climate

In this photo provided by the National Park Service, cars are stuck in mud and debris from flash flooding at The Inn at Death Valley in Death Valley National Park on Aug. 5, 2022.

National

Flood-damaged Death Valley will reopen popular sites to the public

1:10am August 20, 2022

by The Associated Press

Death Valley was hit on Aug. 5 by historic downpours that caused millions of dollars in damage to roads and facilities. Officials cautioned visitors to expect delays and continuing road closures.

A mural in memory of Mary Luten, 59, who died while saving others in the Waverly flood, sits on display at The Walls Art Park. The flood on Aug. 21, 2021, killed 20 people and damaged more than 700 homes.

In a flood-ravaged Tennessee town, uncertainty hangs over the recovery

5:00am August 19, 2022

by Damon Mitchell

It's been one year since a flood tore through Waverly, Tenn., and killed 20 people. There's been lots of effort to rebuild, but it's still unclear if the town will ever be the same.

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The Biden administration aims to make nature a measurable part of the U.S. economy

5:38pm August 18, 2022

by Nathan Rott

Environmental damage is a threat to the global economy but it's hardly counted in economic figures like the GDP. The Biden administration is unveiling an effort to give a more holistic accounting.

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Cars drive on flooded streets as Tropical Storm Henri approaches, in Hoboken New Jersey on August 22, 2021.

National

Federal judges deal the oil industry another setback in climate litigation

5:31pm August 18, 2022

by Michael Copley

An appeals court said two climate change lawsuits against the oil industry should be heard in state court. Oil companies have been fighting such cases on jurisdictional grounds for years and losing.

China's ties with Sri Lanka raise concerns about control of global trade

7:27am August 18, 2022

by Lauren Frayer

As Sri Lanka negotiates an IMF bailout, another creditor waits in the wings: China. Beijing has funded infrastructure on the island, and it is poised to invest more. That makes the West nervous.

Football players at Cedar Grove High School in DeKalb County start practice in late July without pads to give them an acclimatization period to get used to the heat. This is a statewide rule from the Georgia High School Association.

How Georgia reduced heat-related high school football deaths

4:59pm August 17, 2022

by Molly Samuel

Starting practice at the hottest time of year, football players face dangers from the heat. Georgia high school heat rules have turned the state into a national model.

A line of petrochemical facilities in St. Charles Parish, La., in 2018. Many people who live near industrial sites, and who are exposed to dangerous pollution, fear that the Inflation Reduction Act will deepen existing environmental inequalities.

The spending bill will cut emissions, but marginalized groups feel they were sold out

4:21pm August 17, 2022

by Rebecca Hersher

The Inflation Reduction Act is the biggest ever investment to tackle climate change. But there are signs that it could reinforce existing environmental inequalities.

News brief: Cheney's political future, Colorado River crisis, back to school

7:45am August 17, 2022

Liz Cheney lost her House seat, but her fight against ex-President Donald Trump continues. A water crisis on the Colorado River is worsening. Millions of children are beginning a new school year.

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National

A water crisis on the Colorado River is getting worse

5:03am August 17, 2022

New federal forecasts show the nation's two largest reservoirs on the river are expected to continue their rapid decline — putting the water supply for 40 million people in the southwest in jeopardy.

National

Historic drought and climate change push Colorado River to record low levels

5:03am August 17, 2022

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to water policy advocate John Berggren of the nonprofit Western Resource Advocates, about the Colorado River water crisis, and what can be done to mitigate climate impacts.