Lawmakers in the US state of Hawaii are pushing for measures to defend the state’s shorelines, including the iconic Waikiki Beach, from rising sea levels caused by global warming. Surveys by the state show that sea levels could rise by up to 90 centimeters by the end of the century, which would inundate its beaches. […]

Like perms, gaucho pants, and bump-it clips, plastics appear to be trending downwards in the court of public opinion. Why? To be reductive, because the news about plastic is getting scarier, more of us are seeing it, and we lead an increasingly large portion of our lives on public forums (such as Instagram) that generate […]

These plastics can easily be disassembled to chemical building blocks. Recycling sounds great in principle (because it is), but a frustrating number of devils lurk in the details. For example, while some materials like aluminum can readily be melted down and turned right back into new aluminum cans, recovered plastics tend to be lower quality […]

A colony in Halley Bay lost more than 10,000 chicks in 2016 and hasn’t recovered. Some adults have relocated. The Antarctic’s second-largest colony of emperor penguins collapsed in 2016, with more than 10,000 chicks lost, and the population has not recovered, according to a new study. Many of the adults relocated nearby, satellite imagery shows, […]

We often feel forced to choose between the environment and the economy. Public debates can leave us thinking we have to decide whether to take action on climate change or support rural economies, and that we can’t possibly do both. Or, can we? What if we took a clear-eyed look at the choices in front […]

Microplastics have been found in some of the most remote aquatic ecosystems on earth, including in the deepest parts of the ocean. Now, scientists have discovered that these tiny pieces of plastic can also be carried by the wind into secluded terrestrial regions, such as the French Pyrenees. The research, led by scientists at the […]

McDonald’s is being called on to stop its roll out of paper straws in the UK and Ireland, amid claims that they “dissolve” in drinks. The fast food giant is switching from plastic to paper straws at their 1,361 restaurants after customer pressure. An online petition calling for a return to plastic straws has so […]

In January 2013, a suffocating, poisonous haze hung over Beijing for four days. The record high levels of fine particulate matter in the air caused airports to close and thousands of coughing, choking citizens to seek hospital care. Although the particulate matter that filled the winter skies resulted from both human and natural emissions, a […]

Hawaiian lawmakers are taking proactive measures to tackle the effects of climate change before it’s too late in a new bid to redevelop Honolulu’s famous Waikiki Beach to protect residents from projected future flooding. Hawaii has seen over half a foot (15 centimeters) rise in sea level over the last few decades and that rises […]

Washington blocked a coal terminal under the Clean Water Act. New rules could subvert that authority. At nearly 17 million acres, the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska is part of the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world. Meanwhile, about a thousand miles south in Longview, Washington, on the banks of the Columbia River, […]