Environment

Rice's whales are one of the most recently discovered whale species in the world — and already one of the most endangered. But protections for the Gulf of Mexico species have been repeatedly delayed.

Only 51 of these U.S. whales remain. Little has been done to prevent their extinction

9:52am November 16, 2023

Rice's whales are one of the world's newly discovered whale species – and already one of the most endangered. Protections for the whales in the Gulf of Mexico are not coming fast.

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Wildland firefighters on the Spring Creek Fire in Colorado on July 2, 2023.

A massive pay cut for federal wildland firefighters may be averted. But not for long

5:14am November 16, 2023

by Kirk Siegler

A long running effort to permanently boost pay for thousands of federal wildland firefighters is finally gaining traction in Congress but fire managers warn it could be too little too late.

Environment

Brazil's new leftist government attempts to crack down on illegal gold mining

5:17am November 15, 2023

by Carrie Kahn

More than half of Brazil's exported gold is believed to come from illegal mining which destroys the Amazon and Indigenous lands. The government is cracking down on a system ripe for abuse.

Climate-influenced disasters are making people sick. When wildfire smoke from massive fires in Canada blanketed the U.S. in the summer of 2023, emergency rooms saw a spike in admissions for lung problems but also heart attacks and other health issues.

Climate change, fossil fuels hurting people's health, says new global report

6:30pm November 14, 2023

by Alejandra Borunda

The latest Lancet Countdown, an annual analysis from the prestigious medical journal, underscores the vast and growing costs of fossil fuel burning on health.

The aftermath of a mudslide that ripped through villages on the foothills of Mount Elgon in 2012, killing at least 18 people. The slopes of this extinct volcano in eastern Uganda have become increasingly prone to such disasters as a result of climate change. The looming question: How do you help people find a safe new place to live?

Why villagers haven't left a mudslide prone mountain — and how a novel plan might help

10:19am November 14, 2023

by Nurith Aizenman

On an extinct volcano in Uganda, hundreds of thousands face disaster due to climate change. The charity GiveDirectly is trying a surprising approach to help them get out of harm's way.

A line of cars queued on a road heading to the town of Grindavik, Iceland, Monday.

A volcano in southwestern Iceland is expected to erupt in the next few days

7:08pm November 13, 2023

by Juliana Kim

Hundreds of small earthquakes have been rattling the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwestern Iceland as meteorologists anticipate a volcanic eruption and residents evacuate.

The vandalism that brought the Sycamore Gap tree down also harmed a UNESCO World Heritage Site: Hadrian's Wall. In this October photo, a worker used a chainsaw to cut up the tree so its trunk could be removed.

Hadrian's Wall was damaged when the Sycamore Gap tree came down, analysis finds

3:45pm November 13, 2023

by Bill Chappell

The preservation group Historic England says it passed news of its analysis on to Northumbria Police, which has now made at least four arrests linked to the case.

Tent Camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, NC. Bushcraft campsite and campfire.

Environment

Across western NC, backcountry campsites are closed

12:41pm November 13, 2023

by Eddie Garcia

In western North Carolina, many backcountry campsites — meaning areas a little off the beaten path and with fewer amenities — are closed or have restrictions

People work at a landfill in India that's full of plastic bags. Members of the United Nations are negotiating a treaty that's aimed at cutting plastic pollution globally.

The world is awash in plastic. Oil producers want a say in how it's cleaned up

5:00am November 13, 2023

Groups connected to the fossil fuel industry are trying to shape an international treaty to cut plastic pollution. And oil- and gas-producing nations are at the negotiating table.

The Key deer is the smallest deer species in North America. The deer live only in the low-lying Florida Keys. They are considered federally endangered, with an estimated population of around 1,000.

A tiny deer and rising seas: How far should people go to save an endangered species?

5:30am November 12, 2023

The Key deer is losing the only place it lives, raising uncomfortable questions for the people tasked with keeping endangered species alive.

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