Environment

Animals

Wind farms: Restaurants for seals?

Scientists have tracked harbor seals visiting the turbines of ocean wind farms. The predators may be drawn by fish that make their homes in the artificial reefs created by the manmade structures.

Environment

Watering plants with wastewater can spread germs

Recycled waste water may slake the thirst of outdoor plants. But it also can spread bacteria, a new study finds — germs that antibiotics may not be able to kill.

Environment

Explainer: What are endocrine disruptors?

Some chemicals can act like hormones, turning on or off important processes in cells. That can harm development or even trigger disease.

Environment

Bug-killer linked to decline in birds

One of the most popular chemicals used to protect crops from bugs may also take a toll on birds, a Dutch study finds. U.S. farmers also rely on these insecticides, a second study finds.

Environment

Seeing red: North’s CO2 hits new peak

CO2 values are now 50 percent higher than before the Industrial Revolution.

Environment

Native ‘snot’

The ‘rock snot’ choking rivers may be native algae. Experts blame its sudden and dramatic emergence on changes in Earth’s atmosphere, soils and climate.

Climate

Arctic sends weird weather south

Arctic warming is affecting weather farther south, where most of the world lives. The impacts are especially worrisome for agriculture.

Environment

Burning to learn

Fires cause billions of dollars of destruction to homes and forests every year. But not all fires are bad, especially for forests. With a better understanding of fire, scientists can both help people prevent dangerous fires — and identify which ones it would be better to let burn.

Environment

Explainer: How and why fires burn

A fire’s colorful flame results from a chemical reaction known as combustion.

Environment

China exports pollution alongside goods

Many companies have moved the plants that make their products to developing countries, such as China. But the pollution linked to making those products can travel around the world.

Animals

Birds versus windows

Buildings in the United States can be deadly obstacles to flying birds. A new study estimates that as many as 1 billion birds die every year after colliding with windows. And low buildings — not skyscrapers — account for most of those deaths.

Earth

Mining metals amidst seafloor animals

Miners may need to get their feet — and everything else — wet as they carefully seek out loads of copper and other valuable natural resources.