Environment

The vandalism that brought the Sycamore Gap tree down also harmed a UNESCO World Heritage Site: Hadrian's Wall. In this October photo, a worker used a chainsaw to cut up the tree so its trunk could be removed.

Hadrian's Wall was damaged when the Sycamore Gap tree came down, analysis finds

3:45pm November 13, 2023

by Bill Chappell

The preservation group Historic England says it passed news of its analysis on to Northumbria Police, which has now made at least four arrests linked to the case.

Tent Camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, NC. Bushcraft campsite and campfire.

Environment

Across western NC, backcountry campsites are closed

12:41pm November 13, 2023

by Eddie Garcia

In western North Carolina, many backcountry campsites — meaning areas a little off the beaten path and with fewer amenities — are closed or have restrictions

People work at a landfill in India that's full of plastic bags. Members of the United Nations are negotiating a treaty that's aimed at cutting plastic pollution globally.

The world is awash in plastic. Oil producers want a say in how it's cleaned up

5:00am November 13, 2023

Groups connected to the fossil fuel industry are trying to shape an international treaty to cut plastic pollution. And oil- and gas-producing nations are at the negotiating table.

The Key deer is the smallest deer species in North America. The deer live only in the low-lying Florida Keys. They are considered federally endangered, with an estimated population of around 1,000.

A tiny deer and rising seas: How far should people go to save an endangered species?

5:30am November 12, 2023

The Key deer is losing the only place it lives, raising uncomfortable questions for the people tasked with keeping endangered species alive.

Queue Listen Now

Environment

To rake or not to rake? The case for letting leaves lie

9:11am November 11, 2023

by Scott Simon

Leave the leaves? Is it really as simple as that? NPR's Scott Simon talks with Jessica Damiano - who writes the Weekly Dirt Newsletter, about the wisdom of this movement.

Queue Listen Now

Environment

The obscure rule that keeps cities under federal pollution limits

9:11am November 11, 2023

by Scott Simon

There's a little-known air pollution rule that more and more cities are using to keep their air quality within federal limits when wildfire smoke threatens to send them over pollution limits.

Environment

Wyoming hunters skip this season to let deer bounce back from last winter

5:47pm November 10, 2023

by Caitlin Tan

Last winter in Wyoming was so harsh that tens of thousands of deer and antelope perished. This season, thousands of hunters are voluntarily sitting out to give the herds time to recover.

Queue Listen Now

Scientist to recount adventurous climb in Appalachian State appearance

7:40am November 10, 2023

by Aria Heyneman

Appalachian State University is hosting an appearance Friday by Alison Criscitiello, a National Geographic explorer who is a trained mountaineer and a glacier scientist. Her work includes climbing Mount Logan, the highest peak in Canada, to retrieve samples of ice that are thousands of years old.

Queue Listen Now

A worker harvests mangrove "propagules" from a forest planted five years ago in the Indus River Delta in southern Pakistan. A propagule is basically a spear-shaped baby tree that drops off the mama tree. They're harvested and planted elsewhere as workers undertake one of the largest mangrove forestation efforts in the world – a project that will take years and cost millions.

Pakistan is planting lots of mangrove forests. So why are some upset?

5:31am November 10, 2023

Pakistan is reforesting its river delta with mangrove forests nearly the size of Rhode Island. But why are some upset?

Queue Listen Now

Trash bags sit on a sidewalk to be picked up by sanitation workers in Manhattan, New York City in October 2023.

Curbside trash is a problem in NYC. Officials have a not-so-novel fix: plastic bins

5:01am November 09, 2023

by Austin Cope

After decades of plastic garbage bags stacked daily on New York City's sidewalks (and the rats they attract), officials hope to solve this issue just like other U.S. cities have already: garbage bins.

Queue Listen Now