Environment

"That I'm standing here telling this story is proof that we all can accomplish great things, through ambition, through passion, through sheer stubbornness." — Ben Saunders

What Does It Take To Endure The Harshest Climate On Earth?

1:48pm February 11, 2016

by NPR/TED Staff

Explorer Ben Saunders is the first person to finish the perilous trek from the edge of Antarctica to the South Pole and back. He describes what he had to endure in order to survive the journey.

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"We are very different from all previous species, and we have the power to endure. We also have the power to destroy ourselves." — Lord Martin Rees

How Can We Ensure Our Survival As A Species?

1:48pm February 11, 2016

by NPR/TED Staff

Astronomer and cosmologist Lord Martin Rees asks whether our species will endure despite the many existential threats we face.

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A neighborhood where many people have left their homes because of a massive natural-gas leak is seen in the Porter Ranch neighborhood of Los Angeles in December.

Will California Gas Leak Mark A Turning Point In Energy Debate?

6:48pm February 10, 2016

by Kelly McEvers

A massive methane leak may soon end, but its environmental impact is still being weighed. A scientist says it won't have a big effect globally, but it's a setback in efforts to curb greenhouse gases.

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High Court Temporarily Blocks Enforcement Of Carbon Emissions Rules

5:30pm February 10, 2016

by Scott Horsley

The Supreme Court put a temporary hold on President Obama's stricter limits on carbon emissions. The justices say the rules can't take effect until courts have considered challenges from the states.

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Coal Country Reacts To Supreme Court Stay On Obama Clean Power Plan

5:02pm February 10, 2016

by Stephanie Joyce

The U.S. Supreme Court has put a hold on the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan, which would significantly regulate coal, after 27 states sued over the proposal. Among them was Wyoming, which produces more coal than any other state. NPR reports on how the court's stay is being received in coal producing states.

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Corn is delivered to the Green Plains ethanol plant in Shenandoah, Iowa.

The Shocking Truth About America's Ethanol Law: It Doesn't Matter (For Now)

3:15pm February 10, 2016

by Dan Charles

Ted Cruz doesn't like the law that requires the use of ethanol in gasoline. So what would happen if it was abolished? The surprising answer: not much, probably.

Chinese Taste For Fish Bladder Threatens Tiny Porpoise In Mexico

2:03pm February 10, 2016

by Christopher Joyce

The nets that ensnare the giant totoaba fish also trap and kill the world's smallest and rarest mammal: a porpoise called the vaquita.

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Wisdom, a Laysan albatross that's believed to be 65 years old, and her mate have welcomed a new chick at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. Here, a week-old chick peeks out from its nest.

An Old Bird Can Hatch A New Chick — Even At Age 65

12:12pm February 10, 2016

by Bill Chappell

Wisdom, a Laysan albatross that researchers first tagged in 1956, has hatched what could be her 40th chick, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says.

A central piece of President Obama's climate change initiatives is now on hold, after the Supreme Court put a stay on rules limiting carbon pollution generated by U.S. power plants.

Supreme Court Puts White House's Carbon Pollution Limits On Hold

11:51am February 10, 2016

by Bill Chappell

A decision on the Clean Power Plan could be long in coming — meaning that the rules' fate might not be determined before a new presidential administration comes into power in 2017.

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Jeneyah McDonald stands amid cases of bottled water in the kitchen of her home in Flint, Mich. Before water donations arrived in Flint, McDonald says, she spent an estimated $100 out of her $300 weekly grocery bill buying safe water for her family.

When Every Drop Of Water Could Be Poison: A Flint Mother's Story

7:57pm February 08, 2016

For Flint resident Jeneyah McDonald, using bottled water for everything has become an onerous but necessary routine. Still, she worries about the effects that toxic tap water will have on her sons.

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