Pollution

Germany’s North and Baltic Seas are littered with munitions from the First and Second World Wars, such as shells—as shown here—once fired from German battleships.

A Massive Effort Is Underway to Rid the Baltic Sea of Sunken Bombs

The ocean became a dumping ground for weapons after Allied forces defeated the Nazis. Now a team of robots and divers is making the waters safer

Plastic pollution in Madagascar

Humans Pollute the Environment With 57 Million Tons of Plastic Each Year, Study Suggests

Scientists used A.I. to model local waste management in 50,000 municipalities worldwide and say the results suggest a need to improve access to waste collection systems

The munitions are primarily located in Lake Thun, Lake Brienz, Lake Lucerne and Lake Neuchatel.

For Decades, Switzerland Dumped Munitions Into Its Pristine Alpine Lakes. Now, It Wants Them Gone

Officials are offering cash rewards for the best strategies to safely remove the submerged weapons

The Mount Everest Base Camp, at 17,598 feet high, hosts climbers acclimating to the elevation before they make their ascent.

More Than 200 Dead Bodies Have Been Left Behind on Mount Everest, and Many Mark the Path to the Summit

Mountaineers who perished on the world's highest peak have become landmarks for the living, though recovery crews have made risky expeditions to remove some of the corpses

Vultures clean up carcasses quickly, preventing bacteria and pathogens from proliferating. 

When Vultures Nearly Disappeared in India, Half a Million People Died, Too, Study Finds

By being nature's clean-up crew, the often maligned birds help prevent the spread of diseases, according to a new study

After delays and months of uncertainty, triathletes finally took the plunge into the Seine River in Paris.

Olympians Finally Got to Swim in the Seine River

After months of uncertainty, the women's and men's triathlon events kicked off with a dip in the long-polluted waterway that runs through the heart of Paris

The Brazilian sharpnose sharks were purchased from fishers between September 2021 and August 2023.

Thirteen Sharks Test Positive for Cocaine Off the Coast of Brazil

All of the wild Brazilian sharpnose sharks tested in a new study had the drug in their bodies, but many questions remain about cocaine's effects on aquatic creatures—and the humans who eat them

A light painting made in Delhi, India, in December 2016 shows high air pollution levels a month after an extreme air quality event.

These Alluring Images Capture the Threats of Air Pollution Around the World

Researchers combined long-exposure photography with pollution sensor data to create representations of pollution in India, the United Kingdom and Ethiopia

Flaring, the burning of natural gas at an oil well, takes place on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. A large portion of Marathon Oil's emissions comes from flaring.

EPA Reaches $241 Million Settlement With Marathon Oil

The company was illegally polluting the air at nearly 90 facilities in North Dakota, a complaint alleges

The vehicles emitting excessively include certain 2012-2018 model year vehicles, including some Chevrolets, GMCs and Cadillacs.

General Motors to Pay $146 Million For Excess Emissions

Almost six million vehicles were emitting over 10 percent more carbon dioxide on average than compliance reports said they were

An orange tributary of the Kugororuk River.

Alaska's Rivers Are Turning Orange as Thawing Permafrost Releases Metals Into Waterways

A new study identifies at least 75 Arctic streams where minerals, especially iron, are staining water with a rusty hue

A portrait of Ludwig Van Beethoven by Joseph Karl Stieler, painted in 1820.

Locks of Beethoven's Hair Are Unraveling the Mysteries of His Deafness and Illnesses

Researchers found high levels of lead, mercury and arsenic in the German composer's hair, which may help explain some of his many ailments

The bomb was discovered near Mewa Arena, home of the Mainz 05 soccer club.

World War II-Era Bomb Successfully Defused Near German Soccer Stadium

The 1,110-pound ordnance is one of many bombs that have surfaced in Europe decades after the war's end

A coal-fired power plant in Germany, which derives about 27 percent of its national electricity from coal.

Seven Major Nations Agree to Phase Out Coal by 2035, Though Vague Language Leaves Wiggle Room

The wealthy, industrialized countries set a flexible schedule to cut one of the dirtiest fossil fuels from their economies

Piles of coal sit in front of a power plant in Utah. Such coal-fired power plants emit greenhouse gases that drive climate change.

What Myths About the Anthropocene Get Wrong

These ten misconceptions underplay how much we have altered the global environment and undermine the new perspective we need to deal with a drastically changed world

Climbers collect garbage from Mount Everest in 2020. In recent years, officials have implemented new regulations to help reduce trash on the mountain.

The Nepali Army Is Removing Trash and Bodies From Mount Everest

They expect to haul off ten metric tons of garbage and up to five bodies from the world's tallest peak

A vineyard in central California that had been irrigated with PFAS-contaminated well water from firefighting foam used for years at a nearby airport.

EPA Sets First Federal Limits on Dangerous 'Forever Chemicals' in Drinking Water

Public water systems will have to test water and reduce levels of six types of PFAS if they aren't in compliance with the new rule

A coal power plant in Germany.

80 Percent of Global CO2 Emissions Come From Just 57 Companies, Report Shows

Many of these companies increased their fossil fuel production after the Paris Agreement was signed in 2016

Methane plumes observed at a Louisiana landfill during the study. More than 14 percent of U.S. methane emissions were reported to have come from landfills in 2021.

More Than Half of U.S. Landfills May Be Methane 'Super-Emitters,' Study Finds

Aerial observations of hundreds of large landfills across 18 states found they are leaking 40 percent more methane than is reported to the EPA

In the lab, researchers tested soil samples dating to the first or early second century C.E.

Microplastics Are Contaminating Ancient Archaeological Sites

New research suggests plastic particles may pose a threat to the preservation of historic remains

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