Smallholder farmers in Gwanda, rural Zimbabwe face droughts and rising temperatures from climate change. Their environment is also being damaged by artisanal gold miners, new research has found.
Microplastics are a growing problem in bodies of water around the world, including the St. Lawrence River and its estuary, which drain approximately 25 per cent of the world’s fresh water. This 2020 photo shows microplastic debris in Depoe Bay, Ore.
(AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)
Valérie S. Langlois, Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS); Julien Gigault, Université Laval; Raphaël Lavoie, Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), and To Tuan Anh, Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS)
New research shows an abundance of microplastics in the St. Lawrence River and its estuary, where 45 million people live and is home home to several million animals, invertebrates and plants.
Environmental literacy is low among Ghanaian students.
David Dorey/Getty
The record-breaking and destructive forest fires of the summer of 2023 made headlines. But how did they affect the millions of lakes in the burned catchment areas?
Researchers found blood-lead levels in sparrows were a predictable indicator of blood-lead levels in children – showing how humans and nature are inextricably linked.
The Sapref oil refinery (seen in 2014) has been sold to the state-owned Central Energy Fund for R1, or a few US cents.
L C Swart/Shutterstock
South Africa’s state-owned Central Energy Fund has paid five US cents, or one rand, for a huge oil refinery that isn’t in working condition. The public may have to foot the bill to clear up oil leaks.
Sargassum washes ashore in large, smelly mats. Clearing it away isn’t easy.
Lhote/Andia/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Farah Nibbs, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
A leading driver of this seaweed invasion is pollution, carried down rivers and into the Atlantic Ocean from the continents.
Acid Mine Drainage in Gauteng, South Africa, has polluted the water and soil in Soweto.
Courtesy Professor Craig Sheridan, University of the Witwatersrand
Modern pharmaceuticals have saved millions of lives, however, there is growing concern that these same drugs may pose a real ecological concern for human and non-human life alike.
States are once again turning to desalination to secure freshwater supplies. The problem is, they’re often choosing the wrong spot for ecosystems and fisheries
Gypsy and Traveller communities have long suffered from inadequate housing solutions.
Raymond Orton/Alamy
Among the poisons found in 36% of the frogs tested, rodenticide was detected for the first time. Pesticides are considered a threat to hundreds of amphibian species.
Ian Myles, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
From synthetic fabrics to car exhaust to wildfires, exposure to environmental pollutants push the skin microbiome to adapt in ways that reduce its ability to protect the skin.