Environmental Science

It's easy to trace the evolution of the automobile. Your family tree poses a whole different challenge. Even an extensive genealogy chart can only reach back so far. So how do we chart the evolution of the human race?

By Robert Lamb

We've been scribbling our thoughts down on stone and paper for a while now. But the job of assembling a history for all of humanity gets a lot harder once those written records disappear. Luckily, archaeologists are happy to tackle the job.

By William Harris

Identifying the biggest archaeological find in history is sort of like naming the best movie ever made. One person's blockbuster could be another person's bust. So which find swept the other contenders into the dust?

By William Harris

Each country and each region within each country has its own laws regarding the right to cultural property. So, how do you know which artifacts belong to the government and which are "finders keepers"?

By Charles W. Bryant

In "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," Dr. Jones battles the Nazis for the Holy Grail. Did the Nazis really have an interest in archaeology? And if so, what fueled it?

By Charles W. Bryant

In "The Raiders of the Lost Ark," Indiana Jones competes with grave-robbing Nazis for the lost Ark of the Covenant. But what defined Dr. Jones as legit and the Nazis as grave robbers?

By Charles W. Bryant

While archaeological digs are still hands-on projects, some computer programs can help piece together a more complete picture of the site and even what its inhabitants might have looked like. What else can the software tell us?

By Charles W. Bryant

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

By Sarah Dowdey

On a planet that is 70 percent water, people don't have enough clean, safe water to drink. We're in a water crisis, and water rights are becoming a big issue. What happens if we just plain run out?

By Josh Clark

The sea scorpion may have been the largest bug to ever live on the Earth, according to a recent find. Learn more about the giant sea scorpion.

By Josh Clark

It's evident the debate over climate change is a heated one. Are skeptics clouding the public judgment for money? Are climate-change believers merely alarmists who risk the present for the future?

By Josh Clark

Crews have to race to contain the damage from major oil spills to prevent damage to beaches, death to marine life and birds, and devastation to local wetlands. So how do they clean them up?

By Josh Clark & Sarah Gleim

To see a dinosaur these days, you can visit any number of museums or traveling exhibits. But you don't necessarily have to leave your yard either.

By Tracy V. Wilson

Hieroglyphics used to be a language that no one -- Egyptian or otherwise -- could decipher. With the help of the Rosetta Stone, that all changed.

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors

Consumers are becoming more and more knowledgeable about food safety and their health. As a result, organic farming has entered the agriculture mainstream. But what methods must be used, and how is organic farming certified?

By Maria Trimarchi

About 70 percent of our energy comes from non-renewable sources like oil and natural gas. When they're gone, they're gone for good. Learn some simple ways to conserve energy through these five simple experiments.

By John Kelly

You may never have heard of rare earth elements, but they're the force behind today's high-tech gadgets, plus a lot of green technology. Are there any environmental downsides to their use?

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

Bioplastics, or plastics derived from plant materials, can help alleviate many of the pollution problems that regular plastics create, but this eco-friendly alternative isn't an environmental panacea.

By Ed Grabianowski

You probably think all parasites are disgusting little critters, but that's not always the case. Several are actually critical to the planet.

By Mark Boyer

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is explained in this article. Learn about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch explained.

By Jaymi Heimbuch

Famine might bring to mind historical tragedies or modern media coverage of tiny children with swollen bellies. But how does the unimaginable -- a widespread loss of food -- actually happen?

By Jessika Toothman

Sunlight can break plastic down but not very fast. Is there a way to speed up the process so that natural environments like this one aren't cluttered with plastic debris for centuries?

By Nathan Chandler

The green movement isn't going to die just because the world ends. In fact, sustainable types might even have a leg up post-apocalypse. Here's how.

By Robert Lamb