Environment

2013: A Tipping Year For Climate Change?

5:55pm December 30, 2012

This year's weather will be one for the record books; 2012 is slated to be the hottest summer on record. "We've already passed all kinds of tipping points," environmentalist Bill McKibben says. He's wondering if President Obama will take a different approach to climate change in the coming year.

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Rain clouds move over the remnants of parched cornstalks on Aug. 22 near Wiley, Colo. A summer storm came too late to help farmers whose crops were decimated in the wide zone of exceptional drought in Colorado's eastern plains.

An Abundance Of Extreme Weather Has Many On Edge

9:40pm December 27, 2012

by Jennifer Ludden

It was the warmest year on record and brought a series of extreme weather events, from wildfires and floods to drought and a devastating derecho. Polls show a big jump this year in the number of people connecting such disasters with climate change.

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Environment

Climate Change Gets Real For Americans

7:24pm December 26, 2012

by Adam Frank

Something remarkable happened in 2012.

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Birding for the Holidays

11:36am December 26, 2012

The Audubon's 113th Christmas Bird Count is underway, and thousands of volunteers are taking part this year. Ornithologist David Bonter, and Gary Langham, Audubon's chief scientist, share tips on which species to look out for, and how even birding beginners can get involved.

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David Daniel, an east Texas landowner, was so determined to block the Keystone XL pipeline from coming through his forest that he built an elaborate network of treehouses eight stories above the ground.

Texas Man Takes Last Stand Against Keystone XL Pipeline

4:20pm December 25, 2012

by Elizabeth Shogren

The Keystone pipeline is supposed to carry tar sands oil from Canada to Texas — a route that runs right through David Daniel's land. To try to save his woods from bulldozers, Daniel built tree houses 80 feet in the air and protesters climbed up into them.

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Photo Project Tracks Climate Change On Everest

1:18pm December 20, 2012

Filmmaker David Breashears has summited the world's highest peak five times. His latest project matches old photos of Mount Everest and its glaciers with new images to demonstrate how climate change is affecting the mountain. Melissa Block talks with Breashears about the GlacierWorks project.

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Using Science to Care for Your Christmas Tree

11:59am December 14, 2012

Nothing beats the smell of a live Christmas tree in your home, but how can you keep the needles on your tree and off your carpet? Rick Bates, professor of horticulture at Penn State University, offers tips for how to properly care for your Christmas tree this holiday season.

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Environment

Drought Continues: Farmers, Shippers Feel Pressure

2:17pm December 13, 2012

The United States is facing its worst drought since the 1950s, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. With little to no signs of relief on the horizon, many analysts expect conditions to worsen well into next year.

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Eden Full took time off from her studies at Princeton University to work on her startup full time, after being selected for the inaugural class of the 20 Under 20 Thiel Fellowship.

Who Needs College? Young Entrepreneuer Bets On Bright Idea For Solar Energy

10:44am December 13, 2012

by Steve Henn

Eden Full dropped out of Princeton to found a startup company that brings the solar panel technology she invented to developing countries as part of a fellowship. The unusual program, funded by tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel, gives young people $100,000 to skip college and focus on their work and research instead.

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Is California Up Next For An Oil And Gas Boom?

6:05am December 12, 2012

by Lauren Sommer

The Bureau of Land Management is auctioning off 18,000 acres of oil leases in California Wednesday. The state has one of the largest deposits of shale oil in the country. And it's attracting new attention because of the drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing – or fracking.

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