Environment

Many objects are made of black plastic, which has so far proven to be very hard to recycle. US scientists have devised a new method of recycling black polystyrene, however, using sunlight and an ingredient that's already present in the plastic.

Drinking water in developed countries is pretty clean, but hidden nasties can still lurk. One mysterious “phantom chemical” has haunted drinking water for decades, and now researchers have identified it – and found it’s completely new to science.

Meteorology may not seem like an eco-unfriendly field, but it does need to clean up its act in at least one way. A new high-tech glider could help it do so, by allowing single-use weather-balloon-carried devices to be reclaimed and reused.

Scientists in Canada have demonstrated a promising new device that can purify a gallon of water a day, for just a few cents per gallon. Better yet, it’s made of old tires, and can even generate small amounts of electricity.

Researchers at UC Berkeley have invented a material in powder form that adsorbs carbon dioxide with astonishing performance. Just 200 g (a little under 0.5 lb) can suck up 44 lb (20 kg) of CO2, the same as a tree does in a year.

Researchers have spent the last few years trying to find which type of plastic biodegrades the fastest. It turns out that a common plastic we've been using for over 100 years does, and they've learned how to accelerate that process.

ExxonMobil just signed a lease for 271,068 acres of undersea land off the coast of Galveston, Texas to capture and permanently inject carbon emissions into the underwater rock bed, making it what will be the largest CO2 dump in the United States.

The dynamic way different-shaped snowflakes perform distinct 'dances' within clouds has been found to influence how much precipitation is likely to form. The discovery of this unique cloud choreography opens the door to precise weather forecasts.

While battery-electric ferry boats may be more eco-friendly and require less maintenance than their diesel-burning counterparts, they're still not perfect. That's why scientists are now looking into powering small ferries using nothing but compressed air.

A 3,775-year-old log discovery has lent credence to the idea of burying wood to sequester the carbon it contains. Known as a wood vault, the concept helps keep CO2 out of the atmosphere while allowing the soil to be used for crops and other purposes.

Thor and the Hulk may be more closely related than we thought. Thunderstorms are known to produce gamma rays in the atmosphere, but a new study has found that not only do they happen way more often than we realized, but they’re much weirder.

A new type of carbon-neutral concrete has been commercially used for the first time, in a skyscraper being built in Manhattan. The binder utilized in the concrete is made of granite instead of traditional greenhouse-gas-emitting limestone cement.

A technique originally developed to combat acid rain has the potential to pull an enormous amount of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere – while helping to deacidify oceans, restore rivers and boost biodiversity and fish populations.

In case you haven't heard, the methane in cow burps is a major source of greenhouse gases. There may be a new way of addressing that problem, however, as a recent study shows that feeding cows clay reduces their methane emissions by over 30%.

The Ocean Cleanup (TOC) project has announced the timeline and cost it would take to get the Great Pacific Garbage Patch cleaned up once and for all, using existing technology – 10 years and 7.5 billion US dollars. And it could be even cheaper.