Kids News - Environment Articles

On Monday, January 23rd, a pilot flying over New Zealand saw what is unfortunately starting to become a common sight - A large pod of stranded whales struggling to survive, at the base of Farewell Spit in Golden Bay, located in the country's South Island. Since then, over two hundred volunteers have been working day and night, to keep the mammals warm, and help them refloat. The saga finally ended on Wednesday morning, with mixed results....

It seems that we may have a new ally in our quest to reduce global warming - A molecule that goes by the name of Criegee biradica or Criegee Intermediate. If experts are to be believed, this newly discovered oxidizer that is present in our atmosphere has the potential to cool down the Earth and help offset global warming....

It is quite ironic that while we are able to send a man to the moon, we are unable to provide something as basic as electricity to everybody in the world. Sadly though, that is the case. An astounding 1.6 billion people or over 20% of the world's population have no power but instead, rely on rudimentary forms of light, like kerosene lamps that are not only inefficient, but also, dangerous and toxic....

Imagine if 'doing' laundry meant wearing your dirty clothes and lounging in the sun. If researchers from China's Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Hubei University of Nationalities have their way, that may actually be a reality, in the not so distant future....

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is an international non-profit organization that is constantly trying to remind us to do the right thing to save the Earth - whether it be by protecting endangered wildlife and environments, reversing global warming or, using our limited natural resources in a sustainable manner....

Honeybee hive hierarchy is well documented - The queen bee gives birth to every bee in the hive, drones mate with the queen and immediately die or get kicked out, while worker bees ensure that the hive functions like clockwork. Now it seems, that South American honeybees have added an additional role - that of a soldier bee....

Recreating spider silk, the flexible yet tough as steel strands of protein, spun by the arachnids, has been the holy grail of material scientists for many years now. However, making it in bulk has been a little elusive, thanks to the fact that spiders are very territorial and devour each other if placed in very close quarters...

On Wednesday, December 7th, some lucky Tauranga students got to participate in the release of 49 Little Blue Penguins back to the ocean. These tiny flightless birds were the fourth batch of penguins to be released from the group 343 oiled birds, rescued and nursed back to health, following what was one of New Zealand's worst pollution disasters....

Looking for something offbeat to do this Christmas vacation? How about the Ice Hotel? Located in the village of Jukkasjarvi, 200 km north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden, it is as the name indicates, built entirely from ice blocks lugged in from the nearby Torne River....