Cars that eat paradise

While known for pristine beaches and blue skies, Pacific Islands are also polluted with thousands of man-made monuments: rusting cars, trucks and other wreckage.

A plasticene lexicon

As plastic pollution in the environment has increased rapidly in the last half century, so too has the study of the effects of plastic on marine, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. From this research, a series of new terms has emerged to describe the phenomena unique to the presence of plastic-based materials in nature.

New European rules aim to end throwaway culture

The European Commission has announced a plan to require manufacturers to make products that last longer and are easier to repair and reuse — an attempt to curb the “throwaway culture” that has fueled greenhouse gas emissions, resource extraction, and pollution. The new rules would take effect by 2021.

Ocean oddities: ghost ships

As long as a boat stays afloat, it can still keep moving, even if there is no one onboard. For vessels abandoned at sea, currents and winds become captain and crew. With that endless kinetic energy to drive them, and a vast, often empty ocean to roam, the ghost ships may eerily sail on indefinitely.