Environmental Science

Invasive species are found around the globe, and their presence outside of their native areas is damaging the world's ecosystems and threatening biodiversity. Some -- like the five on this list -- seem almost unstoppable.

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

Plastic's handy, hardy stuff, but we don't want to leave piles of old forks and water bottles for future generations to trip over. Can special additives that break down plastics faster save the day?

By Nathan Chandler

Found in everything from plastic shopping bags to water bottles to adhesives, paints and DVDs, industrial resins tend to have a bad rap when it comes to their environmental impact. Can new, sustainable options turn their image around?

By Chris Warren

Climate change may be melting glaciers, but it's also reducing the oxygen of the world's oceans. Without oxygen, many marine organisms may no longer be able to survive.

By John Perritano

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

Talk about a Brexit! Scientists have clues to catastrophic flooding that destroyed a land bridge that once connected England and France.

By Patrick J. Kiger

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

Millions of people die every year because of poor air quality, new international research finds. That number is expected to rise in coming years.

By Christopher Hassiotis

Most mammals have a penis bone called a baculum, but humans don't. A new study sheds light on the history of the baculum, and why ours is missing.

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

A new 'atlas' of light pollution finds that one third of people on Earth can't see the night sky's most dramatic feature.

By Christopher Hassiotis

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

By Kate Kershner

Science has determined that disappearing completely into quicksand isn't possible — but that doesn't mean that getting stuck still won't kill you.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Surprisingly, living in a city with a high level of natural radiation doesn't have any ill effects.

By Alia Hoyt

The experts have seen people trying to recycle bowling balls and curling irons. They call it 'wishful recycling'. But paper and plastic items can be problematic too.

By Dave Roos

Underwater icicles, also called brinicles or sea stalactites, form when super-cold brine meets normal seawater. The sub-zero phenomenon can kill some sea life.

By Patrick J. Kiger

The formidable gusher could stop flowing for a few months in 2019 in order to repair some bridges in dire need.

By Rachel Pendergrass