Pollution (Page 4)

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

Latest in Pollution

The Venturi Antarctica electric vehicle pulls a sledge through the snow

This Antarctic EV goes where other electric vehicles can’t tread

The city of Beijing, China shrouded in a hazy layer of air pollution.

China’s decision to reduce coal-powered heating may have saved 23,000 lives

By Laura Baisas

Why we shouldn’t get too excited about bioplastics

Why we shouldn’t get too excited about bioplastics

By Michael Allen / Hakai Magazine

Worker in protective gear takes a sample at steel furnace

New factory retrofit could reduce a steel plant’s carbon emissions by 90 percent

A natural gas pipeline.

An oil spill on this fuel-rich coast could be a supply chain catastrophe

By Laura Baisas

How companies greenwash their plastic pollution

How companies greenwash their plastic pollution

By Carla Delgado

Plastic, pollution, and prescription drugs are making fish act erratically

Plastic, pollution, and prescription drugs are making fish act erratically

By Doug Johnson/Undark

EPA updates emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles for the first time in 20 years

EPA updates emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles for the first time in 20 years

By Carla Delgado

Despite fiery debate, Biden isn’t banning gas stoves in the US

Despite fiery debate, Biden isn’t banning gas stoves in the US

By Laura Baisas

Sunlight shining on solar recycling system experiment

Scientists just got one step closer to solar-powered recycling plants

Geologists collecting Permian fossils on a Tibetan plateau

UV radiation might be behind the planet’s biggest mass extinction

3M announces it will cease making ‘forever chemical’ PFAS by 2026

Sediment running into a river in Alabama from a solar farm construction site. Aerial view.

The hard truth of building clean solar farms

Wastewater could be the secret to eco-friendly fertilizer

Wastewater could be the secret to eco-friendly fertilizer

By Carla Delgado

Plastic bottles and fishing nets and other trash on sea beach

Plastic microfibers in the Mediterranean Sea are keeping bacteria afloat

By Lauren J. Young

Empty plastic bottles are layered on top of eachother

Companies pledge to reduce plastic waste, but the burden falls to you

By Helen Bradshaw

How kelp farming is helping revive the economy and ecology of a Long Island bay

How kelp farming is helping revive the economy and ecology of a Long Island bay

By Iris M. Crawford / Nexus Media

Why you should throw away your non-stick pan the second it cracks

Why you should throw away your non-stick pan the second it cracks

By Carla Delgado

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the stage at COP27 in Egypt

Why the 1.5-degree-Celsius climate goal still matters

The environmental argument for banning menthol cigarettes

The environmental argument for banning menthol cigarettes

By Carla Delgado

Industrial shot of an oil refinery plant

How Google Search is helping ‘greenwash’ oil companies

Noise pollution messes with beluga whales’ travel plans

Noise pollution messes with beluga whales’ travel plans

By Emily Harwitz / Hakai Magazine

Ocean plastic ‘vacuums’ are sucking up marine life along with trash

Ocean plastic ‘vacuums’ are sucking up marine life along with trash

By Carla Delgado

Highway and traffic pollution could be connected to low birthweight

By Laura Baisas

Stronger pollution protections mean focusing on specific communities

Stronger pollution protections mean focusing on specific communities

By Sara Kiley Watson

The US never banned asbestos. These workers are paying the price.

The US never banned asbestos. These workers are paying the price.

By Kathleen McGrory and Neil Bedi / ProPublica

Close up of solar panel in green field at sunrise

Global CO2 emissions grew by less than a percent this year thanks to renewables

People will throw away about 5.3 billion phones this year

People will throw away about 5.3 billion phones this year

By Laura Baisas

The future of dishwashing could be hot, steamy, and sustainable

The future of dishwashing could be hot, steamy, and sustainable

By Carla Delgado

Brown-skinned parent in green short and baby in pink onesie eating fruit in front of an open fridge, which is full of HFCs

The US ban on hydrofluorocarbons is a climate game-changer

By Sara Kiley Watson

Bowl of mussels.

Eating seafood can be more sustainable and healthy than red meat

By Carla Delgado

PTSD found in 1 in 4 adults in Flint, Michigan, after water crisis

PTSD found in 1 in 4 adults in Flint, Michigan, after water crisis

By Laura Baisas

Children playing in polluted sand in front of AES Gener thermoelectric plant in Chile

For years, Chile exploited its environment to grow. Now it’s trying to save it.

