Conservation

The Sierra Club lobbies for environmental preservation and engages members in fun wilderness excursions.

By Sarah Dowdey

Men have been hunting and killing whales for centuries. Early whalers hunted for survival, but their motivation may have changed once there was money to be made. Whaling for profit has been banned since 1986, but whaling for scientific research is still allowed in certain areas, causing much debate.

By Alison Kim Perry

Without its keystone, a Roman aqueduct collapses. Does the same travesty befall an ecosystem when a keystone species goes missing from the ecological equation?

By William Harris

The Salton Sea, California's largest inland lake, and the area that surrounds it — once hotspots for tourism and wildlife — have essentially become ghost towns. The lake's evaporation has now become a ticking ecological time bomb with real world consequences.

By Stephanie Parker & Austin Henderson

Ice stupas are artificial glaciers that store frozen water to be used for hydrating crops in the driest stretches of the year in the high desert of Himalaya.

By Mark Mancini

A growing network of global activists is taking an alternative approach to saving the environment: Pushing to recognize natural ecosystems as having legal rights like humans.

By Stephanie Vermillion

It's been 51 years since the first Earth Day, and while progress has been made in some areas, humanity still has had a major impact on the planet.

By Andrea Thompson

China has joined the more than 120 countries outlawing certain types of single-use plastics, those convenient but controversial plastics we've all become so used to. What exactly are they, though, and is banning them really necessary?

By Stephanie Vermillion

It may seem cool to stack rocks for fun or artistic purposes but moving rocks may inadvertently threaten small mammals and insects and contribute to soil erosion.

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

The rusty patched bumblebee (Bombus affinis) is on the verge of extinction and the state of Minnesota is doing something about it.

By Tara Yarlagadda

Everyone loves foraging for seashells at the beach, but the true jackpot is finding a perfect unbroken sand dollar. However, taking one home may not be such a good idea.

By Alia Hoyt

Many scientists say that the response to climate change will require planting new trees. A whole lot of them.

By Tara Yarlagadda

Not only do bug zappers mostly kill beneficial insects, they also can serve you up a side of bacteria with your burger.

By Chris Opfer

Scientists have found that chemicals in some sunscreens can cause coral bleaching, prompting the Hawaii state legislature to propose an exhaustive ban on them.

By Christopher Hassiotis

Plastic may be the longest-lasting legacy of human beings on this planet. But there are lots of ways, big and small, that we can all stop using it. Today.

By Jesslyn Shields

As the world becomes more urbanized, the demand for sand, a key ingredient of concrete, keeps growing. But there's only so much sand to go around.

By Dave Roos

New findings about ancient, extinct Australasian bandicoot and bilby species underscore how dire things are today when even survivors like these are struggling.

By Jesslyn Shields

Now that its sequel is out, where did Al Gore's landmark environmental documentary hit the mark? What did it get wrong?

By Patrick J. Kiger

The OneLessStraw campaign encourages people to kick their straw habit to keep plastic from harming the environment.

By Kate Kershner

A killer smog 70 years ago helped lead to the first federal air pollution laws.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Helium balloons are dangerous to the environment and wildlife — so why isn't releasing them illegal?

By Jesslyn Shields