Environment

Beachside Resort In Sayulita, Mexico, Prepares For Hurricane Patricia

4:30pm October 23, 2015

NPR's Audie Cornish interviews Norma Adams, general manager of Villa Amor in Sayulita, Mexico. Adams, a native of Sayulita, talks about how she and other staff started in the middle of the night Thursday to evacuate an entire wedding party from the resort on the water.

Everyone knows beavers can swim, but at one point they also soared through the skies in Idaho thanks to a novel relocation method involving parachutes.

WATCH: Long-Lost Parachuting Beaver Footage From 1950

7:21pm October 22, 2015

by Laura Wagner

Circa 1950, Idaho Fish and Game tried a new way to handle beaver overpopulation: relocate some by dropping them from planes. A film was made to document the practice, but it was lost — until now.

Imagine a bar without the booze. Delegates wrangling in Bonn, Germany, this week have to figure out soon how to cover the world's climate bill.

How U.N. Climate Negotiations Are Like Splitting A Bar Tab

7:07pm October 21, 2015

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Nearly 200 countries have delegates in Bonn, Germany, this week, trying to figure out how to fight global warming. They're at a difficult point — what the nations have pledged so far isn't enough.

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Partially bleached coral in Kaneohe, Hawaii. Coral reefs worldwide are at risk of damage from the suncscreen ingredient oxybenzone.

Chemicals In Sunscreen Are Harming Coral Reefs, Says New Study

6:18pm October 20, 2015

by Laura Wagner

Researchers found that the oxybenzone in just a single drop of sunscreen can wreak havoc on fragile coral reef systems. Reefs all over the world are at risk.

Katrina Ceguera tends JetBlue's farm outside Terminal 5 at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

'Farm To Air'? Why JetBlue Is Farming At A New York Airport

6:03pm October 20, 2015

by Kylie Mohr

JetBlue is growing produce right outside its terminal at JFK International. It's the first airline to build an urban farm at a U.S. airport. But will passengers ever get to harvest or eat the food?

Marquette University scientist Michael Schläppi grows rice in paddies on his lab's rooftop.

Rice Finds A Welcome Home In Wisconsin Paddies

6:27am October 20, 2015

by Susan Bence

A Marquette University scientist slogged through more than 200 rice varieties to find the most promising few; he then subjected those to real Wisconsin weather on rooftop paddies outside his lab.

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Denmark Targets Consumer Behavior In Campaign To Reduce Food Waste

6:27am October 20, 2015

by Sidsel Overgaard

In the last few years, Denmark has become the world champion in reducing the amount of food that lands in the garbage.

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EPA Says Volkswagen Dodged Clean Air Rules With Emissions Software

6:14am October 20, 2015

by Tracy Samilton

The Environmental Protection Agency is accusing Volkswagen of intentionally dodging clean air rules on nearly half a million vehicles in the U.S. The EPA says Volkswagen installed software called a "defeat device" that only runs full pollution controls during official emissions testing. Under normal driving conditions, the vehicles emit nitrogen oxides at up to 40 times allowable levels, according to the EPA.

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Gary Matli, a field supervisor with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, inspects a disposal well located east of Guthrie, Okla.

Faced With Spate Of Tremors, Oklahoma Looks To Shake Up Its Oil Regulations

6:10am October 20, 2015

by Joe Wertz

Oklahoma set a state record last year with more than 5,000 earthquakes. This year, the state is poised to have even more. Now oil and gas regulators have taken notice and are working to curb them.

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Drought-Stricken California Prepares For Strong El Niño Winter

6:56pm October 19, 2015

by Kirk Siegler

In parched California, water managers and emergency management officials are preparing to move from one extreme to another with predictions of a "too big to fail" El Niño winter ahead.

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