environment

National

Biden sets 10-year deadline for U.S. cities to replace lead pipes nationwide

11:49pm October 08, 2024

President Biden on Tuesday set a 10-year deadline for cities across the nation to replace their lead pipes, finalizing an approach aimed at ensuring that drinking water is safe for all Americans.

Climate Activists Rally Outside The Supreme Court Over Their Recent EPA Decision

Why the next president's judicial appointments will impact climate action

1:07pm July 13, 2024

by Nathan Rott

The Supreme Court's recent term illustrates the judiciary's outsized role in government's ability to address climate change. The coming election could shape the judicial landscape for decades to come.

How to live without plastics for a month, according to the founder of a global movement

2:30pm July 12, 2024

by Claire Murashima

Plastic Free July is upon us! Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, founder of Plastic Free July, encourages people to take the challenge with friends, start small and keep a “plastic-free kit” on hand.

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Lauren Hill, a graduate student at Cal State LA, holds a bird at the bird banding site at Bear Divide in the San Gabriel Mountains.

On this unassuming trail near LA, bird watchers see something spectacular

5:01am May 13, 2024

by Kai McNamee

At Bear Divide, just outside Los Angeles, you can see a rare spectacle of nature. This is one of the only places in the western United States where you can see bird migration during daylight hours.

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Tenke Fungurume Mine, one of the largest copper and cobalt mines in the world, is owned by Chinese company CMOC, in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Minerals like cobalt are important components of electric vehicle batteries, but mines that produce them can hurt the environment and people nearby.

Their batteries hurt the environment, but EVs still beat gas cars. Here's why

5:31pm May 09, 2024

by Camila Domonoske

NPR listeners wrote to ask whether the environmental harm from building EVs "cancels out" the cars' climate benefits. Experts say the answer is clear.

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There's more plastic waste in the world than ever. So, where did the idea come from that individuals, rather than corporations, should keep the world litter-free?

Who created the idea of litter – and why? Play this month's Throughline history quiz.

10:02am April 19, 2024

Where did the idea come from that individuals, rather than corporations, should keep the world litter-free? What history is hidden in the trash? Find out here.

Some TikTok creators have embraced the de-influencer movement, like Diana Wiebe, seen in a screenshot here, who goes by the TikTok handle @depressiondotgov and critiques social media influencing.

Arts

'This is garbage': Step aside, influencers — we're now in the era of de-influencing

5:00am March 25, 2024

by Brianna Scott

A new movement has emerged in recent years: de-influencing. What started as a backlash to advertising could now have a surprising and real-world impact on the environment.

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John Kerry says "we can win this fight" against climate change.

U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry is giving up the job title — but not the fight

12:15pm March 07, 2024

Outgoing climate envoy John Kerry talks about leaving the job, how another Donald Trump presidency could impact the fight against climate change, and how he remains hopeful.

Chris Dollar steers his boat on the Ware River in Gloucester, Virginia in September. A charter fishing captain and conservation advocate, Dollar said he sees fewer fish in the bay and its tributaries than he used to. Schools of menhaden that used to be "the size of a football field" have shrunk to "maybe a tennis court," he said.

A small fish is at the center of a big fight in the Chesapeake Bay

10:21am February 14, 2024

by Katherine Hafner

Recreational fishermen and conservation groups worry overfishing for menhaden threatens the Chesapeake Bay. Industry says current data doesn't support shutting down the more than century-old fishery.

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South African naturalist Adam Welz traveled the world to understand how climate change is "weirding" ecosystems. One of his questions: How to stay hopeful in a warming world?

A naturalist finds hope despite climate change in an era he calls 'The End of Eden'

10:04am December 23, 2023

by Brian Mann

South African naturalist Adam Welz has traveled the world, documenting the profound impact of climate change on wild species. He says his research has convinced him despair isn't the answer.

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