Environment

Fire ecologist Malcolm North looks down at the still-burning Lions Fire from a ridge in the Sierra Nevadas.

Fire Ecologists Say More Fires Should Be Left To Burn. So Why Aren't They?

9:32pm September 27, 2018

by Nathan Rott

Fire ecologists are urging forest managers to allow more wildfires to burn on the landscape to help thin overgrown forests. Many challenges stand in the way.

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Cypress trees line Reelfoot Lake, in northwestern Tennessee. Some of them show signs of damage from an herbicide that farmers sprayed on nearby soybean fields.

A Drifting Weedkiller Puts Prized Trees At Risk

6:05pm September 27, 2018

by Dan Charles

The EPA is deciding whether to let farmers keep using an herbicide called dicamba. The chemical is controversial because it can damage nearby crops. What's less well-known: It's hurting wildlife, too.

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Environment

Florence Floods Breed Large, Aggressive Mosquitoes

11:42am September 27, 2018

A North Carolina city dealing with fallout from Hurricane Florence has been swarmed by aggressive mosquitoes nearly three times larger than regular mosquitoes.

A different beluga whale swims under ice at the Arctic Circle dive center in northern Russia.

Beluga Charms British With Impromptu Visit

6:02pm September 26, 2018

by Ruben Kimmelman

People lined the River Thames east of London on Wednesday trying to catch a glimpse of a beluga whale swimming far out of its normal range.

Environment

EPA Drops 26 North Carolina Counties From Emissions Program

3:49pm September 26, 2018

by Associated Press

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has dropped 26 counties from North Carolina's requirement for vehicle emissions inspections.

Fuel Efficiency And Smog In Arizona

5:14am September 26, 2018

by Will Stone

The EPA is holding hearings on a proposal to relax fuel efficiency standards. Arizona has come out in opposition — the state has a bad smog problem and was counting on the fuel rules to help fix it.

A new study from the University of Texas at Austin suggests that bees exposed to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, lose some of the beneficial bacteria in their guts and are more susceptible to infection and death.

Study: Roundup Weed Killer Could Be Linked To Widespread Bee Deaths

8:06pm September 25, 2018

by Vanessa Romo

Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin posit that glyphosate destroys specialized gut bacteria in bees, leaving them more susceptible to infection and death from harmful bacteria.

The people-plaguing Asian tiger mosquito, or Aedes albopictus, typically lays its eggs in stagnant water.

Building A Better Mosquito Trap — One Scientist Thinks He's Done It

6:40pm September 25, 2018

by Joe Palca

A researcher in Australia has invented a low-tech, insecticide-free trap that might be able to reduce bites from a particularly pesky mosquito in some neighborhoods.

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Environment

Florence Is Nation's Second Wettest Storm, Behind Harvey

3:58pm September 25, 2018

by Associated Press and Seth Borenstein

Philadelphia International is among more than a dozen major U.S. airports vulnerable to sea level rise.

Airports At Water's Edge Battle Rising Sea Levels

3:35pm September 25, 2018

by Susan Phillips

Many major airports are on low-lying coastal land where flooding is getting worse. They're building walls, berms and other barriers to try to keep planes and people moving.

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