Nitrogen and phosphorus are polluting US waters, creating algae blooms and dead zones. New research confirms that voluntary steps are failing in the Gulf of Mexico and unlikely to work in Lake Erie.
Healthy soil teems with bacteria, fungi, viruses and other microorganisms that help store carbon and fend off plant diseases. To restore soil, scientists are finding ways to foster its microbiome.
Many Americans live in transit deserts – areas where demand for transit exceeds the supply. To fix these gaps, we need to find and map them so agencies can add transit options in the right places.
Shifting to plug-in cars wouldn't be enough to max out global oil consumption by 2040. But it could help make that happen if cities pitch in and ride-sharing doesn't crowd out public transportation.
Can federal agencies stack advisory panels with friendly members? Some have tried, but a scientist who has advised many administrations says they will produce bad policies that lack broad support.
The peach looms large in Georgia history and lore. Today the Georgia peach crop is dwindling, but its history remains deeply entwined with Southern history, politics and culture.
A recent study finds that noise from human activities is intruding into many parks and other protected areas. Creating quiet zones and noise corridors can help reduce impacts from noise pollution.
According to a new UN report, more than two billion people around the world do not have access to clean, safe water in their homes. Most of the work of getting water falls to women and girls.
Are all people entitled to live in a clean and healthy environment? A legal scholar says yes, and argues for using this principle to address damage from polluting industries in Appalachia.
Research shows that bringing nature indoors, in the form of movement created by light, wind and water, makes occupants calmer and more productive. It also could promote interest in sustainable design.
Cleaning up and reusing contaminated sites, known as brownfields, can create jobs and promote economic growth. But it also can drive gentrification that prices out low-income residents.
How fast can the US transition to clean energy and with what energy sources? Here's why an impassioned debate among energy wonks matters to the rest of us.
In an urbanizing world, people increasingly are seeking out nature in cities. Research shows that diverse species of animals, plants and insects can thrive in areas that humans have altered.
Must the money raised to save wildlife always aid the most popular animals? New research suggests that marketing can persuade donors that northern hairy-nosed wombat lives matter too.
Without the private sector cutting carbon emissions – rather than just lobbying the government for action on climate – the world will never reach the temperature targets of the Paris Agreement.
The Colorado River supplies water to millions of people and irrigates thousands of miles of farmland. New research warns that climate change is likely to magnify droughts in the Colorado Basin.
Most of the earthworms in the US Northeast and upper Midwest are nonnative species. Scientists are finding increasing evidence that invasive worms and invasive plants may help each other.
More than 200 mayors have committed their cities to stick with the Paris climate deal no matter what the US does. Electric vehicles offer a promising route to making good on that pledge.
Scientists typically stay out of public policy debates, but an academic makes the case that they need to push back against politicians who distort research.
It's increasingly likely that at some point, the world's nations will need to broach the fraught discussion of geoengineering. The UN climate accord was a natural forum to do it.
Two atmospheric scientists explain how they weigh evidence such as ocean temperatures, wind speeds and other climate patterns to predict how many Atlantic hurricanes are likely to form this year.
Climate change, rising food demand and globalization are putting pressure on world food production. New research explores the risk of failures in several of the world's breadbasket regions at once.
Javan rhinos are among the most endangered mammals in the world: They live on one island in Indonesia, in the path of tsunamis. Saving them will ultimately require establishing additional populations.
President Trump's budget would cut funding for Superfund, which cleans up the nation's most toxic sites, by nearly one-third. An economist explains how Superfund cleanups benefit local communities.
Major hurricanes threaten millions of people and billions of dollars in property along the Atlantic coast. Here experts advise on preparing, understanding forecasts and recovering after a storm.
More tornadoes occur in the United States than in any other country, mainly in the Great Plains, the Midwest and southern states. Two meteorology professors explain what causes these dangerous storms.
President Trump's budget reportedly will slash funding for clean energy research and development. An energy expert explains the importance of government support and spotlights some key opportunities.
New research shows that importing goods from low-wage countries has helped US manufacturers shift production to less-polluting industries, produce less waste and spend less on pollution control.
The White House is deciding whether or not to stay in the Paris climate agreement. But a large majority of Americans – including Trump voters – want the U.S. to participate and lead.
Congress is considering proposals to amend the Endangered Species Act. In this roundup we offer views on what's lost when species disappear and the complexities of bringing them back from the brink.
Cholera kills thousands every year but is treatable if it is caught early. Understanding how El Niño shifts cholera risks in Africa can help countries prepare for outbreaks and save lives.
A new report calls U.S. forests an undervalued asset for slowing climate change. It warns that they are being degraded by logging for wood, paper and fuel, particularly in the Southeast.
'Doom and gloom' messages about nature are less effective than positive ones. The Lost & Found project tells the stories of creatures thought long gone but eventually rediscovered.
Large livestock farms, known as CAFOs, have polluted air and water in many communities. A recent court decision will force CAFOs to report their air emissions from manure and other sources.
Robin Lacassin, Institut de physique du globe de Paris (IPGP) – USPC and Raphael Grandin, Institut de physique du globe de Paris (IPGP) – USPC
Oklahoma is trying to limit the number of earthquakes caused by oil and gas extraction, but some existing faults there – which could be activated by wastewater injection – have never been mapped.
Messaging for the April 29 People's Climate March is stressing collective resistance against President Trump. This theme may appeal to activists, but is unlikely to grow the movement.
Gary M. Scott, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Pulp and paper production is a major industry with a large environmental footprint. Recently, though, paper companies have worked to reduce pollution and promote sustainable forestry and recycling.
