Environment

A funnel appears in a thick plume of smoke from the Loyalton Fire last month in Lassen County, Calif. It is one of many wildfires to have hit the state recently.

Opinion: The California Dream, A Catastrophic Wake-Up Call

2:53pm September 12, 2020

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon recounts what life in California, once the stuff of dreams, has become for too many residents as wildfires, mudslides, earthquakes seem to happen with increasing frequency.

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Landfill workers bury all plastic except soda bottles and milk jugs at Rogue Disposal & Recycling in southern Oregon.

How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled

8:17pm September 11, 2020

by Laura Sullivan

An NPR and PBS Frontline investigation reveals how the oil and gas industry used the promise of recycling to sell more plastic, even when they knew it would never work on a large scale.

Climate Change May Wipe Out Large Mangrove Forests, New Research Suggests

4:04pm September 11, 2020

by Greg Allen

Mangroves help protect coastal areas from flooding and sequester more carbon than tropical forests. But new studies suggest they may be wiped out by the rise of sea levels.

Wildfires across the West, such as the Creek Fire here in Madera County, Calif., are pushing firefighters to their limits.

Why Firefighting Alone Won't Stop Western Mega-Fires

1:25pm September 11, 2020

In another record-breaking year, communities are realizing the best way to survive wildfires is learning to live with them.

A baby turtle is released into the ocean in Bali, Indonesia, Tuesday, June 9, 2020, part of a campaign to save the endangered Lekang sea turtles. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

The World Lost Two-Thirds Of Its Wildlife In 50 Years. We Are to Blame

5:13pm September 10, 2020

by Nathan Rott

Human activities are causing an "unprecedented" and alarming decline in wildlife populations around the world, a new report warns. It says the staggering loss ultimately threatens human life as well.

Reili Franciscato, pictured in 1997, on the Purus River in Brazil. Franciscato died Wednesday in the Amazon rainforest, shot with an arrow.

Defender Of Amazon Tribes Killed In Brazil

5:08pm September 10, 2020

by Philip Reeves

Rieli Franciscato was a leading expert on uncontacted tribes and was killed while on a mission to shield an isolated indigenous group from a possible hostile encounter with outsiders.

Report Links Racial Inequities To Climate Change Impact, Offers Guidance

4:51pm September 10, 2020

by Eddie Garcia

A new study is offering guidance to North Carolina's leaders on how to address climate change, with a focus on issues of environmental justice.

Chiyomi Endo stands beside her husband's grave. "Remember that this family evacuated Futaba town, Fukushima prefecture," the stone reads, "and moved here due to the nuclear accident following the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011

After 2011 Disaster, Fukushima Embraced Solar Power. The Rest Of Japan Has Not

4:15pm September 09, 2020

by Kat Lonsdorf

After the nuclear catastrophe, the nation's investment in renewable energy soared. Many of those affected in Fukushima started production. But Japan is pushing fossil fuels, causing climate concerns.

The Dolan Fire, pictured Aug. 22, has burned more than 37,000 acres along the central California coast. On Tuesday, more than a dozen firefighters battling the blaze deployed portable fire shelters, and three were hospitalized with injuries.

3 Firefighters Hospitalized With Injuries From Battling Wildfire In California

8:34pm September 08, 2020

by Rachel Treisman

The U.S. Forest Service said 14 firefighters, overrun by the blaze in Los Padres National Forest, used portable fire shelters. Three were airlifted to a hospital, where one is in critical condition.

On Tuesday, snow fell on parts of Colorado – including Horsetooth Reservoir, near Fort Collins. On Sunday, it was around 100 degrees in Fort Collins.

In 48 Hours, Colorado's Wild Weather Sets Records For Both Heat And Snow

6:30pm September 08, 2020

by Michael Elizabeth Sakas

Parts of the Front Range hit 100 degrees over the weekend, then woke up to snow on Tuesday. Meteorologists will track whether the enormous swing set a new record in the U.S.