Pollution

Pollution has caused the Anacostia River to suffer, writes Ryan Donahue, and efforts to revitalize the area were put on hold just as the recession began. Since then, the District has implemented programs to help restore this neglected area.

Deadly algae and invasive species are choking the life out of Lake Erie. It recovered from near-death 40 years ago, but the regulations that helped save it last time are under increasing attack.

Pollution is threatening the structural integrity of the Taj Mahal, prompting local officials to scramble for ways to preserve the historic site.

Not that it's a real surprise that trees clean the air, but a new study shows that greenery in cities can have a significant effect on air quality.

This post from Mother Nature Network lists the 12 cities that are the worst for allergy sufferers.

When Los Angeles drained Owens Lake to bring water into its quickly growing urban basin, it simultaneously created a dry lakebed and one of the worst dust pollution problems in America. Various efforts to fight the problem have only failed.

A new report sheds major doubt on some of the emerging Chinese cities' abilities to grow in a sustainable manner.

A group of researchers and activists met recently to discuss the role of goods movement and logistics in and around ports, and how the industry contributes to local pollution problems and skews highway spending.

Cities, not the agriculture heavy Central Valley, are the source of most of the runoff and pollution that enters the San Francisco Bay, according to a new report.

Locals in Walnut Creek are up in arms over a proposed In-N-Out Burger. Columnist Tom Barnidge says that while "provincialism often is the catalyst for complaint," there is reason to protest in this case.

Urban runoff and contaminated water are creating major ecological damage, even in the United States. One design competition has the goal of rethinking how we handle this crucial resource.

As rural and urban runoff taints the waters of the Yangtze River in China, environmentalists have joined forces with Coca-Cola to try to improve water quality -- a move that's good for water users in China, and for the water-dependent business.

Researchers estimate that roughly three-quarters of the oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico is still dangerously concentrated in the water, a claim that disputes official word from the government that much of the oil has been safely dispersed.

This piece from Next American City looks at pollution in small town New Mexico and how court rulings have made it hard for a local organization -- and those in other communities -- to fight environmental battles.

A 50-acre section of the Los Angeles suburb of Carson is contaminated with methane gas and benzene. Owners of the 285 homes in the area are left with few options.

Certain fertilizers will be banned from use during summer months and rainy times of the year in Pinellas County, Florida after a recent ruling by the County Commission.

Winter brings snowy conditions to roads in many cities, and many react with snow-melting salt solutions. But the physical and environmental damage of salt is leading some to look for other means of fighting the freeze.

American drinking water meets federal safety standards, but some say it's only because those standards are far too low and don't accurately reflect the potential for contamination.

New York City's Gowanus Canal has been heavily polluted for years. Mayor Bloomberg said the cleanup would happen, but it never did. Now the EPA is calling the troubled waterway a Superfund site and the city is kickstarting action.