Environment | Science News for Students

Environment

a satellite image of wildfires

 Wildfires near the Mackenzie River in Canada’s Northwest Territories. A European Space Agency satellite, called the Copernicus Sentinel-2, snapped this image on July 27.

Pierre Markuse/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Weather & Climate
 
Sep 10, 2019
Record heat is burning the Arctic and melting Greenland’s ice
a photo of clouds glowing blue after twilight

Noctilucent clouds glow in blue hues after twilight. They are rare in non-polar skies. But with climate change, that might change, scientists report.

Sjo/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Weather & Climate
 
Aug 2, 2019
Explainer: Why some clouds glow in the dark
a photo of a suburban road lined with trashcans and trees

Many cities plant trees to absorb CO2 and stop temperatures from rising to dangerous levels. But a new study shows city trees grow faster and die younger than forest trees. That means city trees will absorb less CO2.

mastersky/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Environment
 
Jun 18, 2019
City living makes trees grow fast but die young
a Syrian boy sitting in a refugee camp with his head on his hand

A Syrian boy sits in a refugee camp after civil war destroyed towns and rural areas throughout his country. Some scientists believe climate stresses could have played a role in triggering or worsening the Syrian conflict.

cloverphoto/iStock/Getty Images plus

Science & Society
 
May 23, 2019
Could climate change worsen global conflict?
a photo of food cooking on a stovetop with a turkey in the background

Cooking for Thanksgiving or other holidays releases lots of chemicals into the air. Some are good, and some not so good.

skynesher/E+/Getty Images

Environment
 
May 13, 2019
Studies show how homes can pollute indoor air
a photo of the Pyrenees mountains in Europe

This part of the Pyrenees mountains in Europe looks remote and clean. But tiny bits of plastic fall here every day, scientists are finding.

G. Le Roux

Environment
 
May 7, 2019
Microplastics are blowing in the wind
a pile of haddock fish

Increasing ocean temperatures have caused populations of many fish and shellfish to plummet. As a result, the amount that can be caught without depleting fish populations has declined by an average of 4.1 percent worldwide.

NEFSC/NOAA

Oceans
 
Apr 11, 2019
Oceans’ fever means fewer fish
a photo of a path through a forest lush with greenery

When most people think about life on Earth, they imagine animals. But animals are only a small part of the planet’s life, at least as measured by mass. Overall, green plants dominate.

quickshooting/iStockphoto

Environment
 
Mar 28, 2019
Life on Earth is mostly green
a photo of a scientist measuring permafrost along a lakeshore in northern Alaska

As climate change brings warmer temperatures to the Arctic, the permafrost along this lakeshore in northern Alaska is thawing and falling apart.

Benjamin Jones/USGS

Earth
 
Feb 22, 2019
Earth’s permafrost is heating up
a photo of Steve Perlman rappeling down a verdant cliff over turquoise waters

Steve Perlman rappels down a cliff in the Wailau Valley on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. He is a botanist who has spent the last 45 years searching for, and protecting, rare plants

Hank Oppenheimer

Plants
 
Feb 7, 2019
Rare-plant hunters race against time to save at-risk species