Tree Hugger

Determining the "windiest place on Earth" depends on how you quantify wind speed. Places with fast average winds rarely experience significant gusts, and besides, gusts are recorded at ground level and in the sky—namely during tornadoes. So, "windy" has a rather precarious definition; nonetheless, the following places all have a reputation for being consistently blustery.

Think twice before throwing that in the bin By Chris Baskind Published January 20, 2026 Plastic products carry a recycling symbol with a number from 1 to 7 inside indicating the type of resin used. The ones marked #5 have been difficult to recycle in the past. Fotofermer/Shutterstock We've all probably been guilty of this recycling no-no at least once — discarding a disposable coffee cup or food takeout container in our bin.

Did you know some hamsters can inflate their cheeks to swim? Learn more about these adorable mammals. By Noel Kirkpatrick Published January 20, 2026 Stefan Huwiler / Getty Images Hamsters are cute, furry mammals with oversized cheek pouches and short tails. These small rodents live in the wild, and some species are popular as house pets.

There are a few reasons why your cat likes to be in physical contact with you By Meghan Holmes Published August 07, 2025 Sometimes cats prefer to nap on a private perch or in the safety of a hidden nook, but sooner or later, most cats end up sleeping on their owner's lap, chest, or even head.

Consumers continue to feel the pain of increasing grocery prices. Food cost nearly 11% more in the summer of 2022 than it did in the summer of 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Sadly, the people who earn the least spend the greatest percentage of their income—upwards of 25%—on food alone. Consider that alongside the fact that the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates 30% to 40% of all food winds up in landfills where it will off-gas methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

These skyscraping superstars are the stalwart examples of their species By Melissa Breyer Published August 07, 2025 Treehugger / Ellen Lindner Trees have many interesting features and uses, but it's perhaps their height that inspires the most reverie. Humans may have a lot of cool tricks, but we'll never grow to be 35 stories tall. Trees also inhabit the best of all worlds: heaven and earth.

We stare at clouds all the time, whether trying to figure out what they look like or if they're bringing rain. Yet most of us know very little about clouds, let alone how to identify them. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) keeps a cloud atlas that divides clouds into genera, species and varieties. Some clouds have multiple "varieties" and some have "accessory" clouds that appear with or merge with bigger clouds. Specific conditions can even create special clouds of their own.

Prepare to be wowed by the mysterious cosmic wonders that are black holes. By Sidney Stevens Published March 14, 2025 An artist’s impression of Cygnus X-1, a stellar-mass black hole pictured pulling matter from a nearby star into its accretion disk and emitting radiation from the entering superheated gases. Cygnus X-1 was the first black hole discovered. NASA/CXC/M.Weiss/Wikimedia Commons Black holes are perhaps the most nightmarishly fascinating features of our universe.

Think twice before throwing that in the bin By Chris Baskind Published February 12, 2025 Plastic products carry a recycling symbol with a number from 1 to 7 inside indicating the type of resin used. The ones marked #5 have been difficult to recycle in the past. Fotofermer/Shutterstock We've all probably been guilty of this recycling no-no at least once — discarding a disposable coffee cup or food takeout container in our bin.

Think twice before throwing that in the bin By Chris Baskind Published February 12, 2025 Plastic products carry a recycling symbol with a number from 1 to 7 inside indicating the type of resin used. The ones marked #5 have been difficult to recycle in the past. Fotofermer/Shutterstock We've all probably been guilty of this recycling no-no at least once — discarding a disposable coffee cup or food takeout container in our bin.