Environment

A truck drives past a closed section of the municipal landfill in Toa Baja, which is near Puerto Rico's capital city of San Juan.

After Maria, Puerto Rico Struggles Under The Weight Of Its Own Garbage

11:15am December 15, 2017

Even before Maria hit, most of the island's landfills were filled beyond capacity and nearly half had EPA closure orders. The storm generated millions of cubic yards of waste and debris.

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How Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's Views Have Changed Under Trump

9:45pm December 14, 2017

As a Montana politician, Ryan Zinke, had a reputation as a conservationist conservative. That's changed since he became Secretary of the Interior. NPR's Kelly McEvers talks with Outside Magazine's Elliott Woods about his profile: "Ryan Zinke Is Trump's Attack Dog on the Environment."

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In a photo titled "Kung Fu Training — Australian Style," a red kangaroo starts his day with some martial arts in Fowlers Gap, Australia.

Here Come The Penitent Penguins: The Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards Are Back

12:51pm December 14, 2017

by Rebecca Hersher

Penitent penguins. A seal aghast. A turbocharged wigeon, a vain gnu and a kickboxing kangaroo. We have the photos.

A man watches the Thomas Fire in the hills above Carpinteria, California.

3 Reasons Why California's Fire Risk Won't Dampen Anytime Soon

4:41pm December 13, 2017

by Kirk Siegler

The Thomas Fire, the fifth largest wildfire in California history, is a harbinger of things to come in the West.

Smoke from wildfires, like this lingering cloud in Sonoma County, Calif., in October, may be responsible for creating an off taste in wine.

Winemakers Worry Wildfires Will Leave Whiff Of Ashtray In Their Wine

2:57pm December 13, 2017

by Danielle Beurteaux

Grapes exposed to smoke from wildfires can absorb compounds that carry over into wine and ruin the flavor. The problem is only expected to grow as extreme weather events become more frequent.

France's President Emmanuel Macron, center, Arnold Schwarzenegger, left, and Prime Minister of Belgium Charles Michel, right, pose for a photo in front of the Eiffel Tower while aboard a boat cruising on the Seine River after the One Planet Summit, Paris,

Without The U.S. Government, The World Unites To Fight Climate Change

11:49am December 13, 2017

by Marcelo Gleiser

The One Planet Summit went on without President Trump Tuesday. But state and local leaders in attendance renewed calls for adherence to the Paris Agreement targets, says blogger Marcelo Gleiser.

California Firefighter On Battling The Thomas Wildfire

4:34pm December 12, 2017

The Thomas Fire is now the fifth-largest fire in modern California history. NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with battalion chief Fred Burris about what battling this wildfire is like.

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Melt ponds dot a stretch of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, north of Greenland. This year was the Arctic's second-warmest in at least 1,500 years, after 2016.

Arctic's Temperature Continues To Run Hot, Latest 'Report Card' Shows

4:34pm December 12, 2017

by Christopher Joyce

The extreme warming trend continues, and scientists fear that floating sea ice will be gone by midcentury. That will have extraordinary effects closer to home.

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Cal Fire firefighters keep watch on a wildfire blaze burning the mountainside near the Cate School campus in Carpinteria, Calif., on Dec. 10, 2017.

Firefighters Struggle To Contain Southern California's Thomas Fire

4:27pm December 12, 2017

by Samantha Raphelson

Firefighters made some progress controlling the Thomas Fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, which is the fifth-largest in the state's history. Other fires in the area are mostly contained.

France's President Emmanuel Macron meets with former U.N. Secretary-Generals Kofi Annan (left) and Ban Ki-moon (right) at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Monday.

Macron Awards U.S. Climate Scientists Grants To 'Make Our Planet Great Again'

8:57pm December 11, 2017

by Richard Gonzales

A day before an international summit on the climate, the French president offers some researchers an opportunity to make France a "second homeland."