Why Don't Ants Need A Leader?
The world's largest ant colony stretches over 3,700 miles. It succeeds, biologist Deborah Gordon says, because no ant is in charge. They communicate with algorithmic patterns to survive and thrive.
Environment
What's That Smell? The Beautiful Tree That's Causing Quite A Stink
Once embraced by cities for its beautiful white flowers, disease resistance and ability to grow just about anywhere, the Callery pear is now considered a nuisance due to its smell and invasive nature.
A Landscape Of Abundance Becomes A Landscape Of Scarcity
Photographer Matt Black spends his days capturing images that illustrate the impact of the drought on people living in California's Central Valley.
Belews Creek Coal Ash Testing Yields Confusion For Residents
State-supervised testing of drinking water near Duke Energy's Belews Creek coal ash storage pond is inconclusive.
It's A Beautiful Tree But It Causes A Stink
The disease-resistant Callery pear once was American cities' street tree of choice. One community in Pennsylvania has banned it. This story originally aired on All Things Considered on April 24, 2015.
Electric Carmaker Tesla To Sell Batteries Designed To Power Homes
Tesla is building the biggest battery factory in the world. It hopes to drive battery prices down so far that lithium ion batteries are no longer just for laptops, phones or cars.
Drought In Calif. Creates Water Wars Between Farmers, Developers, Residents
Fresno native Mark Arax has written about the war over water in his state for decades. "It used to be the farmers against the delta smelt fish, and now it's the urbanite against the almond," he says.
Duke Energy Develops New Plans For Coal Ash
Duke Energy plans to build lined landfills to bury coal ash at its closed Dan River Steam Station and the Sutton Plant near Wilmington. This comes as it works to excavate ash from its ponds by
Vatican Hosts Climate Change Conference Ahead Of Papal Encyclical
Pope Francis wants world leaders to work together to enact laws that will slow or stop emissions that fuel climate change. He is expected to deliver a papal encyclical in June highlighting environmental degradation and the effect of climate change on the poor. The Vatican held a one-day conference on climate change Tuesday.
Big Aftershocks In Nepal Could Persist For Years
Saturday's magnitude-7.8 quake released stress that was building for 150 years, scientists say, and it reshuffled tension to nearby faults.