Environment

A 2023 Supreme Court ruling removed Clean Water Act protections for wetlands. The Trump administration is moving to weaken remaining rules. Some states are passing their own clear water laws in response.

Controlling weeds is a perennial problem for farmers. The EPA issued rules earlier this year for one controversial herbicide that can be prone to drifting and harming some other crops and trees.

Some of the most pristine ecosystems in the U.S. are in the Pacific Ocean. They're federally protected, but now, the Trump administration is rolling back some of those protections.

The largest human composting facility in the nation is soon opening in Maryland, with capacity to handle 2,000 bodies a year. It's meeting a growing demand for eco-friendly interment options.

Wildfires in Spokane have destroyed hundreds of homes and led to evacuation orders for 60,000 people.

(Image credit: Young Kwak/AP)

NPR's Rob Schmitz speaks with Russ Schumacher, professor at Colorado State University, about a new government proposal to reallocate water from the Colorado River among Western states who rely on it.

Under a new federal plan out today to manage the Colorado river, Arizona, California and Nevada face potentially steep water cuts over the next decade. The plan by the Interior Department will impact communities and farms across those states. For now, the proposal spares Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming from mandatory water cuts. Legal battles are expected.

Half a century ago, a series of landmark federal laws started reining in water pollution. As a result, some rivers across the country are bouncing back to life, but threats to clean rivers remain.

Authorities in France and Spain say some of their wildfires are mostly contained, but others are blazing on and a new wave of extreme heat is raising fears of more fires to come.

(Image credit: Emma Da Silva)

Soldiers and emergency workers combed through a badly damaged shopping mall and collapsed houses looking for trapped survivors Wednesday after a powerful earthquake that killed at least 18 people, including a foreigner, in southwestern Japan.

(Image credit: Naoki Hiraoka)

Traditional lawns may be green, but that doesn't mean they're good for the environment. The team at NPR's Life Kit podcast report on one lawn alternative that's gaining popularity.

In southern France, a wildfire in the region of Gironde is still active, while two major fires in central Spain are finally coming under control, ahead of the fourth heat wave of the summer.

(Image credit: Oscar del Pozo)

When summer rolls around, many parents scramble to sign up their young kids for outdoor activities. But what do you do when extreme heat and wildfire smoke increasingly make the outdoors dangerous?

(Image credit: YMCA of the North)

For more than a decade, there's been something fishy going on in a lake that straddles Vermont and the province of Quebec. It involves cancer, a kind of catfish, and — possibly — clues about how tumors metastasize.

(Image credit: Joshua Brown)

American Lung Association’s study also found great disparity between coasts, with 10 of 11 most polluted counties in California

The climate crisis has upended progress on improving air quality, with one in three Americans currently living in areas with harmful levels of pollutants known to increase the risk of medical emergencies, pregnancy complications and premature death, new research reveals.

Almost 120 million people in the US are still exposed to unhealthy levels of soot and smog, according to the annual report by the American Lung Association (ALA), which found that people of color are almost four times more likely to live in the most polluted places than white Americans.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says Labor support for recommendations is a ‘huge blow’ to companies trying to frack in the NT

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An inquiry into major plans to exploit gas in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin has recommended the federal government commit to a national plan to offset the vast emissions the project is expected to release.

The former government made gas exploration in the Beetaloo Basin a central tenet of its plans for recovering from the Covid pandemic, using grants and tax breaks to incentivise gas corporates to begin work in the region. The basin covers about 28,000 sq km south-east of Katherine and is thought to contain huge reserves of shale gas.

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Griffith University researcher captures video of five whales doing ‘bizarre rolls’ on the sea floor as they exfoliate and socialise

Whales have been caught on camera enjoying a marine version of a day spa, returning to their favourite spot off the Gold Coast to scratch off itchy skin and parasites, and catch up with their cetacean buddies.

Griffith University whale researcher Dr Olaf Meynecke and his colleagues were trying to shed light on the behaviour of competing pods of humpbacks that use Gold Coast waters to rest, breed and socialise.

Scientists operating a submersible have discovered deep-sea coral reefs in pristine condition in a previously unexplored part of the Galapagos marine reserve. Diving to depths of 600 metres (1,970ft), to the summit of a previously unmapped seamount in the central part of the archipelago, the scientists witnessed a breathtaking mix of deep marine life. This has raised hopes that healthy reefs can still thrive at a time when coral is in crisis due to record sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification

• Scientists discover pristine deep-sea Galápagos reef ‘teeming with life’

Reusables have 25% less global heating potential, finds UK government report, but overall picture is mixed

Environmental campaigners are calling on the UK government to take action after new analysis found a significant difference between the carbon footprints of washable and disposable nappies.

Reusable nappies have 25% less global heating potential compared with single-use nappies, according to a report commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Diving to 600m, researchers find reefs full of octopus, lobster and fish, raising hopes for corals’ survival amid rising sea temperatures

Scientists operating a submersible have discovered deep-sea coral reefs in pristine condition in a previously unexplored part of the Galápagos marine reserve.

Diving to depths of 600 metres (1,970ft), to the summit of a previously unmapped seamount in the central part of the archipelago, the scientists witnessed a breathtaking mix of deep marine life. This has raised hopes that healthy reefs can still thrive at a time when coral is in crisis due to record sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification. It also showed the effectiveness of conservation actions and effective management, they said.