Environment

Video of 2 bear cubs pulled from trees prompts North Carolina wildlife investigation but no charges

5:48pm April 19, 2024

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission says staff responded to a report of people harassing bear cubs at an Asheville apartment complex on Tuesday. In the video, people are not only seen pulling cubs from a tree, but one person poses for a photo while holding one of the wild animals, then drops the cub, who runs for a nearby fence.

Environment

With freshwater mussels threatened by habitat loss and climate change, researchers look for ways to protect them

4:49pm April 19, 2024

by Paul Garber

They provide essential water-quality functions and have great names like Atlantic pigtoe, Appalachian elktoe and Carolina heelsplitter. Freshwater mussels are among the most endangered groups of animals in the world — but in North Carolina, there's an effort to save them.

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There's more plastic waste in the world than ever. So, where did the idea come from that individuals, rather than corporations, should keep the world litter-free?

Who created the idea of litter – and why? Play this month's Throughline history quiz.

10:02am April 19, 2024

Where did the idea come from that individuals, rather than corporations, should keep the world litter-free? What history is hidden in the trash? Find out here.

An empty room is pictured in a concrete house in Matam, Senegal. Many families don't have electricity nor the means to own a fan or air conditioning to help quell the intense heat at night, temperatures can stay around 35 degree Celsius throughout the night.

Lethal heat in West Africa is driven by human-caused climate change

11:57am April 18, 2024

by Emmanuel Akinwotu

The recent deadly heat in West Africa is driven by human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels, particularly in the wealthy Northern Hemisphere, according to an international report.

Wildfire smoke covered huge swaths of the U.S. in 2023, including places like New York City, where it has historically been uncommon. New research shows the health costs of breathing in wildfire smoke can be high.

Wildfire smoke contributes to thousands of deaths each year in the U.S.

5:30am April 18, 2024

by Alejandra Borunda

Two new studies show the unseen toll smoke is taking on people across the country. Climate change is likely to make the problem even bigger.

A set of four tubes known as the "river outlet works," pictured on Nov. 2, 2022, could soon be the only way for water to make it through Glen Canyon Dam. Recently-discovered damage to those tubes has raised questions about their role going forward.

Damage at Glen Canyon Dam has Colorado River users concerned

4:33pm April 17, 2024

by Alex Hager

Newly discovered damage to part of the dam holding back America's second-largest reservoir has people who rely on the Colorado River worried about their ability to get the water they need.

University of Miami Marine Sciences student Lauren Hayes with her catch, a 7 or 8 pound mutton snapper, which was released and returned to its reef habitat more than 100 feet below the surface.

After catch and release, here's how to make sure reef fish survive

4:33pm April 17, 2024

by Greg Allen

People who fish in Florida and in federal waters are required to have special gear on board to help ensure groupers, snappers and other reef fish survive when they're returned to the water.

Record levels of heat in the ocean are causing a worldwide mass bleaching event on coral reefs, as seen here on the Great Barrier Reef. Scientists are working on creating more heat-resistant coral to help restore reefs.

Environment

Coral reefs can't keep up with climate change. So scientists are speeding up evolution

5:00am April 17, 2024

Climate change is heating oceans faster than the world's coral reefs can handle. So scientists are breeding corals that can withstand hotter temperatures – but only to a point.

An image provided by the National Park Service shows two men who were caught on video earlier this month toppling rock formations near the Redstone Dunes Trail.

A video shows two men toppling rock formations at Lake Mead trail

12:11pm April 16, 2024

by Joe Hernandez

The National Park Service is seeking the public's help in identifying the two men, caught on video pushing rocks off a cliff near the Redstone Dunes Trail earlier this month.

Researchers have been trying to breed fungus-resistant chestnut trees for 100 years

7:20pm April 15, 2024

by Roxy Todd

We visit an orchard where researchers are breeding Chestnut trees they hope will one day fight off a fungus that's been killing the iconic American tree for more than a century.

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