Environment

People commute to work through heavy rain in Sydney on Friday. Severe weather brought warnings of floods and landslides along much of the New South Wales coast after months of concerns over wildfires.

Australia's East Gets Drenched By Rain, And Flood Warnings Replace Fire Alerts

12:57pm February 07, 2020

by Bill Chappell

A deluge is falling on Australia's southeast coast — and while it's quashing stubborn fires, the water is also causing flash floods and other hazards.

Electric vans charge at a warehouse of the German postal and logistics service Deutsche Post near Frankfurt in July 2018. Fleet vehicles are increasingly going electric in Europe and China, and some analysts say American fleets will be following suit.

Environment

From Delivery Trucks To Scooter-Moving Vans, Fleets Are Going Electric

10:04am February 07, 2020

by Camila Domonoske

Lime is all about electric vehicles — battery-powered scooters, that is. But now the company is also going to use plug-in vans for behind-the-scenes operations. And it's far from alone.

Feds May Open Utah National Monuments For Mining And Drilling

9:45am February 07, 2020

by Kirk Siegler

The Trump administration announced management plans for public lands in Utah that were formerly part of national monuments declared by President Obama. Critics worry it means more drilling and mining.

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The two bluffs that inspired the name of the Bears Ears National Monument, seen at sunset outside Blanding, Utah. On Thursday, more than two years after the Trump administration announced plans to shrink the monument and others, federal managers have fina

Trump Administration Finalizes Plans To Allow Development On Downsized Monuments

9:25pm February 06, 2020

by Colin Dwyer

More than two years after Trump dramatically shrank the protected land in Utah, the Bureau of Land Management released the framework for the move, despite continuing challenges to its legality.

Bumblebees, like this Hunt's bumblebee in Colorado, are vanishing because of extreme temperatures and habitat loss.

Bumblebees Are Disappearing Because Of Extreme Heat

3:16pm February 06, 2020

by Lauren Sommer

New research shows that climate change and habitat loss are causing widespread decline among bumblebees in North America and Europe — and putting ecosystems that depend on these pollinators at risk.

Chopped and frozen samples of damaged soybean plants are kept in storage at the Office of the Indiana State Chemist. Many contain residues of the herbicide dicamba.

Pesticide Police, Overwhelmed By Dicamba Complaints, Ask EPA For Help

11:52am February 06, 2020

by Dan Charles

Across the Midwest, millions of acres of farmland have been damaged by dicamba, an herbicide that can harm crops not engineered to withstand it. There are so many cases, regulators can't keep up.

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Environment

Study Says Water Filters May Not Block Some Harmful Compounds

8:38am February 06, 2020

by David Boraks, WFAE

The expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline has seen significant opposition, such as this camp set up by demonstrators in Vancouver, Canada, in 2018.

Environment

Canadian Court Clears The Way For Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion

4:46pm February 05, 2020

by Merrit Kennedy

The court said the government has adequately consulted with indigenous groups about the pipeline expansion. First Nations have said that they remain concerned about the project's environmental impact.

A guide walks past a sign asking for silence near the winter home of monarch butterflies in El Rosario reserve near Ocampo, Michoacán, in Mexico on Friday.

Sadness And Worry After 2 Men Connected To Butterfly Sanctuary Are Found Dead

7:28pm February 03, 2020

by Laurel Wamsley

Millions of monarch butterflies migrate to the mountains of Mexico each winter. Authorities are now investigating the apparent murders of an activist and tour guide at the Michoacán reserve.

Fire officials say fuel apparently dumped by the aircraft returning to LAX fell onto several Los Angeles Unified School District campuses in southeast Los Angeles.

'I Don't Believe This Is Happening': 911 Call Reveals Chaos After Delta Fuel Dump

7:09pm February 03, 2020

NPR has obtained audio of a 911 call made in the immediate aftermath of an incident, where Delta Air Lines Flight 89 dropped 15,000 gallons of jet fuel over the Los Angeles area.