Environment

Climate activists protest on the first day of the ExxonMobil trial outside the New York State Supreme Court building on Oct. 22, 2019, in New York City. ExxonMobil was found not guilty of misleading investors about how climate change would affect its finances.

Exxon climate predictions were accurate decades ago. Still it sowed doubt

5:31pm January 12, 2023

by Jeff Brady

Exxon's climate research decades back painted an accurate picture of global warming, according to a new scientific paper. Still, the oil company continued climate-denying policy efforts.

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Most reservoirs aren't allowed to fill up in the winter, but Folsom Reservoir outside of Sacramento, California is using a new strategy to save more water by using weather forecasts.

Environment

Heavy rain is still hitting California. A few reservoirs figured out how to capture more for drought

5:11pm January 11, 2023

by Lauren Sommer

Decades-old rules mean most reservoirs aren't allowed to fill up in the winter. A new approach using weather forecasts is helping some save more water to help with California's drought.

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In this false-color image, the blue and purple show the hole in Earth's protective ozone layer over Antarctica on Oct. 5. Earth's ozone layer is slowly but noticeably healing.

The ozone layer is on track to recover in the coming decades, the United Nations says

4:25pm January 10, 2023

by Jaclyn Diaz

The ozone layer is a thin shield in the stratosphere that protects humans and the environment from harmful levels of the sun's ultraviolet radiation.

California moves ahead with plans for floating wind turbines miles off its coastline

7:26pm January 09, 2023

by Kevin Stark / KQED

A first-of-its-kind offshore wind lease auction along California's coast generated $750 million in combined sales. Analysts say that's a strong and positive market signal for American offshore wind.

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EPA Administrator Michael Regan, right, speaks to reporters in November 2021 at the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant, a Ridgeland, Miss.-based facility near Jackson, Miss., about longstanding water issues that have plagued the city.

Mississippi's top environment official denies his agency discriminated against Jackson

2:06pm January 09, 2023

by The Associated Press

The city's water system has suffered disruptions for years, but Christopher Wells says that the city received every loan it requested, and that an ongoing civil rights investigation is political.

The British government is set to announce the full details of the single-use plastics ban on Saturday.

England will ban single-use plastic plates and cutlery for environmental reasons

1:38pm January 09, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey says the new ban will stop pollution from "billions of pieces of plastic." Advocates applaud the move but say it doesn't go far enough on its own.

Gabriella Torres-Ferrer, Untitled (Valora tu mentira americana) (detail), 2018. Hurricane-ravaged wooden electric post with statehood propaganda. Private collection; courtesy of the artist and Embajada, San Juan.

When people are less important than beaches: Puerto Rican artists at the Whitney

5:58pm January 07, 2023

by Jennifer Vanasco

The first major exhibit of Puerto Rican art on the mainland in 50 years wrestles with the question: Who is Puerto Rico for?

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Environment

Can Brazil's Lula save the Amazon?

5:10pm January 07, 2023

NPR's Andrew Limbong speaks with environmental researcher Erika Berenguer about Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's ambitions to save the Amazon rainforest from deforestation.

Drivers barrel into standing water on Interstate 101 in San Francisco on January 4.

California is getting drenched. So why can't it save water for the drought?

7:01am January 07, 2023

As a bomb cyclone hits California this week and dumps massive amounts of water on the state, some people are asking: why can't we save the water for times when we desperately need it?

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For the first time in years, some Teslas will qualify for a $7,500 federal tax credit for new electric vehicles. But only some vehicles — and only some buyers — are eligible.

Buying an electric car? You can get a $7,500 tax credit, but it won't be easy

5:00am January 07, 2023

by Camila Domonoske

The government is offering a hefty tax credit to buyers of electric vehicles, but taking advantage of it is not straightforward. Here's what you need to know.