Monday, June 22, 2026

Pollution

CitiesClimateEcosystemsEnvironmental ScienceHuman Exposure and Public Health
Jessica Espinosa

How Air Pollution Regulation Can Affect Bird Populations

Although we have strong evidence that air pollution poses significant health risks to humans, how air pollutants affect plants and animals is not well studied. Birds are especially susceptible to air pollution because they have a unique way of breathing and interacting with air. Therefore, a group of scientists conducted a study on how air pollution affects North American birds and how air quality regulations, which were initially created to benefit humans, can also benefit these bird species.

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Animal behaviorClimateEcosystemsEnvironmental ScienceHuman Exposure and Public HealthToxicology
Brianne Palmer

The “Heartbreaking” Effect of Algal Blooms – Heart disease and the Southern Sea Otter

Our favorite hand-holding marine mammals, sea otters, are threatened by environmental toxins. Chemicals produced by algae blooms move up the food chain and cause a multitude of diseases in top predators. A new study documented how algae blooms cause heart disease in sea otters, what this means for our own seafood consumption, and proposes solutions to our pollution.

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CitiesClimateEnvironmental Science
Brianne Palmer

Industrial Revolution Pollution Suppresses Succession in Lichen Communities

Lichens are indicators of air pollution and ecosystem health. In London parks, researchers found that historical pollution may have decreased the lichen diversity. Sulfur emissions from the Industrial Revolution and modern nitrogen emissions stall the growth of lichens on urban trees hinting at larger effects on ecosystem health.

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Environmental Science
Mary Davis

Green chemistry can make plastics less painful

Plastics impart a lot of useful properties during a global health pandemic. They’re cheap, disposable, and easy to clean. However, they still present an environmental challenge… read more to find out how green chemistry can help!

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EcosystemsEnvironmental Science
Mary Davis

Pollutants spread too: Contaminants in mountain coal mining runoff transfer to terrestrial systems

Just as the spread of disease can be hard to control, pollutants can transfer between ecosystems, exposing new populations to environmental risks. A collaborative team of environmental scientists are seeking to understand the nature and consequences of the spread of mining pollutants between water- and land-based ecosystems.

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Environmental ScienceRemediation
Mary Davis

Junk food fit for the bugs

Some “food” doesn’t have much nutritional value… and this is certainly true of plastic! Some bug larvae seem to be eating plastic, but they don’t live very long as a result. In a recent study, researchers experimented with different diet supplements to improve larvae’s ability to live off of plastic.

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Case StudiesClimateEcosystemsEnvironmental ScienceRemote EnvironmentsScience through timeToxicology
Anita Masse

Unleashing Pollutants: Environmental Fate of Antarctica In a Warmer World

Antarctica has been a depository for pollutants for decades. The brutal cold has kept them dormant and unable to inflict harmful effects on nature. As temperatures rise and ice melts, what is the fate of these pollutants in this unique landscape?

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Environmental ScienceHuman Exposure and Public HealthScience through time
Jeannie Wilkening

Historical Mercury Pollution: Tree Rings Have the Receipts!

Mercury is a troublesome pollutant in the environment and while we know a lot more about where sources are today, we don’t know as much about where sources were in the past and how high pollution levels were. Luckily, trees can help us to figure that out! Using traces of mercury pollution stored in tree rings, scientists try to see how mercury pollution levels have changed as we’ve become more industrialized.

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Environmental Science
Abigail Bezrutczyk

Planting Trees for your Next Flight: Studying Behavior Around Carbon Offsetting

Want to fly without the carbon guilt? Offsetting programs let you pay to plant trees to take that carbon from the air, and researchers are studying how social factors and global policies might influence these environmentally-minded behaviors.

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EcosystemsEnvironmental ScienceRemediation
Abigail Bezrutczyk

Pollution in Polish Rivers, and the Cucumber Solution

Pollution is dangerous, both to humans and the ecosystems we care about. But researchers in Poland have studied the sources and dynamic movement of pollutants in rivers, and may have found potential in cucumbers to help improve the system.

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