Environment

Florida's idea to use radioactive waste in road construction is unsafe, critics say

4:55pm July 17, 2023

by Greg Allen

Florida wants to start taking mountains of waste material from phosphate mining to use in road construction. The hitch: It's mildly radioactive, and environmental groups say it poses a health risk.

Many of the wildflowers in the prairie are delicate, adding dashes of ivory and yellow and red to the green landscape.

Environment

Come along on a trail run in the wild tallgrass prairie of Kansas

2:54pm July 17, 2023

by Brian Mann

The tallgrass prairie is an astonishing place to run, with rolling hills, bison herds, wildflowers and birds. We take a sunrise run in the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Kansas.

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'Blight' warns of the alarming public health threat posed by fungi

2:12pm July 17, 2023

by Terry Gross

Emily Monosson says fungi and fungus-like pathogens are the most devastating disease agents on the planet, causing the extinction or near extinction of species of trees, bananas, bats, frogs and more.

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Environment

Virginia researchers look into whether 'forever chemicals' are building up in fish

1:27pm July 17, 2023

by Roxy Todd

With PFAS, the forever chemicals, showing up in drinking water, researchers in Virginia want to know if they're building up in fish as well.

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Canada's smoke blanketed the Midwest less than three weeks ago.

Minnesota and Wisconsin issue air quality alerts amid a new round of Canada smoke

12:31pm July 15, 2023

by Juliana Kim

Parts of the Midwest are seeing unhealthy air quality this weekend, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Montana and the Dakotas. It can be most dangerous for kids, older people and other sensitive groups.

The natural gas production and supply system leaks the powerful greenhouse gas methane during drilling, fracking, processing and transport.

Natural gas can rival coal's climate-warming potential when leaks are counted

5:46pm July 14, 2023

by Jeff Brady

Climate-warming greenhouse gasses from natural gas could be as damaging as those from coal, according to a new analysis.

Environment

Record temps along Florida's coast threaten severe coral reef bleaching

4:51pm July 14, 2023

NPR's Adrian Florido talks to Katey Lesneski, coordinator for the Mission: Iconic Reefs, about how the current heat wave hitting Florida is already affecting coral reefs.

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For farmworkers recovering from Central Valley flooding, the safety net is thin

4:51pm July 14, 2023

by Tyche Hendricks

Heavy precipitation caused epic flooding in the Central Valley earlier this year, causing catastrophic damage to homes and crops. Months later, the region is still recovering.

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Traffic warden Rai Rogers mans his street corner during temperatures as high as 106 in Las Vegas, Nevada on Wednesday.

The Southwest's enduring heat wave is expected to intensify over the weekend

3:00pm July 13, 2023

by Emily Olson

More than 111 million people across the U.S. remain under weather advisories or warnings as forecasters say an oppressive heat wave might get worse before it gets any better.

President Biden arrives at a political rally in Philadelphia on June 17. He has increasingly cast his climate program as a jobs program as his reelection campaign heats up.

Biden frames his clean energy plan as a jobs plan, obscuring his record on climate

2:08pm July 13, 2023

by Eric McDaniel

President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act invests $369 billion to address the climate crisis. But as the president focuses on the law's economic benefits, is his climate win getting lost?

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