Environmental Science

The rose-red mineral rhodonite was first discovered in the 1790s in the Ural Mountains of Russia. Today it's found globally and is associated with compassion, love and healing.

By Allison Troutner

The curves of the giant snake line up with the sun during equinoxes and solstices.

By Jesslyn Shields

Mountains might look like they're stoic and still, but research shows otherwise. Massive ones, like the Matterhorn, are moving all the time, gently swaying back and forth every few seconds.

By Richard J. Sima

The waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans meet at the tip of Cape Horn and never the two shall mix, right?

By Jesslyn Shields

A new project aims to document the possible demise of Planet Earth due to climate change. It's called Earth's Black Box and the creators hope this will be a warning to all Earth-dwellers to take global warming seriously.

By Joanna Thompson

From the chemicals that pollute and the massive use of water, the traditional method of dyeing blue jeans is an environmental disaster. Nanoparticles made from wood pulp might be the answer to the problem.

By Jesslyn Shields

This alien-looking archipelago off the coast of Yemen is teeming with plants and animals. Many species here are threatened or endangered. Can they be saved?

By Stephanie Parker

Some say UFOs, while others say a meteor strike formed the Carolina Bays. Whatever created these isolated ponds and wetlands across North and South Carolina left a wondrous ecosystem that is in dire need of protection.

By Allison Troutner

The science is off the charts. Climate change is here and it's affecting the planet. We'll tell you how and where.

By Betsy Weatherhead

A new report released by Beyond Plastics suggests that plastics will release more greenhouse gas emissions than coal plants in the U.S. by 2030.

By Elizabeth Claire Alberts

Waterfalls are mainly reliant on precipitation to keep flowing. Here are six famous waterfalls that slowed to a trickle when drought set in.

By Laurie L. Dove

Nutty Putty Cave, near Salt Lake City, Utah, was discovered in 1960 and sealed up forever in 2009. But why?

By Dave Roos

Rooftop solar panels are nearly 80 percent cheaper than they were just 10 years ago. A new paper says that if we installed them on 50 percent of roofs, we could meet all the world's yearly electric needs.

By Siddharth Joshi, James Glynn & Shivika Mittal

In the lead-up to U.N. Climate Change Conference, the Swedish activist talked about Biden's climate plan, the media's responsibility and what gives her hope.

By Mark Hertsgaard

A July study found that every coastal estuary could prevent $38 million of damage from major storms like Hurricane Ida. But that means wetlands need protecting, too.

By Liz Kimbrough

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, plays an essential role in regulating ocean temperatures, but it looks as if it may be collapsing. What happens next?

By Joanna Thompson

A lead author on the newly released IPCC report explains what the warnings mean.

By Robert Kopp

The number of trees we are surrounded by in our daily lives affects our health, economic welfare and mental well-being. The fairness of their distribution is known as tree equity.

By Muriel Vega

The climate crisis is messing with the water cycle. Some places are getting way too much, while others aren't getting any water at all. We'll explain.

By Stephanie Parker

An unprecedented 10-year-long study published in the journal Nature found that deforestation and fires have drastically reduced the Amazon rainforest's ability to absorb carbon emissions from the atmosphere.

By Liz Kimbrough

This beautiful pink quartz is found in numerous places throughout the world and is thought to be associated with unconditional love.

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

Researchers have been asking this question for almost a century and now we're a little closer to the answer. Something else to ponder: Every 27.5 million years there is usually a mass extinction.

By Valerie Stimac

Not all diamonds are found on dry land. Many turn up in sediments below the ocean's surface. You just have to know where to look.

By Mark Mancini

Not all deserts have sand and they're certainly not all hot. They're just extremely dry and have little vegetation. That means deserts are located all over the planet, including at super-high elevations.

By Sharise Cunningham

The Southern Ocean has finally been officially recognized, though scientists have known about it for over a century.

By Jesslyn Shields