Environmental Science

There is good news, too, though. If President-elect Joe Biden sticks to his pledge of "net zero" U.S. emissions by 2050, the Paris Agreement goals could be within reach.

By Mark Hertsgaard

It's found all over Earth — and Mars, too. It's the main source of iron but is also used in jewelry and painting. Get to know the amazing mineral hematite.

By Trevor English

NOAA's Argo program distributes floating observatories across the globe. Why? They collect data about the world's oceans that is critical to understanding the planet.

By Jennifer Walker-Journey

Since its discovery, the Nebra Sky Disc has been known as the oldest artifact in the world depicting cosmic phenomena. But is the 3,600-year-old disc actually 1,000 years younger than previously thought or is it a fake altogether?

By Mark Mancini

Beavers have long had a bad rap for building dams that wreak havoc on the environment. But now those dams are linked to warming temperatures in the tundra, and that's bad news.

By Robin Young & Allison Hagan

Every minute, the time to do something about global warming gets shorter. In a move reminiscent of the Doomsday Clock, a new art installation, ClimateClock, aims to show this crisis visually.

By Alia Hoyt

The controversial technology of reflecting sunlight away from the planet could help blunt the worst impacts of climate change. Harvard University climate scientist David Keith weighs in.

By Betsy Mason

Drones are helping researchers bolster scientific understanding of the ecology of a greening Arctic.

By Lesley Evans Ogden

Experts expect more than 1 billion climate refugees by the year 2050. Where will they go and how will the world feed, clothe and shelter them?

By Maria Trimarchi & Sarah Gleim

The autumnal equinox is the day Earth is perfectly angled to the sun, so the day and night are of equal length. Well, almost.

By Kathryn Whitbourne

Africa's Great Green Wall, which will be Earth's largest living structure once complete, has been designed to save the continent from desertification and encroachment by the Sahara.

By Stephanie Vermillion

One term might give you the impression of something grand and mysterious, while the other makes you think of claustrophobia-inducing environs that threaten human life. But what's the real difference?

By Nathan Chandler

Bill Nye says he quit his day job at Boeing to engage young people in science literacy. And he's still fighting that fight today.

By Jeremy Deaton

Water is one of the most abundant substances on the planet. About 70 percent of our planet is covered by oceans, but just how much water is there on Earth?

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors

Kernza is a wheat-like grain that doesn't have to be replanted each year, making it the ideal crop to aid in the fight against climate change and help to feed the world.

By Patrick J. Kiger

A startup is recycling tons of discarded fishing nets throughout Chile. Is this a template for tackling the global plastic waste problem?

By Charis McGowan

Many people think mushrooms have the potential to be environmental game-changers by replacing some plastics, meats and even eating through landfill waste. Could these fungi really help save the planet?

By Olivia Boyd

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

Satellite data shows just how much air quality has improved during the coronavirus crisis, from China, India, Italy and beyond.

By Marco Hernandez

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

Birds are — quite literally — living dinosaurs. Our quiz will test your knowledge of the fluffy, downy and winged dinos of the bygone Mesozoic era, from little Microraptor to the enormous Yutyrannus.

By Mark Mancini

Though certain parks or preserves have gotten the International Dark Sky Place designation before, this remote South Pacific island became the first entire country to be so honored.

By Nathan Chandler

The stratosphere is the second-lowest level in Earth's atmosphere. It's a bastion of ozone gas and rapid winds, where clouds are scarce, but life endures.

By Mark Mancini

The Pacific's Ring of Fire is a 25,000 mile long "ring" that's home to 75 percent of all the world's volcanic activity and 90 percent of the planet's earthquakes. So what makes this area so active?

By Mark Mancini

Since its discovery in 1870, the Wyoming cone geyser Old Faithful has wowed spectators with its predictable eruptions, but its eruptions are not quite as predictable or prodigious as they once were.

By Mark Mancini