Environment

A great egret flies above a great blue heron in a wetland inside the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge in Trenton, Mich., on Oct. 7. The Biden administration has announced a finalized rule for federal protection of hundreds of thousands of small streams, wetlands and other waterways.

The EPA finalizes a water-protection rule that repeals Trump-era changes

3:08pm December 30, 2022

by The Associated Press

The Biden administration finalized regulations that protect small streams, wetlands and other waterways, repealing a Trump-era rule that environmentalists said left waterways vulnerable to pollution.

Australia's Great Barrier Reef is being hit hard by climate change, but new research is showing how some corals are more resilient to heat.

Environment

How can coral reefs deal with climate change? Get better roommates

3:57pm December 29, 2022

by Lauren Sommer

Hotter temperatures are threatening coral reefs worldwide. Now, scientists are pinpointing how some "super corals" are better able to withstand the heat.

A thin, polished slice of a rock collected from the Jack Hills of Western Australia, viewed through a special microscope equipped with a gypsum plate that shows the rainbow spectrum of quartz that makes up the rock. Whereas the rocks at the Jack Hills are greater than 99% quartz, the remaining 1% of material includes the precious zircons.

To peer into Earth's deep time, meet a hardy mineral known as the Time Lord

5:00am December 29, 2022

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Geologists rely on tiny crystals of the mineral zircon to understand the timing of key events in Earth's early days, like the rising of continents and the emergence of oceans.

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Environment

High Country conservation group closer to protecting Blowing Rock land

6:00am December 28, 2022

by Paul Garber

A High Country conservation group is moving closer to its goal of protecting the forests and waterways that make up the famous views from Blowing Rock.

Lihidheb says his found art comes naturally to him after his years of work in the post office.

A Tunisian artist is hoping to keep the memories of migrants alive

5:44am December 21, 2022

Artist Mohsen Lihidheb collects objects that wash ashore in Zarzis, Tunisia. His collection is a tribute to the migrants who died trying to cross the Mediterranean.

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This handout photo provided by Peru's Ministry of Culture-Nasca-Palpa shows a feline figure on a hillside in Nazca, Peru, on Oct. 9, 2020.

Researchers find 168 more ancient images at Peru's Nazca Lines

5:03am December 21, 2022

by Jaclyn Diaz

The new findings add to the 190 previously discovered geoglyphs at the UNESCO World Heritage site. The discoveries are thought to date to between 100 B.C. and A.D. 300.

Mail delivery vehicles are parked outside a post office in Boys Town, Neb., on Aug. 18, 2020. The Postal Service said Tuesday it will sharply increase the number of electric-powered delivery trucks in its fleet and will go all-electric for new purchases starting in 2026.

The Postal Service pledges to move to an all-electric delivery fleet

2:19pm December 20, 2022

by The Associated Press

USPS says it will sharply increase the number of electric-powered delivery trucks — and will go all-electric for new purchases starting in 2026.

Tree health specialists scan forests, looking for fir trees that have turned red, which indicates that they are dead.

A record high number of dead trees are found as Oregon copes with an extreme drought

5:00am December 20, 2022

by Juliana Kim

Wildfires and a Western megadrought led to a historic die-off of evergreen trees in the state — nearly twice as bad as the previous worst year. Some researchers have dubbed it "firmageddon."

The head table gets set to open the high level segment at the COP15 biodiversity conference in Montreal on Dec. 15, 2022.

Environment

Negotiators at a U.N. biodiversity conference reach a historic deal to protect nature

6:56am December 19, 2022

by The Associated Press

The most significant part of the U.N. pact is a commitment to protect 30% of land and water considered important for biodiversity by 2030, up from 17% of terrestrial and 10% of marine areas.

In this photo taken by a drone on Dec. 9, cleanup continues in the area where the ruptured Keystone pipeline dumped oil into a creek in Washington County, Kan.

The Keystone pipeline leaked in Kansas. What makes this spill so bad?

5:00am December 17, 2022

by Jaclyn Diaz

The cause for the spill is still unclear. What's known is the type of oil that was piped: tar sands oil, also called diluted bitumen. It's a lot harder to clean up than conventional oil.