Environment

Starting this week, Wal-Mart, America's largest grocer, says it will start piloting sales of weather-dented apples at a discount in 300 of its Florida stores.

Wal-Mart, America's Largest Grocer, Is Now Selling Ugly Fruit And Vegetables

4:55pm July 20, 2016

by Maria Godoy

Lots of tasty, nutritious produce ends up in landfills because it doesn't meet retail beauty standards. Now Wal-Mart is testing sales of wonky apples and spuds in hundreds of Texas and Florida stores.

Taking The Battle Against Lyme Disease Ticks To The Backyard

4:17pm July 20, 2016

by Carolyn Beans

Scientists have tested all sorts of strategies to keep Lyme disease ticks from biting us. One is to make it less likely you'll cross paths with the critters in your yard. Sawdust mulch, anyone?

Cargo ships berth in Qingdao, a port city on China's east coast.

The Smoggy Seas: Cargo Ships Bring Pollution, Health Risks

6:00pm July 19, 2016

by Natalie Jacewicz

Eight of the 10 busiest ports are in East Asia. A new study shows how the growing number of cargo ships are polluting the air and threatening health.

NASA Scientists Predict Another All-Time Heat Record For 2016

4:29pm July 19, 2016

by Christopher Joyce

During the 12 months from May 2015 to May 2016, each month set an all-time heat record. That's on average around the world. Some places were not record breakers, but overall, global warming is increasing. NASA scientists talk about what the rest of this year may look like, and whether it will set yet another global record.

An image taken from a document filed in court Tuesday includes an example of the advertising Volkswagen executives used to sell the idea of "clean" diesel technology to U.S. consumers.

Environment

States' Lawsuits Say VW Execs Ran A Cover-Up Of Diesel Emissions Cheating

2:35pm July 19, 2016

by Bill Chappell

Citing "a culture of deeply-rooted corporate arrogance" at Volkswagen, New York and Massachusetts have filed civil lawsuits against the carmaker.

A bumblebee grooms her fur — and her tongue — to get at the pollen grains she vibrated free from the anthers.

WATCH: The Secret Buzz Only Bumblebees Know To Unlock Our Favorite Crops

11:09am July 19, 2016

by Lisa Marie Potter

Some plants will release their pollen only to bees that buzz in just the right way. It's a risky strategy — and it's critical to human agriculture, from tomatoes to blueberries.

Marine ecologist Neil Hammerschlag says he can sometimes identify sharks like Emma (pictured) by the way they move. "It's pretty cool to be able to jump in the water and say, 'Hey look, there's Emma the tiger shark!' "

A Marine Ecologist On Swimming With Sharks And What 'Jaws' Got Wrong

6:17pm July 14, 2016

Neil Hammerschlag has looked inside the mouth of a wild tiger shark and lived to tell the tale. He says that sharks pose only a very small risk to people: "Humans are not on the shark's menu."

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Not In My Landfill: Georgia Residents Fight Plan To Store Toxic Coal Ash

4:26pm July 12, 2016

by Molly Samuel

In 2014, after disastrous spills and opposition from environmentalists, the Environmental Protection Agency imposed new rules on the storage of coal ash. Now utilities are planning to close down the ponds that hold the toxic ash, but it has to go somewhere. Environmentalists say the safest place for it is in securely lined landfills, such as the municipal landfill in Wayne County, Ga. Locals are fighting the plan, but there's not much they can do.

Logger Greg Hemmerich and his crew feed low-value trees into a wood chipper, before bringing the chips to ReEnergy Holdings' biomass plant in Lyonsdale, N.Y.

Is Burning Trees Still Green? Some Experts Now Question Biomass

12:43pm July 12, 2016

by David Sommerstein

Biomass was rising a decade ago as a carbon-neutral energy. But the industry is sputtering as oil and natural gas booms, and some scientists are questioning if it's actually good for the environment.

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About 70 percent of Earth is covered by clouds at any given moment. Their interaction with climate isn't easy to study, scientists say; these shape-shifters move quickly.

Climate Change May Already Be Shifting Clouds Toward The Poles

6:38pm July 11, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Scientists who have been tracking cloud patterns over the past two decades say the shifts they're seeing seem to correlate closely with what's predicted by computer models of Earth's changing climate.

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