Environment

Seattle Otter Treated For Asthma After Exposure To Wildfire Smoke

2:25pm September 23, 2015

It's not just humans that have been affected by wildfires this year. An otter called Mishka is being treated for asthma after being exposed to smoke by fires near Seattle.

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Lawsuits Will Be Next Battle In Sage Grouse Conservation Saga

12:06pm September 23, 2015

by Nathan Rott

The decision to keep the bird off the Endangered Species List is celebrated by those out West who worried it would cost them billions of dollars. But challenges to the decision are already emerging.

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Sage Grouse Does Not Need Protection, U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service Says

9:37pm September 22, 2015

by Grace Hood

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday the greater sage grouse does not need protections under the Endangered Species Act. The move is being celebrated by Western states and industry stakeholders because they say a listing would cost them billions of dollars in economic activity. But some environmental groups say the bird should be listed as endangered, and they plan to file lawsuits.

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Volkswagen Says 11 Million Cars Worldwide Have Emissions Cheating Software

9:24pm September 22, 2015

by Sonari Glinton

Volkswagen faces a growing scandal over how it used software to dodge clean air rules for diesel vehicles. The Justice Department opened a criminal probe and financial penalties are sure to follow.

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Wherever You Go, Your Personal Cloud Of Microbes Follows

8:38pm September 22, 2015

by Rob Stein

You're not just shedding microbes on every surface you touch. Research suggests you're actually walking around in an airborne plume of bacteria and other microscopic organisms that's unique to you.

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Stephen Jenner, from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, sprays an insecticide under an avocado tree where some Oriental fruit flies were found in Homestead, Fla.

This Pest Has Shut Down South Florida's $700 Million Fruit Industry

6:54pm September 22, 2015

by Greg Allen

Officials have quarantined 85 square miles of farmland in a fight to halt the spread of the destructive Oriental fruit fly. The freeze comes just as growers were starting to harvest tropical fruits.

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A male greater sage grouse inflates the yellow air sacs on his chest during a mating ritual at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge in Wyoming on Feb. 28.

Sage Grouse Bird Does Not Need Protection, U.S. Decides

10:14am September 22, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

The Interior Department said an unprecedented land conservation effort significantly reduced the threats to the greater sage grouse. At this time, the bird does not need to be listed as endangered.

Citizen Adventurers Sample Seawater To Count Tiny Pieces Of Plastic

1:49pm September 20, 2015

by Galen Koch

Plastic pollution in the sea doesn't just mean bottles and bags. Citizen scientists around the world are helping researchers assess the impact of tiny, often invisible particles called microplastics.

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This year, many of the pistachios grown in California's San Joaquin Valley are missing the green, fatty meat that nut lovers crave. Instead, they're empty inside, the result of drought, heat and weather pattern changes that have messed with pistachio tree

Oh, Nuts! Why California's Pistachio Trees Are Shooting Blanks

10:31am September 20, 2015

by Alastair Bland

This year, as many as 50 percent of the pistachios harvested in California could be hollow inside. Blame it on drought, heat and weather changes that are messing with male trees' virility.

The U.N. Wants You To Take A Selfie, Spin Around, Listen To A Llama

7:03am September 20, 2015

by Malaka Gharib

It's all part of the crazy, creative campaign to get people to pay attention to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that the United Nations will endorse this coming week.