Every year five million to 14 million tons of plastic flow into the oceans from coastal areas. And every time you brush your teeth, wash your face, or take a shower, you could be sending more microplastics down the drain." This video offers some ways that consumers can limit their use of microplastics by making informed and responsible purchases

The climate crisis will profoundly interrupt the way we live and farm in the United States. Extreme heat, massive floods and more fires may force millions of people to move - and millions may be left behind.

Indigenous peoples are one of the most vulnerable communities when it comes to the effects of climate change. This is due to a mix of cultural, economic, policy and historical factors. Some Native American tribal governments and councils have put together their own climate risk assessment plans. Native American communities are very diverse - and the challenges and adaptations are just as varied.

In our latest Vox + ProPublica collaboration, we dive into how a structure that's designed to protect us from floods, may actually be making them worse. High levees come at a high cost, often pushing water into communities that can't afford the same protection. To demonstrate, we built a giant, scientific model of a river with levees - complete with adorable tiny houses.

While hurricanes aren't likely to entirely remove the wetlands, they are able to do significant damage. Their powerful winds, rainfall and rushing floodwater can do enough harm to permanently remove land. The pounding surf can break down marshes' soft sediments and thick mats of dead grass, which are pliable and easily reshaped. Sometimes channels of fast-moving water flow to inland areas, which never again dry up - contributing to permanent land loss.

Below sea level. It's a universally known topographical factoid about the otherwise flat city of New Orleans, and one that got invoked ad nauseam during worldwide media coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its catastrophic aftermath in 2005. Locally, the phrase is intoned with a mix of civic rue and dark humor. It's also off by half. Depending on where exactly one frames the area measured, roughly 50 percent of greater New Orleans lies above sea level. That's the good news.

Oil spills are harmful to marine birds and mammals as well as fish and shellfish. Oil destroys the insulating ability of fur-bearing mammals, such as sea otters, and the water repellency of a bird's feathers, thus exposing these creatures to the harsh elements. Without the ability to repel water and insulate from the cold water, birds and mammals will die from hypothermia.

When oil is spilled into the ocean, it has some devastating effects on the ecosystem. How do we clean it up?

Phosphates are chemicals containing the element phosphorous, and they affect water quality by causing excessive growth of algae. About 3 1/2 pounds of phosphates per person enter the environment in the United States annually from farms, yards, waste water and factory waste. Phosphates in water feed algae, which grow out of control in water ecosystems and create imbalances, which destroy other life forms and produce harmful toxins.

Natural disasters such as hurricanes, tropical storms, tsunamis, and landslides have the potential to generate a tremendous amount of marine debris. The high winds, heavy rains, storm surge, and flooding associated with these disasters can pull large structures, household articles, and outdoor items into surrounding waters.