global warming

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announces the company's climate initiative Thursday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Environment

Amazon Makes 'Climate Pledge' As Workers Plan Walkout

4:58pm September 19, 2019

by Alina Selyukh

Amazon's plans include being carbon-neutral by 2040 and buying 100,000 electric delivery vans. It faced outcry from workers, hundreds of whom planned to join the Global Climate Strike on Friday.

A gas flare from the Shell Chemical LP petroleum refinery illuminates the sky on Aug. 21 in Norco, La.

Opinion: Earth Has Survived Extinctions Before, It's Humans Who Are Fragile

8:37am September 07, 2019

by Scott Simon

Earth has experienced cataclysmic life-destroying events before. NPR's Scott Simon reflects on what this means for humans in the midst of climate change.

A man cools off in a fountain in New York's Washington Square Park this summer. Death from all causes doubled during a heat wave in New York City in August 1975, with heart attacks and strokes accounting for a majority of the excess deaths.

Health & Safety

When Temperatures Rise, So Do Health Problems

7:00am August 24, 2019

by Clayton Dalton

Heatstroke tends to get the most attention during extreme heat waves. But other diseases are affected by high temperatures as well.

Scientists are using statistics, history and computer modeling to understand exactly how much hotter the oceans are today than they were before industrialization. Harvard researchers just found a clue in shipping records digitized after World War II.

How Much Hotter Are The Oceans? The Answer Begins With A Bucket

1:18pm August 19, 2019

by Rebecca Hersher

Scientists need to track the history of sea temperatures precisely to model climate change. A newly discovered clue in measurements taken by sailors in the 1930s could have far-reaching implications.

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Large swaths of forest have been cut down in Brazil in recent decades to make room for farming. Deforestation contributes to global warming, and reversing it will be necessary to avoid catastrophic climate change.

To Slow Global Warming, U.N. Warns Agriculture Must Change

7:19pm August 08, 2019

The way we produce food and manage land must change radically if humans hope to avoid catastrophic global temperature rise, according to a new report by the United Nations panel on climate change.

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It may plague your summer peaches and plums, but the fruit fly is "one of the most important animals" in medical research, says conservationist Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson.

Bugged By Insects? 'Buzz, Sting, Bite' Makes The Case For 6-Legged Friends

2:38pm July 29, 2019

by Terry Gross

The decline of Earth's insect population may have serious consequences for humans, says scientist Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson. Insects are the world's janitors, as well as pollinators and a food source.

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Clouds from Tropical Storm Barry spin over downtown New Orleans on Saturday. The storm has been fueled by climate change, which is also exacerbating potential flooding.

Climate Change Fuels Wetter Storms — Storms Like Barry

12:03pm July 13, 2019

by Rebecca Hersher

The water in the Gulf of Mexico is hot and the Mississippi River is high. That could spell disaster for Louisiana.

Dr. Brian Chesebro (right), in Portland, Ore., has calculated that by simply using the anesthesia gas sevoflurane in most surgeries, instead of the similar gas desflurane, he can significantly cut the amount of global warming each procedure contributes to

Effects Of Surgery On A Warming Planet: Can Anesthesia Go Green?

10:58pm May 06, 2019

by Kristian Foden-Vencil

Anesthesia revolutionized surgery by vanquishing patients' pain. But many of the chemicals are greenhouse gases. One Oregon doctor who has done the math says some are much less damaging to the planet.

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Cars drive near Frankfurt Airport on Tuesday in Germany. Most German highways have no speed limit, and a proposal to cap speeds at about 80 mph has sparked controversy.

World News

A Speed Limit On German Highways: 'Like Talking Gun Control In The U.S.'

5:30pm January 25, 2019

by Daniella Cheslow

A government committee says capping speeds could reduce carbon emissions and pollution. Opponents say Germans have a visceral need for speed akin to Americans' views on gun rights.

A home burns during the Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif., in November 2018. It was one of several fires often discussed in terms of the changing climate. A new survey shows a jump in the number of Americans who are "very worried" about global warming.

Concern About Global Warming Among Americans Spikes, Report Says

4:08pm January 22, 2019

by Ian Stewart

The proportion of those polled who say global warming is "personally important" to them jumped from 63 to 72 percent last year.