Environment

Most evacuees have been allowed to return to their homes near burn zones in Spokane, despite concerns about lingering toxins.

(Image credit: Margaret Albaugh for NPR)

As the senior climate editor at NPR, when extreme weather impacts us, I often send out guidance to the newsroom to help everyone understand the role of climate change. Here's what I tell them.

(Image credit: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images)

Huge blazes in central and western regions of Indonesia have scorched wide areas of forests and peatland, creating a choking haze that blanketed some cities.

(Image credit: Muhammad Fajri)

For centuries, Navajo shepherds have herded sheep in Arizona's mountains. Now, springs they rely on are drying up, putting a mainstay of the tribe's culture at risk.

The federal government finally has a new plan for the shrinking Colorado River. With its two biggest reservoirs at record lows, Arizona, California and Nevada will have to make major water cuts.

U.S. officials say the ever-growing population of wild horses that roam federal lands in Colorado is depleting natural resources. But some activists say efforts to remove the horses are inhumane.

(Image credit: McKenzie Lange)

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University, about new record low water levels in two major reservoirs.

The end of "roadless rule" protections would open millions of acres of pristine forests to commercial use. Supporters say it will lead to better managed forests.

(Image credit: Mario Tama)

This year's glacial outburst flood event in Juneau was minimally damaging, but residents worry about the future. A permanent solution to drain the glacial lake will be chosen by the end of 2026.

Uranium production has been revived in the US Southwest. Tribal communities there who suffered illnesses from previous development are worried nuclear energy will harm them again.

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)