Environment

It's Not Just Wildfires. Climate Change Is Making The Air More Hazardous

9:20am September 14, 2020

Even beyond wildfire smoke, the air this summer has been more dangerous for millions of Americans. That's because of the warming climate, which threatens to roll back decades of improving air quality.

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Smoke, Dense Fog Complicate Oregon Firefighting Efforts

5:28pm September 13, 2020

by Nathan Rott

In Oregon, better weather could help as firefighters battle ongoing blazes. Tens of thousands are displaced, others missing, and hazardous smoke continues to blanket much of the state.

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Nearly two decades after the 2002 Hayman fire in Colorado, this high-severity burn area near Cheesman Lake is still treeless.

As Wildfires Grow More Intense, Iconic Western Forests May Not Come Back

10:51am September 13, 2020

by Michael Elizabeth Sakas

Extreme fires are more likely with climate change, and they're making it harder for some tree species to regenerate. Ecologists say this could transform large areas of Western forest into grassland.

The appointment of a climate change denier to NOAA comes as Americans face profound threats stoked by climate change, from the vast, deadly wildfires in the West to an unusually active hurricane season in the South and East.

Longtime Climate Science Denier Hired At NOAA

6:30pm September 12, 2020

by Rebecca Hersher

David Legates, a professor whose research has been supported by fossil fuel companies, has been hired for a top position at the federal agency that oversees weather and climate forecasting.

Firefighters monitor a controlled burn along Nacimiento-Fergusson Road to help contain the Dolan Fire near Big Sur, Calif., on Friday.

Wildfires Latest: Helpful Weather; Oregon Official Warns Of 'Mass Fatality Incident'

6:03pm September 12, 2020

by Jason Slotkin

A change in weather conditions is being seen as a needed assist for nearly 30,000 fire personnel battling blazes. Authorities are also attempting to debunk online rumors about the cause of the fires.

Voices Of Southern Oregon Wildfire Evacuees

5:24pm September 12, 2020

by Erik Neumann

People in an Oregon evacuation shelter talk about fleeing the flames and what's ahead for them, including the head of a retirement home that was destroyed.

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A funnel appears in a thick plume of smoke from the Loyalton Fire last month in Lassen County, Calif. It is one of many wildfires to have hit the state recently.

Opinion: The California Dream, A Catastrophic Wake-Up Call

2:53pm September 12, 2020

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon recounts what life in California, once the stuff of dreams, has become for too many residents as wildfires, mudslides, earthquakes seem to happen with increasing frequency.

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Landfill workers bury all plastic except soda bottles and milk jugs at Rogue Disposal & Recycling in southern Oregon.

How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled

8:17pm September 11, 2020

by Laura Sullivan

An NPR and PBS Frontline investigation reveals how the oil and gas industry used the promise of recycling to sell more plastic, even when they knew it would never work on a large scale.

Climate Change May Wipe Out Large Mangrove Forests, New Research Suggests

4:04pm September 11, 2020

by Greg Allen

Mangroves help protect coastal areas from flooding and sequester more carbon than tropical forests. But new studies suggest they may be wiped out by the rise of sea levels.

Wildfires across the West, such as the Creek Fire here in Madera County, Calif., are pushing firefighters to their limits.

Why Firefighting Alone Won't Stop Western Mega-Fires

1:25pm September 11, 2020

In another record-breaking year, communities are realizing the best way to survive wildfires is learning to live with them.