Pollution

Increase your awareness about the impact of different kinds of pollution – including air, water, soil, light, and noise pollution – and the efforts being made to mitigate them.
Polluting clouds of exhaust fumes rise in the air
Ozone Levels Have Been Rising Over Northern Hemisphere
He's going the distance! He's going for speed!
Driving Cars Is by Far the Largest Cause of Microplastic Pollution in Oceans
Cooking in Chinese Restaurant
San Francisco Bans New Natural Gas Hookups
Plastic bottles at a recycling factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
US Top Contributor to Coastal Plastic Pollution Crisis
Delivery Zero at Just Salad
DeliverZero Lets New Yorkers Order Food in Reusable Containers
signing a paper receipt
Report Shows Fewer Paper Receipts Handed Out in 2020
jars of colorful glitter
How Glitter Could Be Damaging Rivers
Albatross with fish
Study Confirms Global Threat of Plastic Pollution to Seabirds
brightly colored leggings
More Synthetic Microfibers Now End up on Land Than in Water
Plastic disposable food containers
What Are Bioplastics? Overview and Impacts
Pollution from cars
Scientists Identify How Particulate Pollution Triggers Lung Cancer
A boat works to collect oil that has leaked from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico on April 28, 2010 near New Orleans, Louisiana.
Human Hair Is a Surprising Secret Weapon for Cleaning Up Oil Spills
washer and dryer
Tumble Dryers Spew Microfibers Into Surrounding Air
microplastic particles
Microplastic Particles Are Found Deep in Human Lungs
Acid mine drainage and toxic water in abandoned pyrite mine
What Is Acid Mine Drainage? Definition, Causes, and Examples
High Angle View Of Bingham Canyon Mine
What Is Open-Pit Mining? Definition, Examples, and Environmental Impact
An emissions plume rises from the Mitchell Power Station, a coal-fired power plant, with the Monongahela River in foreground.
What Is Thermal Pollution? Causes, Impact, and Mitigation
Tin of paint with sticker showing high percentage of VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) contributing to atmospheric pollution
What Are Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)? Definition, Examples, and How to Avoid Them
Chris Roxburgh, scuba diver in Great Lakes
Underwater Photographer Reveals Plastic Pollution in Great Lakes
Empty colored carbonated drink bottles. Plastic waste
What Is BPA? Definition and Environmental Impact
The oil drilling platform Holly near Huntington Beach, California, with Catalina Island in background
Why Do Oil Spills Happen? Causes, Examples, and Prevention
A U.S. Air Force plane spraying Agent Orange over Vietnam, May, 1970
Understanding Agent Orange: History, Impacts, and Environmental Justice
plastic in food
Microplastics in the Air You Breathe and the Food You Eat
Aerial view of dump or landfill in forest. Pollution concept, top view.
What Is Soil Pollution? Environmental Impacts and Mitigation
Eutrophication
What Is Nutrient Pollution? Causes, Impacts, and Mitigation
Oil spill cleanup workers in yellow hazmat gear and hard hats shovel oil-contaminated sand along a beach with clear plastic bags in foreground.
Oil Spill Cleanups: Common Methods and Their Effectiveness
An overview of Hawaii's Hanauma Bay
Sunscreen Pollution Threatens Hawaii’s Hanauma Bay
Air pollution caused by traffic in Beijing
How Much Air Pollution Comes From Cars?
Dead coral reefs in shallow water
What Are Ocean Dead Zones? Definition, Causes, and Impact
Pedestrians walk through a cloud of dust and diesel exhaust from a transit bus near Yosemite Village, June 16, 2000 in Yosemite National Park, California.
What Is Black Carbon? Overview, Impacts, and Mitigation Strategies
Downtown Los Angeles skyscrapers at smoggy sunrise
What Is Air Pollution? Definition, Types, and Environmental Impact
Turkish sea snot
Troubling 'Sea Snot' Takes Over Turkish Coastlines
Four fried eggs
What Are PFAS? Definition, Sources, and Health Risks
Oil Flare Stack
What Is Methane, and Why Should You Care?
High Angle View Of Buildings In City At Sunset
New York Has a Massive Building Air Pollution Problem
Aerial top drone view of garbage pile, trash dump, landfill, waste from household dumping site. Consumerism and contamination concept
DuPont Investors Vote in Favor of Plastic Pollution Transparency
Power Plant in the sunrise
Carbon Emissions by Country: Top 15
The aerial low-altitude scenic view of the Buckingham Park on the Clear Lake, California, with yachts on a moorage. The sunny spring day.
Mercury Pollution in Clear Lake, California: History and Environmental Impact
Platform Alpha drilling rig off the coast of Santa Barbara, California.
The Santa Barbara Oil Spill: History and Impact
scenery above clouds
Microplastics Are 'Spiraling' the Globe Through the Atmosphere, Study Finds
View of Merced River and El Capitan, Yosemite National Park
The Trash Problem in National Parks
Aerial view of San Marino parking lot at sunrise
What Is the Only Nation in the World That Averages More Than One Car per Person?
steam being released from pipes in an industrial setting
What Are Fugitive Emissions? Definition and Impact
Blue Mussels underwater and filtering water in the St. Lawrence in Canada
Cyborg Mussels Could Serve as Environmental Warning Systems
Aerial view of the Kalamazoo River oil spill
Kalamazoo River Oil Spill: Facts and Environmental Impact
TPC Explosion
TPC Explosion: History and Impact
Young girl wearing a protective face mask and checking air pollution with smartphone
What Does "Unhealthy Air Quality for Sensitive Groups" Mean?
Teams of firefighters cleaning the Alaskan coast following the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: History and Impact
Fire that resulted from the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig
BP Oil Spill: Facts and Environmental Impact
Two coal power plant smokestacks against a clear sky.
What Is Coal Ash and How Dangerous Is It?
London sky
PM2.5 From Fossil Fuels Killing Way More People Than Previously Thought
Tents at Everest Base Camp, Everest Region, Nepal
Microplastics Found Near the Top of Mount Everest
5 Ways You Can Reduce Light Pollution
The Latest in Wearables Is the Flow Air Pollution Monitor
Bird with oil on its feathers
How Oil Spills Affect Birds
Cement Production Makes More CO2 Than All the Trucks in the World
The 10 Worst Forms of Pollution
A fireworks display lighting up the sky.
Are Fireworks Bad for the Environment?
6 of the Latest Advances in Oil Spill Cleanup