ‘absolute miracle’

Small Plastic pellets on blue cloth

Every human testicle contained microplastics in a new study

A lineup of the best air purifiers on a white background

The best air purifiers so you can breathe easy

By Stacey L. Nash, Amanda Reed, Brandt Ranj

Project 821 hydrogen fuel superyacht in port

Welcome aboard the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell superyacht

Shoe made from bacterial cellulose

Would you wear this ‘shoe-like vessel’ made from genetically engineered bacteria?

High traffic road with signs and light trails on sunset

EPA says over half of all new cars must be EVs or hybrids by 2032

scientist working on compostable plastics collage with mushrooms

What will it take to make truly compostable plastic?

By Boyce Upholt / Knowable Magazine

Plastic makers lied about recycling for decades. What do we do next?

Plastic makers lied about recycling for decades. What do we do next?

By Harriet Weber

MethaneSAT concept art above Earth

A new AI-powered satellite will create Google Maps for methane pollution

Photo illustration of hawkmoth navigating to flower during vehicle exhaust emission.

Air pollution messes with moths’ ability to smell flowers

By Lauren Leffer

Abandoned car in aluminum red mud spill

Aluminum’s notorious, toxic red mud could one day help make ‘green steel’

A multiple-exposure photograph of insects circling an artificial light at night. The light can mess with a moth’s sense of what direction is up and which way is down.

Why artificial light—and evolution—trap moths

By Laura Baisas

The cost of freeing drinking water from ‘forever chemicals’

The cost of freeing drinking water from ‘forever chemicals’

By Charles Schmidt / Undark

Four of the best small humidifiers side by side on a plain white background.

The best small dehumidifiers

By John Alexander

‘Forever chemicals’ found in freshwater fish, yet most states don’t warn residents

‘Forever chemicals’ found in freshwater fish, yet most states don’t warn residents

By Hannah Norman / KFF Health News

How AI could help scientists spot ‘ultra-emission’ methane plumes faster—from space

How AI could help scientists spot ‘ultra-emission’ methane plumes faster—from space

Four choices for the best air purifiers for allergies on a plain background

The best air purifiers for allergies

Lawn equipment spews ‘shocking’ amount of air pollution, new data shows

Lawn equipment spews ‘shocking’ amount of air pollution, new data shows

By Tik Root/Grist

Cape Fear River in North Carolina, which is polluted by PFAS, seen from above after a storm

8 new types of ‘forever chemicals’ found in river linked to US cancer cluster

AlgaRay robot floating atop water in Antigua

This seafaring robot ‘eats’ stinky seaweed and dumps it in deep water

Small propeller plane flying in a clear sky

Small planes are still spewing toxic lead across the US, EPA says

Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm speaks before US President Joe Biden at Tioga Marine Terminal on October 13, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Biden discussed how his Bidenomics agenda is creating good-paying union jobs, investing in infrastructure, accelerating the transition to a clean energy future, and combating the climate crisis.

US will build seven regional ‘hydrogen hubs’ to spark clean energy transition

By Laura Baisas