Fish kill in Lake Merritt, Oakland, California, from algae bloom seen from above

California’s mega algae bloom is like a ‘wildfire in the water’

By Emily Harwitz / High Country News

Beach showers are washing pollutants into the ocean

Beach showers are washing pollutants into the ocean

By Jea Morris / Hakai Magazine

a pile of plastic trash with an emphasis of a gray crate filled with other plastic items including a black plastic eel trap

A close look at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch reveals a common culprit

By Lauren J. Young

Printer making flyers.

Should we switch from petroleum ink to soy-based ink?

By Carla Delgado

George Washington Bridge traffic going into Manhattan in the daytime when congestion pricing will apply

Why congestion pricing reduces traffic better than new highway lanes

A mining company buys out homeowners to avoid cleanup

A mining company buys out homeowners to avoid cleanup

By Mark Olalde and Maya Miller, ProPublica

Everything you need to know about EV tax credits and the Inflation Reduction Act

Everything you need to know about EV tax credits and the Inflation Reduction Act

Well water from Red Hill Navy fuel facility being pumped out through pipes into the Halawa Stream surrounded by pink and white graffiti

What will it take to save Oahu’s freshwater from the Red Hill fuel leak?

Why Colorado continues to have some of the worst ozone problems in the country

By Jim Robbins / KHN

Trees grow with power plant pollution in the background.

The EPA needs to retool its fight against climate pollution. Here’s how.

shark-near-florida

Sharks are learning to love coastal cities

By Corinne Iozzio

Compostable plastic cups found in garbage.

Single-use plastic is on its way out of national parks. But why is the pace so glacial?

By Bridget Reed Morawski

Person in brown sweater with a white apron frying something on a gas stove that's leaking methane

Gas appliances could be leaking up to 21 hazardous pollutants in your home

By Sara Kiley Watson

Farmer holding freshly harvested carrots.

The EU’s plan to halve pesticide use is ambitious, but realistic

By Sara Kiley Watson

Water glasses being filled.

The right kind of filter can keep microplastics out of drinking water

By Carla Delgado

Microplastic pellets on the beach.

Horrific blobs of ‘plastitar’ are gunking up Atlantic beaches

By Sara Kiley Watson

Blocks of concrete on shovel.

Green cement could change the construction game—but will builders actually use it?

By Maria Parazo Rose

A Butte, Montana resident worried about his town.

Inside a Montana town’s fight against copper mine dust

By Katheryn Houghton / KHN

Little brown dog lawn sign telling people to curb their dog and pick up dog poop to prevent pollution

The planet needs you to pick up your dog’s poop

By Jesse Greenspan

Ball of copper wire on green background

Can this MIT metallurgist clean up copper production?

By Andrew Zaleski

A photo of a humpback whale and her calf.

Boat noise is driving humpback whale moms into deep, dangerous water

By Marina Wang / Hakai Magazine

A photo of steelmaking.

Steelmaking is a major source of emissions. These companies are racing to fix it.

By Marcello Rossi / Undark

Water and air pollution on beach

Pollution kills 1 in 6 people worldwide

By Sara Kiley Watson

The Horseshoe Bend in the Colorado River.

From pollution to dams: here’s what is plaguing America’s 10 most endangered rivers

By Sara Kiley Watson

Plastic water bottle

Microplastics have officially been found in our bodies. Here’s what that means for human health.

By Carla Delgado

Airborne particles are responsible for features like smog.

Why chemists are watching light destroy tiny airborne particles from within

Crowded car traffic in Mumbai, India.

Air pollution is rising quickly across dozens of growing cities

By Sara Kiley Watson

Car exhaust was a major source of lead exposure.

Leaded gas may have lowered the IQ of 170 million US adults

Lit wood stove emitting air pollution

An EPA fix for pollution-spewing wood stoves is backfiring

By Diana Kruzman / Undark

Street with trash, drink bottle, paper.

Most roadside litter comes from just down the street

By Carla Delgado

Dust cloud from the Great Salt Lake in studio light and on a black background

Dust clouds are killing people out West—and the dangers could spread

By Virginia Gewin