News & Commentary

Hey, Congress, Quit Blaming the EPA

August 18, 2015 DispatchColoradoBrian Palmer

We’ve created a situation where one bad call can contaminate 300 miles of river with toxic metals. That’s a systemic failure, not an individual failure.

The Impacts of a Tar Sands Oil Spill

August 17, 2015 ExplainerCanada

Tar sands oil is harder to clean up than conventional crude. Here are the reasons why.

Polly Want a DNA Test?

August 13, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesJason Bittel

A new study looks at how genetic analysis can help fight the exotic pet trade.

10 Threats from the Canadian Tar Sands Industry

August 13, 2015 ExplainerCanadaNicole Greenfield

At every turn, the Tar Sands Invasion would put people and the environment in harm's way.

Up (and Down) a Creek

August 11, 2015 Latest NewsColoradoClara Chaisson

Here’s what you need to know about the EPA spilling three million gallons of wastewater into a Colorado river.

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (from Distant Flames)

August 7, 2015 ExplainerUnited States, Colorado, Alaska, CaliforniaAlisa Opar

Wildfires may be harming the health of people who live hundreds or thousands of miles from the flames.

Want to Collect Some Whale Snot?

August 7, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesBrian Palmer

Here’s your chance to contribute to an exciting—albeit slightly gross—new form of whale research.

Wildfires are taking the frost out of permafrost

August 7, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesPerrin Ireland

A weekly roundup of the best in science journalism, doodled.

So You Want to Talk about Lions…

August 5, 2015 Latest NewsInternationalJason Bittel

If #CeciltheLion got you mad about big cat trophies, wait until you hear what they’re doing with the bones.

Killer Snails vs. River Prawns

August 3, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesJason Bittel

Restoring an ecosystem may protect millions of people from a deadly (yet neglected) tropical disease.

Cracking an Otter Mystery

July 31, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesPerrin Ireland

Otters may be able to tell us a lot about tool-using cultures in animals—but they’re not making it easy for us.

This Plant Defends Its Sexual Organs with an Army of the Dead

July 30, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesPerrin Ireland

A weekly roundup of the best in science journalism, doodled.

The Algae That (Almost) Ate Toledo

July 27, 2015 DispatchToledo, OhioBarry Yeoman

Summertime in Toledo: Lakeside barbecues, Mud Hens double-headers, and toxic algae blooms.

Less Mercury Pollution, Less Mercury in Bluefish. Hmm…

July 23, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesPerrin Ireland

A weekly roundup of the best in science journalism, doodled.

Rapid Warming (Not Hunters) Killed the Woolly Mammoth

July 23, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesBrian Palmer

More evidence that nature is bigger than us.

Don't Drink Porpoise Milk

July 22, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesBrian Palmer

It still contains PCBs.

Remember the Kalamazoo

July 21, 2015 DispatchMichiganBrian Palmer

Five years ago, a pipeline spilled a million gallons of tar sands crude into a Michigan river—and we’re still cleaning it up.

CSI: Seahorse Key

July 21, 2015 Latest NewsFloridaJason Bittel

When birds suddenly up and abandon their nests by the thousands, who or what is to blame?

Dead Bear Walking

July 17, 2015 Latest NewsArcticBrian Palmer

Will “walking hibernation” help polars bears survive climate change?

And I Thought They Were God's Sneezes...

July 17, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesBrian Palmer

A new study shows where clouds come from—and what that means for climate research.