Environment

Environment

What Does The Future Hold For Climate Change?

7:24am December 25, 2013

For the third interview in our year-end conversations about the future, Morning Edition co-host Steve Inskeep talks about climate change with Andrew Steer of the World Resources Institute.

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Environment

How Much Will Your Electric Bill Be This Holiday Season?

4:45pm December 15, 2013

by Keri Brown

Duke Energy is offering an improved tool to help consumers estimate their holiday lighting costs.

Oranges ripen in a Plant City, Fla., grove on Wednesday. Growers in Florida, Texas and California are worried about citrus greening, a disease that makes the fruit bitter and unmarketable.

USDA Steps Up The Fight To Save Florida's Oranges

7:52am December 13, 2013

by Greg Allen

The agency is launching a new coordinated research effort to stop citrus greening, a disease imported from Asia that turns fruit bitter and unmarketable. It first turned up in Florida eight years. Now, it threatens to destroy the nation's citrus industry.

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Sediment samples from the seafloor near Long Island.

Long Island Wins Ultimate Faceoff Against Hurricane Sandy

8:50pm December 12, 2013

by Christopher Joyce

The storm's damage and disruption to homes, cities and families is undisputed. But researchers studying the underwater coastline say Long Island fared relatively well. The face of the shore retained much of its shape because underwater ridges of sand just offshore may have cushioned the blow.

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Environment

One of the Biggest Hazardous Materials Disaster Drills in the State is Taking Place in Winston-Salem

4:13pm December 10, 2013

by Keri Brown

The former Stroh's Brewery Site in the Piedmont Triad Industrial Complex in Winston-Salem will be transformed into a hazardous materials disaster site.

Chefs Andrew Taylor, left, and Mike Wiley, co-owners of two Portland, Maine, restaurants, say the moratorium is worth it if it helps sustain the shrimp population.

Fishery Closure Puts New England's Shrimp Season On Ice

9:56pm December 07, 2013

by Tom Porter

After several years of declining shrimp stocks, regulators have imposed a moratorium on shrimping in New England waters. The closure could hurt commercial fisherman and future demand for the Gulf of Maine shrimp, but scientists say the move may be the only way to prevent the population from collapsing.

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Puddled meltwater very likely primed this ancient edge of the Antarctic's Larsen Ice Shelf to rapidly disintegrate over just several weeks. This view of the splintered mix of frozen bergs is from a Feb. 21, 2002, satellite image.

Ready — Or Not. Abrupt Climate Changes Worry Scientists Most

8:09pm December 03, 2013

by Richard Harris

To forecast sudden global catastrophe — and, perhaps, head it off — we should be spying on the climate at least as closely as we spy on each other, an expert panel warns. Yet the primary global monitoring network has been cut by 30 percent.

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Wind turbines twirl above farmland on the outskirts of Madison, Wis. Not all locals are pleased.

Slashing Fossil Fuel Consumption Comes With A Price

8:56am December 03, 2013

by Richard Harris

The U.S. aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80 percent by 2050. Wind and solar power can help. But folks doing the math say other pricey, controversial technologies — such as burying carbon gas underground, and expanding nuclear power — are also likely to be part of a low-carbon future.

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Environment

Australia Disapproves Of Seeds In Katy Perry CD

1:27pm December 02, 2013

Singer Katy Perry's new album has been adored in some reviews, but one critic is the Australian Department of Agriculture. Seeds included in the CD could pose a threat to the environment there.

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Andres Quiroz, an installer for Stellar Solar, carries a solar panel during installation at a home in Encinitas, Calif.

Tech Leaders, Economists Split Over Clean Energy's Prospects

1:17pm November 30, 2013

by Richard Harris

Renewable energy has become a $220 billion a year industry. But to significantly slow climate change, the power of wind, solar and other renewable sources must vastly expand. Some say the tech breakthroughs needed are on the horizon, though a top economist sees a tougher road ahead.

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