Pollution

Increase your awareness about the impact of different kinds of pollution – including air, water, soil, light, and noise pollution – and the efforts being made to mitigate them.
Cigarette butts overflowing outdoor ashtray
It's Time to Ban Cigarette Filters
Plants and small barnacles growing on a piece of plastic
Unexpected Species Are Colonizing Rafts of Plastic Debris in the High Seas
Space junk around planet earth
With 100 Trillion Bits of Old Satellites Circling the Planet, Scientists Call for Action on Space Junk
A hand holding a pile of plastic peices and sand
Ocean Plastic Sees Staggering Increase Since 2005, Study Finds
Blue Marlin and Humpback Red Snapper fish glide over a colorful ocean reef full of coral plants
How Does Mercury Get in Fish?
View Of Calm Beach Against Blue Sky
Sea Spray at California Beach Comes with Aerosolized Raw Sewage
Houses and Park Beside Huge Oil Refinery in East Toledo, Ohio - Aerial
EPA Launches $550 Million Program for Environmental Justice Grants
do not hve a gas stove on an island
US Considers Gas Stove Regulations as Research Mounts on Indoor Air Pollution Risks
Cigarette butts on beach
Tobacco Companies to Pay for Cigarette Butt Pollution in Spain
All spacecraft that land on Mars eject equipment – like this protective shell – on their way to the Martian surface.
Mars Is Littered With 'Much More' Than 16,000 Pounds of Human Trash
New York City noise map
Noise Pollution Maps Offer a Nightmare Feast for the Senses
Corner of Liberty and Fifth Avenues
It's Time to Get Serious About Particulate Pollution
Shell Oil Spill Pollutes Water In Nigeria
Court Orders Shell to Pay for Nigerian Oil Spills
Plastic litter on the beach
Answer a Trivia Question, Help Save the Ocean
Cooking in Chinese Restaurant
San Francisco Bans New Natural Gas Hookups
signing a paper receipt
Report Shows Fewer Paper Receipts Handed Out in 2020
5 Types of Light Pollution and Their Environmental Impact
5 Ways You Can Reduce Light Pollution
smog contains PM 2.5
Is Particulate Matter a Big Deal?
The 10 Worst Forms of Pollution
Close Up Of Scattered Pink Glitter With Bottle On Table - stock photo
What Is Glitter? Environmental Impact and Sustainable Alternatives
Plastic disposable food containers
What Are Bioplastics? Overview and Impacts
Pollution from cars
Scientists Identify How Particulate Pollution Triggers Lung Cancer
A boat works to collect oil that has leaked from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico on April 28, 2010 near New Orleans, Louisiana.
Human Hair Is a Surprising Secret Weapon for Cleaning Up Oil Spills
washer and dryer
Tumble Dryers Spew Microfibers Into Surrounding Air
microplastic particles
Microplastic Particles Are Found Deep in Human Lungs
Acid mine drainage and toxic water in abandoned pyrite mine
What Is Acid Mine Drainage? Definition, Causes, and Examples
High Angle View Of Bingham Canyon Mine
What Is Open-Pit Mining? Definition, Examples, and Environmental Impact
An emissions plume rises from the Mitchell Power Station, a coal-fired power plant, with the Monongahela River in foreground.
What Is Thermal Pollution?
Tin of paint with sticker showing high percentage of VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) contributing to atmospheric pollution
What Are Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)? Definition, Examples, and How to Avoid Them
Chris Roxburgh, scuba diver in Great Lakes
Underwater Photographer Reveals Plastic Pollution in Great Lakes
Empty colored carbonated drink bottles. Plastic waste
What Is BPA? Definition and Environmental Impact
The oil drilling platform Holly near Huntington Beach, California, with Catalina Island in background
Why Do Oil Spills Happen? Causes, Examples, and Prevention
A U.S. Air Force plane spraying Agent Orange over Vietnam, May, 1970
Understanding Agent Orange: History, Impacts, and Environmental Justice
plastic in food
Microplastics in the Air You Breathe and the Food You Eat
Aerial view of dump or landfill in forest. Pollution concept, top view.
What Is Soil Pollution? Environmental Impacts and Mitigation
Eutrophication
What Is Nutrient Pollution? Causes, Impacts, and Mitigation
Oil spill cleanup workers in yellow hazmat gear and hard hats shovel oil-contaminated sand along a beach with clear plastic bags in foreground.
Oil Spill Cleanups: Common Methods and Their Effectiveness
An overview of Hawaii's Hanauma Bay
Sunscreen Pollution Threatens Hawaii’s Hanauma Bay
Air pollution caused by traffic in Beijing
How Much Air Pollution Comes From Cars?
Dead coral reefs in shallow water
What Are Ocean Dead Zones? Definition, Causes, and Impact
Pedestrians walk through a cloud of dust and diesel exhaust from a transit bus near Yosemite Village, June 16, 2000 in Yosemite National Park, California.
What Is Black Carbon? Overview, Impacts, and Mitigation Strategies
Downtown Los Angeles skyscrapers at smoggy sunrise
What Is Air Pollution? Definition, Types, and Environmental Impact
Turkish sea snot
Troubling 'Sea Snot' Takes Over Turkish Coastlines
Four fried eggs
What Are PFAS? Definition, Sources, and Health Risks
Oil Flare Stack
What Is Methane, and Why Should You Care?
High Angle View Of Buildings In City At Sunset
New York Has a Massive Building Air Pollution Problem
Aerial top drone view of garbage pile, trash dump, landfill, waste from household dumping site. Consumerism and contamination concept
DuPont Investors Vote in Favor of Plastic Pollution Transparency
Power Plant in the sunrise
Carbon Emissions by Country: Top 15
The aerial low-altitude scenic view of the Buckingham Park on the Clear Lake, California, with yachts on a moorage. The sunny spring day.
Mercury Pollution in Clear Lake, California: History and Environmental Impact
Platform Alpha drilling rig off the coast of Santa Barbara, California.
The Santa Barbara Oil Spill: History and Impact
scenery above clouds
Microplastics Are 'Spiraling' the Globe Through the Atmosphere, Study Finds
View of Merced River and El Capitan, Yosemite National Park
The Trash Problem in National Parks
Aerial view of San Marino parking lot at sunrise
What Is the Only Nation in the World That Averages More Than One Car per Person?
steam being released from pipes in an industrial setting
What Are Fugitive Emissions? Definition and Impact
Blue Mussels underwater and filtering water in the St. Lawrence in Canada
Cyborg Mussels Could Serve as Environmental Warning Systems
Aerial view of the Kalamazoo River oil spill
Kalamazoo River Oil Spill: Facts and Environmental Impact
TPC Explosion
TPC Explosion: History and Impact
Poor Air Quality Across the U.S. Due to Canada Wildfires
What Does 'Unhealthy Air Quality for Sensitive Groups' Mean?