For decades, scientists puzzled over the plastic ‘missing’ from our oceans – but now it’s been found

Of all the plastic that enters Earth’s oceans each year, just 1% has been observed floating on the surface. So where is the rest of it?
Coalition Unveils Recommendations for Continued Recovery 10 Years After Gulf Oil Spill

As the 10th anniversary of the Gulf oil spill approaches on April 20, Restore the Mississippi River Delta released a report today with nine recommended strategies for advancing critical ecosystem restoration in the delta.
The Mediterranean nearly dried up. A cataclysmic flood revived it.

The serene turquoise waters of the Mediterranean Sea hide a sharp-tasting secret: a layer of salt up to two miles thick, lurking deep underneath the basin. Even after decades of study, the details surrounding the sea’s vanishing act and the torrents of water that refilled the basin remain an enduring mystery.
New approach to sustainable building takes shape in Boston

A new building about to take shape in Boston’s Roxbury area could, its designers hope, herald a new way of building residential structures in cities.
This vanishing forest protects the coasts—and lives—of two countries

Rising waters and illicit logging are killing the trees in the Sundarbans, the natural wall that protects the India-Bangladesh coast.
Pemex is illegally destroying protected mangrove trees to build an $8 billion oil refinery

Mexico’s state-owned oil company Pemex has defied a government order by cutting down protected mangrove trees for the construction of an oil refinery. Satellite images show a landscape razed presumably to accommodate the controversial $8 billion project.
Beach sand mining, Chile; Video

Beach sand mining, Chile, a video.
Persistent illegal beach sand mining around Cancun, Quintana Roo State, Yucatan Peninsula

Illegal beach sand mining is a serious problem gravely affecting the coastal environment of the very touristic Quintana Roo State.
Europe Is Shrinking

Across Europe, the sea is encroaching on nearly a fifth of the coastline. While coastal erosion is a global phenomenon, Europe is especially exposed, with the highest ratio of shoreline to total land area of any continent.