Environment

How E-Waste Is Becoming a Big, Global Problem

1:03pm January 11, 2013

According to the EPA, more than 2.5 million tons of electronic waste, or e-waste, is produced each year in the U.S. Derek Markham, a contributing writer for Treehugger.com, discusses the global impacts, and why you should think twice before discarding your old cell phone.

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Craig Childs walks in the desert surrounding the Colorado River delta.

The True Weight Of Water

8:35am January 11, 2013

by Craig Childs

A recent report from the Department of the Interior suggests that the Colorado River is drying out. But commentator Craig Childs says sometimes the answers are simpler than they seem.

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The Nekoosa Paper Mill was established in 1883. Its mill in Nekoosa, Wis., sits on the banks of the Wisconsin River, and is now owned by a Canadian paper company.

iPads, China: Twin Threats To Wisconsin's Paper Industry

8:11pm January 08, 2013

by NPR Staff

The paper industry once employed thousands of people across the state. Now, mills are closing. John Schmid of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on the state of the industry in Wisconsin as well as in China. He explains how the state is losing a publishing-grade paper mill each year.

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The Shell Oil Jackpine open pit mine uses trucks that are 3 stories tall, weigh 1 million pounds and cost $7 million each. There is explosive growth in the oil field areas around Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada.

Deep In Canadian Lakes, Signs Of Tar Sands Pollution

6:43pm January 08, 2013

by Elizabeth Shogren

The contaminants researchers found at the bottom of Alberta lakes are from air pollutants coming from tar sands oil production and processing facilities. The pollution wasn't picked up by the industry-funded monitoring program that was supposed to track environmental risks from tar sands over recent decades.

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2012 Smashes Record For Hottest Year In The Lower 48

6:37pm January 08, 2013

by Richard Harris

It's official: 2012 was the hottest year on record for the contiguous United States. In fact, it shattered the record set in 1998. The National Climatic Data Center says last year was also extraordinarily dry — and drought conditions are persisting into 2013.

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Drilling Rig's Thick Hull Helps Prevent Oil Spill

6:06am January 08, 2013

by Richard Harris

A Shell Oil drilling rig has been pulled of the rocks, where it washed up a week ago during a storm. It has been towed to a bay where divers will inspect it for damage. The incident raises questions about the oil company's controversial plans to continue exploring for oil in the Arctic Ocean this summer.

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From left, bird-watchers John Williamson, Donna Quinn, Bruce Hill and Frances Raskin try to spot as many different species as possible during this season's bird count in Loudoun County, Va.

From Canada To Latin America, The Christmas Bird Count Is On

8:46am January 04, 2013

by Veronique LaCapra

Since 1900, citizen scientists across the Americas have braved bad weather and lack of sleep to participate in the yearly count — essentially, a bird-watching marathon. In the process, these birds have created the world's longest-running database in ornithology and given scientists a great tool for assessing the health of bird populations.

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2013: A Tipping Year For Climate Change?

5:55pm December 30, 2012

This year's weather will be one for the record books; 2012 is slated to be the hottest summer on record. "We've already passed all kinds of tipping points," environmentalist Bill McKibben says. He's wondering if President Obama will take a different approach to climate change in the coming year.

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Rain clouds move over the remnants of parched cornstalks on Aug. 22 near Wiley, Colo. A summer storm came too late to help farmers whose crops were decimated in the wide zone of exceptional drought in Colorado's eastern plains.

An Abundance Of Extreme Weather Has Many On Edge

9:40pm December 27, 2012

by Jennifer Ludden

It was the warmest year on record and brought a series of extreme weather events, from wildfires and floods to drought and a devastating derecho. Polls show a big jump this year in the number of people connecting such disasters with climate change.

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Environment

Climate Change Gets Real For Americans

7:24pm December 26, 2012

by Adam Frank

Something remarkable happened in 2012.

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