Put on your thickest coats and prepare for a freezing winter. The polar vortex is weakening and that means cold Arctic air is coming your way.

As a result of the polar vortex, the United States and parts of Europe have been experiencing harsh snowstorms. With New York’s highest temperatures barely reaching 16°F (-9°C), major portions of the world continue to undergo unusually cold weather.

Although countries in the northern hemisphere are the most severe victims of the polar vortex, the cold air is still moving southward and chilling even the most tropical areas.

The U.S government shutdown is not only impacting the livelihood of nearly 800,000 people. Even trees are falling victim.

At the Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California, some visitors have been littering the park and destroying the iconic Joshua trees.

The villages of Momai and Bugdoyak are next to each other and hidden in the remote high mountains of Tajikistan.

These two villages were unknown even by the local government until 2013, when Iskandar Karimov, a Tajikistan energy expert, located the two villages from satellite images.

Life in the villages has been peaceful. There are 40 households in Momai and 18 in Bugdoyak. The villagers are self-sufficient with crops and livestock, thanks to the fertile land and abundant water from melting snows and glaciers.

What do you get when you combine a plane, a helicopter, and a blimp? Introducing the Plimp, a new type of aircraft that has features of all three!

James Egan, the inventor, had come up with this idea after attaching a helium balloon to one of his wooden gliders.

James and his brother finally revealed their product earlier this month as a drone prototype, and they plan to expand their dream into creating a safer aircraft that can carry passengers in the near future.

But how exactly does the plimp work? 

First, The Blimp

The sight is enough to shock anyone who has seen it. Dozens of whales lie unconscious on the shore of a picturesque beach as their fins are slowly dried out by the searing sun.

This describes the recent tragedy that left 51 pilot whales lifeless and stranded on New Zealand's Chatham Islands. 

However, this was not the only incident. Just a few days earlier, on November 26th, a hiker on New Zealand's remote Rakiura/Stewart Island spotted 145 pilot whales -- the fourth of five strandings that week.

A recent study shows that melting permafrost in western Canada is leaking acid and threatening the surrounding environment.

Permafrost is ground containing soil, rock, and minerals and that remains frozen for at least two consecutive years.

While two years may not seem like a long time, did you know that most of the world's current permafrost was formed more than 11,000 years ago during cold glacial periods?

Now, these areas of permafrost are thawing in the northern parts of America, Europe, and Asia due to global warming.

On Thursday, November 8, a wildfire began in the Plumas National Forest in northern California. Within hours, it grew to epic proportions, fanned by 50 miles per hour winds.

The retirement community of Paradise, California was caught off guard.

Panicked residents fled town, some driving with fires raging on either side of the road. Camp Fire, as the wildfire is known, has scorched 140 acres, destroyed nearly 12,000 buildings, and left 63 dead. More than 600 residents are still missing. 

We use plastic products every day -- we drink from plastic water bottles, eat from plastic containers and use plastic packaging.

All these products end up in our environment, polluting our environments and ecosystem as we have written here. But the influence of plastics may extend beyond harming marine life.

Have you wondered what composting means, and why it is better for our environment? 

Composting is the process by which organic matter decomposes to produce a nutrient-rich soil called humus.

Organic matter includes fruits, vegetables, coffee grounds, tea bags, nut shells, shredded paper, plant trimmings, hair, fireplace ashes, and wood chips. The ideal conditions include warm temperatures, nutrients, moisture, and oxygen.

In today’s world, rice accounts for 20% of calories consumed globally. This is a trend that shows no signs of slowing down.

Over the next few decades, global rice consumption is projected to rise from 420 million tons today to 525 million tons in 2050. But rice farmers have no need to worry...