Monks Mound is a large Pre-Columbian pyramid and was made by Native Americans around 900-950 CE in what is now Illinois. traveler1116 / iStock / Getty Images
Climate change may have contributed to the fall of North America's first and largest pre-European city — and the proof may be in the poop, researchers said this week. A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences details how fecal records linked to Cahokia, one of the most prominent agricultural sites in North America, gives clues into how declining precipitation and serious flood events may have impacted the population of the city, which is located outside of modern-day St. Louis.
Christopher Columbus landing in 1492, depicted in a painting in the San Juan, Puerto Rico Capitol building. Jimmy Everson, DVM / Flickr
The widespread genocide of Native Americans by European colonizers between the 16th and 17th century killed so many that it helped cool the globe, according to new research.
A study published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews calculates that the 56 million indigenous deaths across the Americas caused by disease and European-led massacres led to the overgrowth and reforesting of large tracts of agricultural land, contributing to a 0.15C degree drop in the early 1600s known as the Little Ice Age.
The W. A. Parish Power Plant, owned by NRG Energy, is one of the largest coal-fired power plants in the U.S. Roy Luck / CC BY 2.0
Power plants across Texas are leaching toxins into groundwater, according to new research. A report released this week from the Environmental Integrity Project found that all of the state's 16 coal-fired power plants are leaching contaminants from coal ash into the ground, and almost none of the plants are properly lining their pits to prevent leakage.
Anacortes refineries seen from Mount Erie. Robert Ashworth / CC BY 2.0
The fossil-fuel-funded campaign to defeat the carbon tax ballot measure in Washington State is attracting enormous sums of money as well as charges of dubious outreach efforts towards minority communities.
A review of state data by Reuters shows that the oil industry has spent more than $30 billion dollars to fight the measure—double the amount of money spent by pro-initiative groups, and the most money ever spent to defeat a ballot measure in Washington.
Alan Majchrowicz / Photographer's Choice / Getty Images
The Trump administration's push to open up federal lands for oil and gas drilling, following successful lobbying from industry, is transforming swathes of the country, the New York Times reported in a comprehensive new piece.
Flooding from Hurricane Florence has activated dormant "gallnipper" (Psorophora ciliata) eggs, among others, leading to the hatching of billions of unusually large mosquitoes.
Unchecked climate change will rapidly change the United States' national park system, which has warmed twice as fast on average as the rest of the country between 1895 and 2010, new research shows.
Rain covers the city lying on the path of Typhoon Mangkhut as residents prepare its approach on Sept. 14 in Tuguegarao city, northern Philippines. Jes Aznar / Getty Images News / Getty Images
Millions of people, including 1 million living below the poverty line, are directly in the path of powerful super typhoon Mangkhut as the 550-mile-wide storm churns towards the Philippines.
The Trump administration is planning to roll back Obama-era rules on methane emissions from oil and gas production, the New York Times reported Monday.
Solar panels are mounted atop the roof of the Los Angeles Convention Center on Sept. 5 in Los Angeles. Mario Tama / Getty Images News
California Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday signed a law to require that 100 percent of the state's electricity come from renewable sources by 2045, making it the second state after Hawaii to set such a mandate.
Schools across the northeastern U.S. are cutting the school days short this week as extreme heat and a lack of air conditioning combine to make dangerous conditions inside classrooms.
