For more than half a century, the world has celebrated Earth Day on April 22. Earth Day is the largest global observation of an environmental movement designed to promote human action, volunteerism, and policy change. This year's theme is Planet vs. Plastics, emphasizing a goal for 60 percent reduction of plastic production by 2040.

At Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), researchers are working to improve our understanding of the most pressing challenges facing the United States and the world. 

Learn how PNNL Materials scientists developed a nontoxic method to recover valuable minerals from electronic waste. 

Hundreds of PNNL scientists are tasked with answering some of the most significant questions about Earth systems, including plants, the atmosphere, subsurface zones, terrestrial aquatics, and coastal areas. PNNL leads research in climate change and atmospheric systems and is developing a modeling framework to predict changes in climate.Our research and development focuses on decarbonizing our energy system by maximizing energy efficiency, improving carbon management solutions, advancing sustainable transportation and integrating renewable energy into a modernized power grid enabled by energy storage. These renewable energy resources, including hydropower, wind energy, solar photovoltaics, marine energy, and geothermal energy, will aid the nation in achieving a clean energy future. These renewable energy resources include hydropower, wind energy, solar photovoltaics, marine energy, and geothermal energy and aid the nation in climate security awareness and in achieving a sustainable energy future.