Environment

An oversized truck load slowly moves equipment along an icy mountain road in Pennsylvania's Tiadaghton State Forest.

Natural Gas Boom Cuts Into Pennsylvania's State Forests

7:36pm January 09, 2014

by Marie Cusick

Pennsylvania is the fastest-growing state for natural gas production, but the development is cutting through swathes of previously unbroken forests. Some scientists say this could affect wildlife, which perform important functions like climate and insect control.

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A Bet, Five Metals And The Future Of The Planet

11:24am January 08, 2014

by David Kestenbaum

Decades ago, amid fears of rapid population growth, a biologist and an economist made a bet about how many people the planet could sustain. Global population is now estimated to top 7.1 billion. So who won the famous bet?

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Environment

It's Not too Cold to Fish for Trout in Greensboro

4:28pm January 06, 2014

by Keri Brown

The cold temperatures may get in the way of your outdoor activities, but its a perfect time to grab your fishing pole and head to Lake Higgins in Greensboro.

Forest Service May Try To Recoup Rim Fire Costs With Logging

4:27pm January 06, 2014

by Nathan Rott

The U.S. Forest Service has proposed a large salvage logging operation in the area affected by last year's historic Rim Fire, which burned 410-square miles of California's Sierra Nevada. The proposal is meeting stiff opposition from environmental groups who say the land is better left untouched.

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Arctic Methane Bubbles Not As Foreboding As Once Feared

4:27pm January 06, 2014

by Richard Harris

European scientists were alarmed in 2008 when they discovered streams of methane bubbles erupting from the seafloor in Norway's high Arctic. This gas, which contributes to global warming, was apparently coming from methane ice on the seafloor. A follow-up study finds that methane bubble plumes at this location have probably been forming for a few thousand years, so they are not the result of human-induced climate change. But continued warming of ocean water can trigger more methane releases in the Arctic, with potentially serious consequences to the climate.

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Environment

Brutal Cold is On the Way

12:08pm January 06, 2014

Right now, as you read this, you may think it's cold out there. But this is as warm as it's going to get for a day or so.

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A Tragic Year For Wildland Firefighters Ends In Reflection

8:22am December 30, 2013

by Kirk Siegler

Thirty-four firefighters died in the line of duty this year. The unusually high number is sparking a larger conversation about the dangers firefighters face as more homes are built in and around drought-stricken forests.

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A Scientist's New Job: Keeping The Polar Bears' Plight Public

3:43pm December 28, 2013

by Elizabeth Shogren

Global warming is pushing species like the polar bear to the brink of extinction. It's not a typical conservation problem, so one government biologist discovered the best way he could help save the great white bears was to quit his job.

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Oil Company Looks To Great Lakes As Shipping Demand Booms

7:15pm December 27, 2013

by David Schaper

North Dakota and western Canada are producing crude oil faster than rail cars and pipelines can take it to refineries. Now, one company wants to ship it by barge across the Great Lakes. That worries environmentalists, who say a 2010 tar sands oil spill near Lake Michigan has yet to be fully cleaned up.

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Ripening fruit in a grove in Plant City, Fla., this month. Florida citrus growers are worried about citrus greening, which causes bacteria to grow on the leaf and fruit, eventually killing the tree.

Time Is Running Out To Save Florida's Oranges

7:15pm December 27, 2013

by Greg Allen

Scientists and growers are in a bitter fight against citrus greening, a disease that has devastated Florida's orange and grapefruit crops. They fear that unless scientists find a cure for greening soon, it's just a matter of time before economic realities and the disease force growers out of business.

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