EPA is moving to regulate two chemicals from a group called PFAS that are contaminating drinking water. A public health expert explains why the agency should take much broader action.
Researchers collect samples from the abandoned tailings that flow into Long Lake, near Sudbury, Ont.
John Gunn
Snorkeling off the California coast, a high school student found heaps of golf balls on the ocean floor. With a marine scientist, she showed that golf courses were producing tons of plastic pollution.
Applying nitrogen fertilizer to corn at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, a research site in Michigan.
NSF
Fertilizer is a key source of nitrogen pollution which fouls air and water worldwide. Current regulations target farmers, but focusing on producers could spur them to develop greener products.
Hull Peninsula and part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.
Eric Kilby/Flickr
A few decades ago Boston Harbor was one of the nation’s dirtiest water bodies. Now, healthier fish in the harbor underscore that a multibillion-dollar cleanup has succeeded.
A water bridge over the Klip River in Gauteng, South Africa.
Shutterstock
When people form local networks to take care of resources such as drinking water, they strengthen their communities. Technology can support these efforts and promote learning and innovation.
Surface water from the Vaal River is highly polluted with fragments of microplastics.
Flickr/Paul Saad
Roughly 10,000 tons of plastic enter the Great Lakes every year, and scientists want to know where it ends up. There are some parallels to ocean plastics, but also important differences.
Algae cover the surface of the Caloosahatchee River at the W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam, July 12, 2018, in Alva, Florida.
AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
Red tide and a blue-green algae outbreak are fouling hundreds of miles of coast, killing fish and driving tourists away from beaches. Some of the causes are natural, but human actions play a big role.
Plastic bags are commonly mistaken for food by sea animals. They require a lot of energy and resources to be made, and have caused floods in some countries.
In Delhi, middle class residents and informal recyclers joined together to oppose the privatisation of waste management.
EPA
Scientists have mapped a huge dead zone in the Gulf of Oman, without enough oxygen in the water to support life. This Speed Read explains why dead zones form in waters around the world.
Toppled road sign for a closed water distribution center in Flint, Mich.
Cedric Taylor
Michigan officials have ended distribution of free bottled water in Flint, but many residents believe the city’s water crisis is not over and have lost all trust in government.
Long-eared Myotis bat (Myotis septentrionalis), photographed in Arizona.
Srikanth Vk
Scientists often use animals and plants as indicators to assess whether ecosystems are polluted. Tracking bats, which cover wide areas and need clean water, could become a way to find potable water.