Environmental Science

If oil shale can decrease U.S. dependence on foreign nations for oil, why aren't we making it yet? We're caught between a rock and a hard, geopolitical place.

By Josh Clark

Protecting the Earth is serious business for a radical group of environmental and animal activists dubbed eco-terrorists. Who are they? Why does the FBI consider them a top priority?

By Jennifer Horton

Ever wondered where all that rain goes after a storm? Most of it is absorbed by soil and plants, while watersheds carry the rest into nearby lakes and rivers.

By Tiffany Connors

It's not a trick; before you are a number of reptilian footprints in the rock. They're dinosaur tracks, preserved for thousands of years. But how did they possibly get there?

By Tracy V. Wilson

Some people believe that dinosaurs were relatives of today's birds. But, you might ask, if that's so, why didn't they have feathers? Funny you should ask.

By Tracy V. Wilson

Wind energy is great, but what happens when there's no breeze? The Iowa Stored Energy Park will store compressed air underground. Can it replace traditional energy sources?

By William Harris

You've probably seen some plastic labeled "BPA free," but does that make it safer?

By Jennifer Horton & Sascha Bos

We know that humans are largely responsible for fueling global warming with our carbon emissions. So what if we could seize all that carbon and squirrel it away in a safe place? Well, we can. It's just hard and really expensive.

By Debra Ronca & Mark Mancini

Hollywood makes T. rex seem fast and agile, but some scientists think it was a scavenger, like a vulture. So which was it?

By Tracy V. Wilson

In this mass graveyard, workers dismantle 52,000-ton ships using simple hand tools. Why would anyone want to work at Alang? Is this place doing the world a service by recycling obsolete ships?

By Sarah Winkler

Rough times call for creative measures. The world is filled with oceans, and oceans are filled with wave energy that could potentially be transformed into power. Is wave energy a viable fossil fuel alternative?

By Jane McGrath

Depending on who you ask, urban sprawl is either the best thing that ever happened to growing families -- or the downfall of civilization and the environment as we know it. Learn about the history and consequences of this American phenomenon.

By Alia Hoyt

Many people think that beautiful, blazing sunsets are one upside to living with the smog that hangs over polluted cities. Are they right? Does smog actually enhance sunsets?

By Julia Layton

Ever since its discovery in 2000, a dinosaur fossil named Leonardo has held the interest of paleontologists the world over. A 3-D model of the animal even toured the world. So what's the big deal?

By Tracy V. Wilson

Usually we're focused on our personal power consumption -- wondering why our gas bill went up or took a dip. But what if we added up everybody's power consumption? How much would it be?

By Maria Trimarchi

Sometimes dinosaur fossils are too large and heavy to display without damaging them. How are those enormous models built? And what makes them look so realistic?

By Tracy V. Wilson

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock to 90 seconds before midnight, the closest it's ever been to global catastrophe. What does this mean for humanity?

By Julia Layton

Have you ever wondered what would happen if we were able to flip a switch and turn the Earth's gravity off for a day? The end result may surprise you.

By Marshall Brain

When the wind blows, particles in the gust of air are moving quickly. And that motion carries kinetic energy, which can be captured and harnessed to create electricity. The principle behind a wind-electric turbine isn't too different from an ordinary dam -- only it's capturing wind instead of water.

By Julia Layton

In 2023, the U.S. bottled water industry was worth $94 billion, even with the rise of popular reusable water bottle brands.

By Julia Layton

Emperor Qin ordered 7,000 generals, cavalrymen and archers to protect his mausoleum. What's so odd about that? Well, they were made of terracotta.

By Cristen Conger

If ranchers and landowners invest in grass banks, will their payout be nothing but green? Or is grass banking a temporary solution, delaying Mother Nature's inevitable bankruptcy?

By Jennifer Horton

We've been warned plenty about the mercury content of fish. And most of us know our new high-efficiency CFLs also contain the shiny neurotoxin. So which source should cause us more concern?

By Julia Layton

Is the same substance that makes your shampoo so sudsy really going to give you cancer? Here's the real dirt on whether sodium lauryl sulfate is bad for you.

By Julia Layton & Valerie Stimac

Can you walk to restaurants from your home? Or do you have to hop in the car for every outing? How do you determine your neighborhood's walkability without taking to the streets yourself?

By Maria Trimarchi