Environment

An emergency responder helps evacuate two people with a boat after their neighborhood in Little Ferry, N.J., was flooded.

In Sandy's Wake, Flood Zones And Insurance Rates Re-Examined

6:00pm October 30, 2013

by Christopher Joyce

It's been a year since Hurricane Sandy knocked the mid-Atlantic states for a loop. Scientists say that as sea level rises, such storms are likely to occur more often. But the new, more realistic flood maps could boost flood insurance rates. Will politics trump science?

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Curt Friesen is a fourth-generation farmer in central Nebraska.

Farm Families Pick Massive Corn Harvest As Prices Shrink

10:12am October 28, 2013

by Grant Gerlock

There's a lot of uncertainly in the air as harvest season gets into full swing across the Midwest. But this is a time of year when farm families come together to focus on the big task at hand.

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Cars lie smashed by the collapsed Interstate 5 connector a few hours after the Northridge earthquake on Jan. 17, 1994, in California.

Predicting Quakes Still Shaky, But Being Prepared Is Crucial

5:59pm October 27, 2013

by NPR Staff

In Southern California and communities from St. Louis to Seattle, millions of Americans live in areas at risk for earthquake. But many have not taken simple steps to protect themselves — and seismologist can only provide limited warning.

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Delegates To Debate Watered-Down Plan For Antarctic Marine Preserve

7:57pm October 23, 2013

by Richard Harris

Diplomats are again meeting to consider setting aside a protected zone in the pristine waters around Antarctica, though their previous negotiations ended in failure. A scaled-back plan on the table this week would still create the largest marine preserve in the world.

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The long arms of pivot irrigation rigs deliver water from the Ogallala Aquifer to circular fields of corn in northwestern Kansas.

Kansas Farmers Commit To Taking Less Water From The Ground

12:38pm October 22, 2013

by Dan Charles

Water from the Ogallala Aquifer is withdrawn about six times faster than rain or rivers can recharge it. Now, a group of farmers in one part of northwestern Kansas has agreed to pump 20 percent less water out of the aquifer over the next five years.

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Most people associate the Nile with Egypt, but the river also flows through South Sudan, where much of it is bordered by jungle. That makes it a excellent destination for rafting and wildlife enthusiasts, says travel guide author Max Lovell-Hoare.

For The Ultimate Getaway, Why Not South Sudan?

8:02pm October 20, 2013

by NPR Staff

You may not find South Sudan at the top of most dream destination lists, but the authors of a new travel guide say the young country, long isolated by a violent civil war, has much to offer tourists in search of wildlife, culture and natural beauty.

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Workers stand inside the gold mine in Greenland's Nulanaq mountain in 2009. The Danish territory's underground wealth was at the forefront of elections in March. Now, Greenland faces another dilemma: whether to end a zero-tolerance policy on uranium extra

As Greenland Seeks Economic Development, Is Uranium The Way?

6:39pm October 16, 2013

by Sidsel Overgaard

The debate over lifting a ban on uranium extraction pits the Danish territory's lawmakers against environmentalists. It would be a controversial move and one with consequences for Greenland's economic development as well as its political status.

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At more than 400 square miles, the Rim Fire is the largest Sierra Nevada fire in recorded history.

Fuel In The Fire: Burn Wood For Power Or Leave It To Nature

12:59pm October 16, 2013

by Lauren Sommer

The record-breaking wildfire in Yosemite National Park is calling attention to a problem found across the West: Forests are overloaded with fuel after a century of putting out fires. What to do about that is fueling its own heated debate.

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Mechanical harvesters cut sugar cane on U.S. Sugar Corp. land in Clewiston, Fla., in 2008, the same year the state struck a deal to buy most of the company's Everglades holdings.

Whatever Happened To The Deal To Save The Everglades?

11:49am October 10, 2013

by Greg Allen

In 2008, Florida announced the largest land sale in the state's history — to buy hundreds of miles of Everglades land owned by U.S. Sugar. But only a small fraction was acquired. Now, environmental groups are lobbying for the deal's revival before a contract giving the state an exclusive option to buy expires.

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President Obama speaks at the southern site of the Keystone XL pipeline in Cushing, Okla., in March 2012.

One Thing Obama Can Do: Decide The Fate Of The Keystone Pipeline

3:58pm October 09, 2013

The president alone can approve or reject construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which is designed to take crude oil extracted from Alberta, Canada, through America's heartland to refineries on the Gulf Coast. New Yorker journalist Ryan Lizza says Obama could use the decision as a "symbolic turning point in the kind of energy future he wants America to have."

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