HowStuffWorks Newsletter
The environment is truly a thing of beauty and should be protected whenever possible. What can we do to save the environment, and what new technology is available to help us?
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.
A startup is recycling tons of discarded fishing nets throughout Chile. Is this a template for tackling the global plastic waste problem?
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
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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.
Satellite data shows just how much air quality has improved during the coronavirus crisis, from China, India, Italy and beyond.
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.
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
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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.
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
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Ice volcanoes form when it's freezing cold outside and choppy water is forced to erupt through a hole in the ice around a body of water, cascading down into the classic shape of a volcano.
Even having to strike alone hasn't deterred these youth from getting out the message regarding the impending climate crisis. And what keeps them going, they say? Greta Thunberg.
The rusty patched bumblebee (Bombus affinis) is on the verge of extinction and the state of Minnesota is doing something about it.
Not all fossils are found on dry land. In fact some of the most fascinating fossil finds in history have been submerged for centuries.
By Mark Mancini
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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.
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?
Earth is a complex place, and its climate follows suit. That may explain why many of us are still confused about climate change. Think you can tell the facts from myths? Find out with this quiz.
By Mark Mancini
"The 26th century" doesn't roll off the tongue as easily as "the 21st century" does. But that hasn't stopped us from imagining what our hometown planet will be like in a few hundred years. Any guesses?
By Robert Lamb
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You've probably heard of the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, but do you know the difference?
You've probably heard of the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer, but do you know the difference?
The Arctic Circle is a region marked by frigid temperatures, strange sunlight and glaciers galore. And for hundreds of thousands of people, it's also home sweet home.
By Mark Mancini
This is not an easy question to answer, thanks to the mists of time. But historians have put forth several possibilities. An ancient tablet claims one king ruled for 28,000 years!
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If it looks like a party is on, maybe they'll come back. Playing the sounds of a noisy, healthy coral reef can attract important fish species to devastated reef habitats.
Mountain Lake in Virginia is best known for its starring role in 'Dirty Dancing.' But today, it's nothing more than a muddy pit that's all but dried up ... and geologists think they may know why.