Private groups are shaping business plans to tap into the resource-rich environs of outer space. Early celestial targets with commercial cross hairs on them are

No U.S. president has waxed as poetically about mining the moon the way John F. Kennedy did about landing on it.

Chessboard-like grid patterns that cover sand dunes in China are explained as attempts at mining nickel in the deserts.

Another study confirms rising levels of mercury emissions worldwide, much of it from gold mining.

The 150-foot-wide asteroid 2012 DA14 may harbor $65 billion of recoverable water and $130 billion in metals.

Researchers stumble upon a method that could replace toxic cyanide with plain old cornstarch.

Eucalyptus trees can hold grains of gold, potentially helping reveal buried treasure.

But for now only the penguins can enjoy them. (Turns out, mining is illegal in Antarctica.)

Buried deep in your cellphone, laptop, and flat-screen television are a bevy of obscure elements that make our modern lives possible.

Photographer explains the story behind Indonesia's majestic Kawah Ijen volcano, which appears to spew eerie blue lava.

The Caterpillar 797 is a 50-foot-tall dump truck widely used in the mining industry. Watch what happens when it faces off against a stationary Land Cruiser.

The mining project, one of the largest ever conceived, could hold $500 billion in gold and copper.

Coudersport Ice Mine is located in the Appalachian Mountains.

The nascent asteroid-mining industry is set to take its first steps into space this summer.

Worth more than $1 million, this gemstone is distinguished for its rich color palette and light-refracting qualities that defy description.

How do you clean up a river? The answer is twofold: treatment and dilution.

Jaguars used to roam all over the Southwest but now are an extreme rarity. And this unique cat is already threatened by the mining industry.

Mountaintop removal mining is one of the most destructive forms of resource extraction, and it's taking its toll.

An eye-catching community sauna is a symbol of rebirth for the arctic mining town of Kiruna, which is being forced to move 2 miles to the east.

Energy prices are going to get more expensive for all of us, but low-income households shouldn't have to shoulder the burden. Here's how we can help them.

The light emitted after the sun sets could be harvested, according to a new study.

Congratulations, washing machine, your lonely days are now over as clothes dryers have become, at long last, eligible for Energy Star certification.

American-style refrigerators don't just waste energy, they can hurt your health and wallet too.

To chill or not to chill? For these items often found in the refrigerator, the answer ranges from 'not always' to a resounding 'never!'

The cloud wastes an awful lot of energy as heat. One company is putting it to good use.

Who said old houses can't learn new energy-saving tricks?

Matching supply to demand is crucial when it comes to energy. And a concept called demand response can help us do it.

Months ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference, French Parliament approves aggressive new commercial building rules.

New EPA regulations will clean up the biggest problem with burning wood: pollution and particulates.

We can't just build better; we have to change the way we live.

And it's potentially more efficient than an LED.

Kitchen exhaust turns out to be a very complicated issue where there is no real consensus.

A UCI scientist accidentally discovered a way to make a rechargeable, lithium-ion battery that could last for 400 years.

With California-based OhmConnect, it's easy being green when you're also earning green.

For starters, it's more energy efficient than a standard door that swings.

From coffee grounds to flushable wipes, avoid these no-nos when rinsing and flushing.

In a place where the streets flood with sewage after it rains, salvation may come in the form of a park.

William Henry Harrison, James K. Polk and Zachary Taylor all died under suspicious circumstances.

The color looks radioactive, but activists promise it is nontoxic and harmless to marine life.

"Ain't No Fish" is a stop-motion animated short film that uses a 1940s show tune to highlight ocean pollution.

A cave in Slovenia has two new baby olms — ghostly 'dragons' that can live for 100 years but rarely reproduce.

Neolithic humans in the Wadi Faynan region of southern Jordan may have polluted the river while first learning how to smelt.

Those who live in the Quebrada Camarones region of South America's Atacama Desert have a remarkable resistance to arsenic, which is in the water.

We know plastic products pollution the ocean, but washing yoga pants, athletic wear and other clothes is a rising cause of concern.

Simple chemical process is cheap and safe, and could soon eliminate BPA as a pollutant.

Officials determined the color is caused by pollution in the nearby Kasadi river, and shut down a factory accused of dumping dye.

With fresh water supplies contaminated by Hurricane Irma, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees are bucking the rules to keep Key deer in Florida alive.

Conservation photographer Ben Von Wong's striking photo campaign aims to raise awareness of how microfibers from our clothes pollute the world's water.

Because of acidic water, volcanic fumes and too much carbon dioxide, you have to watch where you swim in some places in the world.

Untreated, unfiltered water is a pricey new trend that many are buying into — even though "raw" water could really cause you some harm.