Kids News - Environment Articles

Though 70% of the Earth is covered in water, only about 2.5% is fresh. Even worse, only 1% of the fresh water is readily accessible, the rest being trapped in glaciers or deep underground. It is therefore not surprising to hear that over 780 million people worldwide currently do not have easy access to clean water. The problems are only expected to get worse with climate change and the burgeoning world population. Though desalinating sea water is the most logical solution, current techniques are too expensive and cumbersome to deploy on a large scale....

Single-celled amoebae, which resemble small blobs of jelly, are usually of interest only to the researchers that discover them. However, a new South American species is garnering significant attention from fans of the epic Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R.Tolkien. That’s because its unique shell, or carapace, bears a close similarity to the hat donned by Gandalf, the powerful wizard leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West....

Forty-seven years ago, on April 22, 1970, twenty million Americans took to the streets to voice their concern about the deteriorating environment and urge the government to take action before it was too late. The grassroots movement, which is now celebrated by over 2 billion people in 192 countries, led to the enactment of numerous environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act of 1970 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973....

It is a well-known fact that plastic bottles, which take hundreds of years to decompose, are harmful to our environment. However, efforts by environmentalists to encourage consumers to switch to alternatives, like water fountains or reusable bottles, have not been very effective. The U.S. alone utilizes over 50 million plastic bottles annually, 80% of which end up in landfills....

Given that more than 65% of infectious diseases that affect humans originate from other animals, the most logical way to stop them would be to locate the source. However, studying wildlife for clues about the origin of the next epidemic is like looking for a needle in a haystack. As a result, scientists and health officials are forced to combat illnesses like the recent Zika Virus, after they spread....

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU), which promotes and safeguards the science of astronomy, passed a resolution that classified all celestial bodies, (except satellites) in our solar system into three distinct categories – planets, dwarf planets, and small Solar System Bodies. To qualify as a planet, the body had to orbit around the sun, have sufficient mass for its self-gravity to pull it into a round shape, and have cleared the neighborhood around its orbit. Since Pluto did not meet the third criterion, it was downgraded to a dwarf planet....

Like the rest of their species, the Southern Hemisphere humpbacks, or Megaptera novaeangliae, are not social animals. The baleen whales typically prefer to remain solo or amalgamate in small groups which disperse quickly. However, since 2011, researchers from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town have been observing a new phenomenon off the coast of South Africa — large swarms of whales, comprising anywhere from 20 to 200 individuals. Professor Ken Findlay and his team reported seeing 22 instances of the large groups on three different occasions in 2011, 2014, and 2015....

Always wanted to help fight climate change? Then join the Earth Hour party on Saturday, March 25 by turning off all lights from 8:30 — 9:30 PM local time. This small action, taken by hundreds of millions of people around the world, will make a dent in our efforts to reverse global warming. More importantly, it will demonstrate what can be achieved if we all unite to protect our planet....

With its wide canopy of leaves, the majestic 50-feet tall manchineel tree that is native to the Caribbean, Florida, the northern coast of South America, Central America, and the Bahamas, looks particularly inviting, especially on a hot summer day. But you may be wise to heed the warning signs given that the deceptively innocuous tree holds the Guinness World Record for “the world’s most dangerous tree.”...