Environment

  1. Animals

    Urban gardens create a buffet for bees

    City gardens provide a huge amount of nectar and pollen for pollinators, making them an essential conservation tool.

    By Alison Pearce Stevens
  2. Climate

    Changing climate now threatens northern lakes year round

    Lakes in northern climes are getting warmer, and that’s not good for people, plants or animals.

    By John Perritano
  3. Computing

    5G promises new energy savings for digital tech

    A new way to transmit wireless communications promises time and energy savings by using networks of smaller cells.

    By Kathryn Hulick
  4. Computing

    Greening your digital life

    The less electricity you use while playing video games or using your devices, the less impact you’ll have on climate change.

    By Kathryn Hulick
  5. Climate

    COVID-19 cut pollution in 2020, warming the atmosphere

    Pandemic-related lockdowns briefly warmed the planet. The reason: The cleaner air carried fewer planet-cooling aerosols.

    By Sid Perkins
  6. Climate

    Scientists Say: Weather

    The state of the atmosphere in a specific place and time is weather. Over a long time, the weather conditions in an area will reveal its climate.

    By Bethany Brookshire
  7. Ecosystems

    What you can do to improve soils

    Soils are the life-sustaining structures under our feet. Here are some tips for keeping soils healthy. First rule of thumb: Give more than you take.

    By Catherine Arnold
  8. Earth

    Explainer: What are aerosols?

    We may not see them, but tiny particles and droplets cloud the air, affecting its properties. Some may be pollutants, others all-natural products.

    By Ellie Broadman
  9. Climate

    Can wildfires cool the climate?

    Severe wildfires are becoming more common. Science is showing that the tiny particles they release into the air can alter Earth’s temperature — sometimes cooling it.

    By Ellie Broadman
  10. Climate

    Analyze This: 2020 ties with 2016 for hottest year on record

    Last year capped the warmest decade on record. It coincided with a growing increase of warming greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere.

    By Carolyn Wilke
  11. Environment

    Unmasking the pandemic’s pollution problem

    Discarding all the materials people use to protect themselves from COVID-19 has created a growing environmental problem.

    By Stephen Ornes
  12. Animals

    Camels have been dying after mistaking plastic for food

    Plastic waste has been building up in the guts of some camels. It may now be killing off one percent of them in the United Arab Emirates each year.

    By Asher Jones