What do you know about moths, besides that they’re attracted to your porch lights? It turns out researchers still have a lot to learn about the many species of moths and the role they play in ecosystems. Ryan Utz is an assistant professor of water resources at Chatham University. But right now, he only has eyes for moths. “It feels like just a wall of gems because you never know what you’re going to find," he says. Utz is talking about a four-by-eight-foot white board. He and his students have

Recycling programs in Michigan have run into some problems. Some, like the University of Michigan's program, cut back on what they take. And businesses are paying some of the highest prices they've seen in recent years to have their leftover material recycled. The folks at Ventura Manufacturing wrote to us to say they're having a hard time finding a good recycling option for their facility in Zeeland. "Right now, there’s not too many people who can recycle," says Franciso Colón with Ventura

There's a building boom for pipelines all across the country right now, and that’s created anxiety about new pipelines close to where people live and work. While the federal government is trying to ratchet up safety rules, there are limits on what these new rules can do.

A team of scientists from the U.S. and Canada are setting sail on Saturday. They’re heading out on a research trip to sample plastic pollution in all five of the Great Lakes. It's part of a project called EXXpedition Great Lakes: seven research boats led by female scientists who are studying microplastic pollution. Microplastic pollution is made up of plastic particles that are five millimeters in diameter, or smaller.

Plants usually don’t get as much love as cute animals. Sometimes it’s hard to get people fired up about an endangered plant. But Jane Kramer’s trying to do that anyway. She’s a fine art photographer. She takes photos of the shadows of rare or threatened plants, and then prints them on paper she makes out of invasive plants like garlic mustard and purple loosestrife.

Robins are considered "super-spreaders" of West Nile virus. They’re especially good at passing the virus to mosquitoes, and mosquitoes, of course, can then pass it to us. It turns out a different bird species – cardinals – might be shielding people from getting the virus in some parts of the country.

Remember all that smelly, brownish-orange water that was coming out of people’s taps in Flint? That was Flint’s water system – the actual pipes – corroding and breaking down, at a rate 15 times faster than they normally would have, says Virginia Tech engineering professor Marc Edwards.

The first six months of this year were the warmest on record. This week, we heard about a deadly anthrax outbreak in Russia that's thought to be the result of permafrost thawing. A new survey finds that fewer Americans doubt that climate change is happening, but it continues to be a highly polarizing issue.

Scientists are trying to find leaky gas wells and pipelines. They want to know how much of this infrastructure is leaking methane - a potent greenhouse gas. Naomi Zimmerman is checking a computer screen inside a white van that looks like it came straight from an episode of Storm Chasers. “There’s a blue line with the green line, but you can’t even see it anymore because the fit is spot on. We’re ready to do our calibrations,” she says.

Consumers Energy in April closed seven of its coal-burning units. DTE Energy plans to shut eight of its coal-burning units by the year 2023. Mark Barteau is Director of the University of Michigan Energy Institute. He says eventually, coal is going away because natural gas, wind and solar are more cost-effective - as well as being better for public health and the planet. "I don't think we are going to see any more coal plants built," he says. "What you have to realize is the units that both DTE