68 Items Tagged

Pollution

Fireflies glow along Japan's Hino River some 450 miles west of Tokyo.

How A ‘Firefly Course’ Is Saving Japan’s Favorite Glowing Insect

At the Moriyama City Firefly Forest Museum, nurturing Genji fireflies comes with homework.

Shoshi Parks July 25, 2023

Horse Cave, Kentucky

Hidden River Cave

Once one of the most polluted caves in America, now an environmental success story and a museum dedicated to caves.

An adult male orangutan contemplates his next move in haze produced by Indonesia’s 2015 wildfires.

Wildfire Smoke Changes Orangutan Calls in Borneo

During massive fires in Indonesia, the critically endangered primates' voices provided clues to their overall health.

Wendy Erb July 3, 2023

Ramat Hovav, Israel

Negev Guardian

One of the largest statues in Israel was erected to protest pollution.

New Idria

Paicines, California

New Idria Ghost Town

After the nearby mercury mine shut down, this town was abandoned and declared a Superfund site.

Podcast: Newtown Creek Nature Walk

One man in Brooklyn—armed with a homemade boat and an artistic vision—helped transform one of America's most polluted industrial waterways.

The Podcast Team February 21, 2023

Jacksonville, North Carolina

Infant Water Poisoning Victims

A section of this cemetery is dedicated to the lives lost from years of exposure to contaminated water.

How The Thames, Once a 'Zombie River,' Was Brought Back to Life

Sharks, beavers, and humans are all returning to London's iconic waterway thanks to decades of restoration work.

Mia Jackson August 8, 2022

How Ukraine’s Environmentalists Are Helping the War Effort

Scientists and citizens unite in a 'vast network of resistance.'

Matthew Ponsford June 27, 2022

For $1.35 million, you could become the next owner of one of the largest southern live oak trees in the United States.

objects of intrigue

For Sale: A Grand Old President (That Happens To Be a Tree)

Up to 1,200 years old, the stately 'Seven Sisters' Oak has held the title for more than half a century.

Sarah Durn June 9, 2022

Yerington pit lake, May 2015. The road on the pit wall to the right indicates the relative depth.

Yerington, Nevada

Yerington Pit (Anaconda Copper Mine)

A deep toxic lake fills this abandoned open-pit copper mine, now a Superfund site.

Science just saved this cute little fish from extinction.

extinct animals

Inside the Years-Long, International Effort to Save One Tiny Mexican Fish

Scientists and schoolchildren worked together to bring the tequila fish back from extinction.

Sarah Durn January 13, 2022

Al Karaana Lagoon

Al-Karaana, Qatar

Al Karaana Lagoon

Once a highly polluted body of water has now been transformed into a gorgeous lagoon.

World War I impact craters, Verdun, 2005.

Plants, Heavy Metals, and the Lingering Scars of World War I

A closer look at the hardy residents of some of our most damaged landscapes.

Cal Flyn August 10, 2021

Many animals ensnared in trash don't have long to live, but this one appears to have adapted.

How Could a Crocodile Spend Years Cinched By a Tire?

One in Indonesia has been carrying a rubber ring since at least 2016. Here’s how the litter might be affecting the animal’s life.

Jessica Leigh Hester February 9, 2022

The pipes from the front

Kingston, Ontario

'Pollution'

This sculpture was made in 1973 for the city's 300th-anniversary celebrations and was largely considered an eyesore at the time.

The muddy shores of Lake Uru Uru in Bolivia are awash in bright sunset colors, a sign of the lake's dire straits.

In the Andes, Bright Colors Tell the Dark Story of a Dying Lake

Bolivia's Lake Uru Uru faces an uncertain future: a growing city, toxic runoff, and drought worsened by climate change.

Gemma Tarlach May 3, 2021

The Gowanus: kinda picturesque, but also terribly polluted since the 19th century.

Brooklyn's Putrid, Beloved Gowanus Canal Has Been a Horror for Centuries

A new $1.5 billion cleanup effort is underway, targeting its "black mayonnaise" of pollutants.

Jessica Leigh Hester January 14, 2021