Earth
- Earth
‘Biodegradable’ plastic bags often don’t break down
Biodegradable plastic bags are supposed to break down more quickly than ordinary plastics. But that may not happen, a study finds.
- Climate
Holiday fireworks can bring extreme pollution, India finds
Fireworks bring sparkle and zing to a celebration, but they also can have a dark side — unhealthy levels of air pollution.
- Earth
Trees may become the key to ‘greener’ foam products
Scientists have made an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic-based foams to help keep things cool.
- Climate
Space weather forecast: Big storms ahead
Scientists studying blobs of energetic particles shot from the sun may help us prepare for stormy consequences on Earth.
- Climate
City living makes trees grow fast but die young
Many cities plant trees to absorb carbon dioxide. But city trees grow fast and die young, which means they absorb less carbon dioxide than forest trees do.
- Earth
Reliving the last day of the dinosaurs
The Chicxulub crater is helping reveal what happened on the day a 12-kilometer-wide asteroid slammed into the Gulf of Mexico, 66 million years ago.
- Earth
Explainer: Understanding geologic time
Geologic time is unimaginably long. Geologists puzzle it out using a calendar called the Geologic Time Scale.
- Earth
Dry sand can bubble like the blobs in a lava lamp
Put two types of sand grains together in a chamber and they can flow like fluids. All it takes is a jiggle and some gas.
- Earth
A million tiny quakes shook Southern California — and no one knew
By putting millions of tiny quakes on record, scientists hope to learn more about what triggers the big ones.
- Earth
Ocean energy could be the wave of the future
Energy systems that turn the power of ocean waves into electrical energy could be on the horizon — or pumping away near the sea floor.
- Climate
Students can sway how their parents view climate change
Teens and tweens can sway their parents’ views about climate change if they talk about it, sharing what they learned in school, a new study finds.
- Earth
New insights on how STEVE lights up the night sky
Satellite data and photos snapped by citizen scientists reveal the origins of the strange atmospheric glow called STEVE.
