NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Anna Dornhaus, associate professor with the University of Arizona's ecology and evolutionary biology department, about its study on slacker ants.
The lake is home to the underwater wreckage of a B-29 bomber, which crashed on a secret mission during World War II. The drought is making it easier for scuba divers to explore the submerged ruins.
Renee Montagne talks to Propublica's Abrahm Lustgarten about the Colorado River's falling water levels, and how flawed water policies and mismanagement are to blame — in addition to the drought.
Near Las Vegas, levels in the nation's largest reservoir have dropped 140 feet since 2000. Water deliveries to Nevada, Arizona and California may soon be rationed — and farmers would feel it first.
Uniformed volunteers are working visitors centers and monitoring trails in the busiest national forest in the country. The White River National Forest in Colorado is increasingly relying on free labor as federal budget cuts continue. The volunteers are doing what forest service staff used to do, including maintaining trails and educating visitors about bear safety.
Entrepreneurs are turning to Oak Ridge National Lab's supercomputer to make all sorts of things, including maps that are much more accurate in predicting how a neighborhood will fare in a flood.
In 1922, seven states drew up a plan for dividing the waters of the Colorado River. But they overestimated how much water the river could provide — and now 40 million Americans face a water crisis.
More and more city dwellers are trying their hand at urban gardening. Most know to be wary of lead in their soil, but fewer are aware of how to avoid other types of contaminants.
For decades, residents of the Navajo Nation's Smith Lake community have had to make their water stretch; a mission trucks it in monthly from 50 miles away. But soon, they'll be getting their own well.
International timber trafficking is an estimated $100 billion business. A lab that usually focuses on endangered animal cases is using a sophisticated machine to identify contraband wood shipments.