Environment

The University of Vermont banned the sale of bottled water on its campus in 2013 to cut down on single-use bottles in the waste stream. But the number of plastic, single-use bottles being shipped to campus went up, and students ended up using more single-use bottles and drinking less healthy beverages out of them. Now the university is trying to figure out how to balance sustainability and nutrition in on-campus beverage sales.

California's drought has the state re-thinking who has the right to its water. A complex system dating back to the 19th century divides up the state's supplies.

A new study shows people living in hunter-gatherer societies don't get any more sleep than people in the more modern world, despite living without TVs, computers, cell phones and other electronic distractions.

 

The Walnut Cove Board of Commissioners is taking a stand against fracking legislation passed last week by the General Assembly.

Scientists soared through clouds with a new instrument that takes 3-D pictures of the edge. What they learned about the size and density of droplets surprised them and might lead to better forecasts.

India released its pledges ahead of December's global climate change summit in Paris. "We want to walk [a] cleaner energy path," says the country's environment minister.

The Environmental Protection Agency has released its much-anticipated ozone standards. The agency is setting more stringent thresholds for the particles that contribute to smog.

Volkswagen faces two enormous repair jobs: fixing its polluting diesel cars and its battered reputation. Both may be much harder to fix than anything other scandal-plagued car companies have faced.