Environment

Biden administration restores threatened species protections dropped by Trump

NPR News - Environment - Thu, 2024/03/28 - 1:16pm

Among the changes, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will reinstate a decades-old regulation that mandates blanket protections for species newly classified as threatened.

Categories: Environment

The Colorado River rarely reaches the sea. Here's why

NPR News - Environment - Thu, 2024/03/28 - 9:54am

More than half of the Colorado River's water is used to grow crops, primarily livestock feed, a new study finds. The river and its users are facing tough decisions as the climate warms.

(Image credit: Justin Sullivan)

Categories: Environment

Why a town on the front line of America's energy transition isn't letting go of coal

NPR News - Environment - Thu, 2024/03/28 - 2:08am

Kemmerer, Wyo., is on the front line of America's energy transition, with its coal plant slated to close and a nuclear plant in the works. But some think the rush to quit fossil fuels is impractical.

(Image credit: Kirk Siegler)

Categories: Environment

Bulldogs are prone to health problems. New Hampshire could limit their breeding

NPR News - Environment - Wed, 2024/03/27 - 2:00am

French bulldogs have soared in popularity, but they and other short-nosed dogs often have serious health problems. New Hampshire could be the first state to put health restrictions on breeders.

(Image credit: Sarah Stier)

Categories: Environment

Some states want to keep these pretty pear trees from blossoming

NPR News - Environment - Sun, 2024/03/24 - 4:59am

Bradford pears are blooming all over parts of America: pretty, but a problem! NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks with master gardener Jessica Damiano about the trees.

Categories: Environment

California wants to protect indoor workers from heat. That goal is now in limbo

NPR News - Environment - Sat, 2024/03/23 - 7:19am

The state was on the cusp of making new rules to protect people who work in places like warehouses from dangerous heat. A last-minute shake-up leaves workers wondering if they'll be safe come summer.

(Image credit: Jae C. Hong)

Categories: Environment

A college gardening group is bringing native plants back and 'rewilding' New Jersey

NPR News - Environment - Sat, 2024/03/23 - 5:04am

College campuses around the country are returning to their roots, replacing lawns and shrubs with native plants. Students at The College of New Jersey joined the movement with a planting day.

Categories: Environment

Most animals don't go through menopause. So why do these whales?

NPR News - Environment - Fri, 2024/03/22 - 12:00am

Across the animal kingdom, menopause is something of an evolutionary blip. We humans are one of the few animals to experience it. But Sam Ellis, a researcher in animal behavior, argues that this isn't so surprising. "The best way to propagate your genes is to get as many offspring as possible into the next generation," says Ellis. "The best way to do that is almost always to reproduce your whole life."

So how did menopause evolve? The answer may lie in whales. Ellis and his team at the University of Exeter recently published a study in the journal Nature that studies the evolution of menopause in the undersea animals most known for it. What they uncovered may even help explain menopause in humans.

Curious about other animal behavior mysteries? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.

(Image credit: David Ellifrit)

Categories: Environment

A warm, dry spring has U.S. forecasters worried about the upcoming wildfire season

NPR News - Environment - Thu, 2024/03/21 - 2:19pm

States in the southern High Plains will be "quite vulnerable to high wildfire risk, especially during high wind events," said Jon Gottschalck of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

(Image credit: Handout)

Categories: Environment

New vehicle emission rules are meant to quicken the change to electric vehicles

NPR News - Environment - Thu, 2024/03/21 - 4:17am

The EPA has finalized new vehicle emissions standards to dramatically speed up adoption of electric vehicles over the next decade. It's part of the White House effort to fight climate change.

Categories: Environment

Morning news brief

NPR News - Environment - Thu, 2024/03/21 - 2:12am

EPA finalizes strict new limits on tailpipe emissions. Alabama's governor signs ban on DEI funds that restricts divisive concepts in schools. Reddit premieres on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday.

Categories: Environment

What the collapse of salmon populations means for one Alaska family

NPR News - Environment - Wed, 2024/03/20 - 4:35pm

For Alaska Native communities along the Yukon River, fishing for salmon has always been a central part of life. But climate change is driving a massive collapse in salmon populations.

Categories: Environment

Taxpayer-funded petrochemical plants are polluting communities, report finds

NPR News - Environment - Wed, 2024/03/20 - 2:01am

A fleet of new plastics plants in the U.S. often release illegal levels of air pollution, even while receiving big tax breaks from state and local governments, the report found.

(Image credit: Reid R. Frazier)

Categories: Environment

About 140 of D.C.'s cherry trees will soon be cut down to adapt to rising sea levels

NPR News - Environment - Tue, 2024/03/19 - 3:07pm

Washington, D.C.'s famous cherry blossoms hit peak bloom yesterday. For some 140 of the famous flowering trees, this will be their last season — they'll soon be cut down to adjust to sea-level rise.

Categories: Environment

So long, Stumpy. More than 150 of D.C.'s cherry trees have to go as water rises

NPR News - Environment - Tue, 2024/03/19 - 8:52am

Washington, D.C.'s famous cherry blossoms hit peak bloom this week. This will be the last season for about 150 of the famous flowering trees — they'll soon be cut down to adjust to sea-level rise.

Categories: Environment

Biden administration bans the final kind of asbestos still legal in the U.S.

NPR News - Environment - Tue, 2024/03/19 - 2:15am

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Ellie Borst, who covers chemicals for Politico's E&E News, about the EPA joining more than 50 other countries that have already outlawed chrysotile asbestos.

Categories: Environment

Pregnant stingray Charlotte brings in traffic, business to North Carolina town

NPR News - Environment - Mon, 2024/03/18 - 1:57pm

Charlotte the stingray in a small North Carolina aquarium has been attracting visitors since she got pregnant without a mate. Businesses in Hendersonville are delighted by the influx.

Categories: Environment

Taxpayers subsidize plastics plants that violate pollution standards, report says

NPR News - Environment - Mon, 2024/03/18 - 2:07am

Shell's plastics plant outside Pittsburgh, which was built with over a billion dollars in tax credits from the state, has violated clean air laws 19 times since it began operating two years ago.

Categories: Environment

The U.S. Coast Guard's new system reduces the number of whales hit by vessels

NPR News - Environment - Sun, 2024/03/17 - 5:19am

The U.S. Coast Guard has developed a new system to try to reduce the number whales hit by vessels. It's trying it out in the waters in and around Seattle.

Categories: Environment

A volcano in Iceland is erupting for the fourth time in 3 months

NPR News - Environment - Sun, 2024/03/17 - 3:08am

A volcano in Iceland erupted Saturday evening for the fourth time in three months, sending orange jets of lava into the night sky.

Categories: Environment
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