The industry has wanted access to offshore oil for decades, but the Arctic remains challenging. Consumers, meanwhile, seem conflicted on expanded offshore drilling.
Sea otters had been absent from this Alaskan national park for at least 250 years. By marrying math and statistics, scientists map this animal's successful comeback.
It's all in the presentation: In studies, consumers were more apt to choose fuel-efficient vehicles depending on how the same pieces of information were displayed on labels.
Within the next month, the Trump administration may move to abolish or shrink up to two dozen national monuments. Our experts explain why these sites matter and whether presidents can undo them.
The Clean Water Rule spells out which streams, wetlands and other water bodies receive federal protection. The Trump administration wants to repeal it, but will face high hurdles in court.
Green groups fighting Trump's anti-environmental agenda should heed precedents from the Reagan and George W. Bush administrations. They can also learn from the Australian experience.
Coal-fired power plants produce air pollution that kills thousands of Americans every year. President Trump's embrace of coal energy will delay a shift to cleaner fuels that is saving money and lives.
The bad old days: Public and political support for the EPA was highest when environmental problems like air and water pollution were more obvious than current problems like climate change or endocrine disruptors.
U.S. National Archives
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has said the agency's purview should not include climate change, but a look at its history under both Republican and Democratic presidents says otherwise.
Conventional wisdom says we need industrial agriculture to feed the world. Not so, says geologist David Montgomery: Practices that focus on creating healthy soil can transform agriculture.
How can we feed a growing world population while protecting the environment? One key strategy is to improve yields on small farms, which produce much of the food in the world's hungriest countries.
The Trump administration will review the status of The Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, one of the country’s most significant cultural sites.
Bureau of Land Management
Trump wants to scale back national monuments on federal lands in the name of boosting the economy. But this would undo decades of investments to manage our cultural and ecological resources.
If US Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana is confirmed as interior secretary, he will face difficult choices about balancing extractive activities like energy production with conservation on public lands.
A geography professor reports from the front lines of the Malheur occupation. Despite strong local opposition to occupiers, he foresees more conflicts to come.
President Trump has ordered a review of national monuments protected by his predecessors, and may try to abolish or shrink some. But four legal experts say that only Congress has that authority.
As the Discovery Channel and National Geographic Wild unleash a week of dueling shark programs, a biologist advises viewers to take what they see with a large grain of sea salt.
U.S. Navy diver off the coast of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
MC2 Kori Melvin, U.S. Navy/Wikipedia
Cuban and US scientists are forming partnerships to protect coral reefs and fisheries in both countries. But President Trump may soon announce steps to slow or reverse the US opening to Cuba.
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, welcomes Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, before their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, Saturday, June 3, 2017.
AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu
India, the world's fourth-largest carbon emitter, long resisted calls to fight climate change. Now it is investing heavily in clean energy and expects to meet its Paris climate accord target early.
Coyote at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, Colorado.
USFWS/Flickr
The US Department of Agriculture kills thousands of predators yearly, mainly for attacking livestock. A conservation biologist explains why this policy is ineffective and ecologically harmful.
Lessons from the Lone Star State: A surge in wind power on the Texas grid didn’t cause reliability problems (and brought down electricity prices) because regulators improved the efficiency of wholesale electricity markets.
Sarah Fields Photography/Shutterstock.com
Energy Secretary Rick Perry wants to know if wind and solar are compromising the reliability of the grid and hurting coal power. The answer lies in his home state of Texas.
One primary concern in rural areas: higher temperatures put strain on water and energy sources.
AP Photo/Robert Ray
With little action at the national level on climate change, state and city officials are taking the lead – but by emphasizing local benefits.
Devastation in Sichuan province after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, thought to be induced by industrial activity at a nearby reservoir.
dominiqueb/flickr
For the third consecutive year, it's the hottest year ever. A climate scientist explains how these predictions are made and why they're completely different from forecasting the weather.
Bald eagles are the best-known example of a successful recovery under the Endangered Species Act.
Jerry McFarland/Flickr
Peter Alagona, University of California, Santa Barbara and Kevin C. Brown, University of California, Santa Barbara
Critics say the Endangered Species Act does not work because only about 1 percent of protected species have officially "recovered." Two biologists explain why recovery is so hard to define.
How is rapid warming in the Arctic affecting animals that are adapted to cold? A wildlife biologist is using many techniques to find out, including stalking muskoxen in a polar bear costume.
Making a point at a Washington, D.C. protest in January.
stephenmelkisethian/flickr
Scientists are concerned that politics will trump evidence in the new administration. A researcher of political psychology explains why these worries matter far beyond questions of science.
J. Robert Oppenheimer, often called the ‘father of the atomic bomb’ who chaired the ancestor of today’s Department of Energy, had his security clearance revoked during the ‘Red Scare’ of the 1950s.
AP Photo
A historian of science and technology says Trump team's request for names of Department of Energy employees working on climate change recalls worst excesses of ideology-driven science in government.
Florida’s unique geology means alternative fracking methods would be used, but can aquifers be safely separated from injection wells?
jsjgeology/flickr
There's a debate over whether fracking should be introduced into Florida, a state with a unique geology and hydrology that introduces a long list of environmental concerns.
Maintenance has been pushed off so much that the D.C. Metro needs to shut lines down for months for repairs.
momentsnotice/flickr
Historically, environmental causes enjoyed bipartisan support but gains by NGOs and the emergence of climate change as a social issue have created a sharp political divide.
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