Environment

Daniel Gorham is a fire engineer and former firefighter who helped design and carry out the embers test.

Step 1: Build A House. Step 2: Set It On Fire

6:18am April 02, 2019

After back-to-back hurricanes and wildfires, insurers are looking for more-resilient construction materials. That means building model homes and then blowing off their roofs or setting them on fire.

An aerial view of a combine harvesting corn in a field near Jarrettsville, Md. A new study ties an estimated 4,300 premature deaths a year to the air pollution caused by corn production in the U.S.

Growing Corn Is A Major Contributor To Air Pollution, Study Finds

7:36pm April 01, 2019

by Jonathan Lambert

A study ties an estimated 4,300 premature deaths a year to the air pollution caused by corn production in the U.S. In some regions, the per-bushel health costs exceed the corn's market price.

Diane Walder says she's not a "global warming scaredy-cat." But she says she has noticed sea levels rise around her waterfront home in Miami Beach.

Building For An Uncertain Future: Miami Residents Adapt To The Changing Climate

7:55pm March 31, 2019

In Miami, the effects of global warming are not hypothetical predictions but realities of everyday life, prompting change by government, businesses and individuals alike.

Like most American ski areas, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area operates on U.S. Forest Service land thanks to a federal lease. Shrinking federal budgets to maintain recreational access to public lands mean locals have to be creative to keep trails open and safe.

On Public Lands, Visitors Surge While Federal Management Funds Decline

7:43am March 31, 2019

by Kirk Siegler

Western towns surrounded by and dependent upon public lands are forced to get creative as federal recreation budgets continue a slow decline. They are boosting local efforts to maintain public access.

"When you work in the streets," Jorge says, "you really feel the change."

In Florida, Doctors See Climate Change Hurting Their Most Vulnerable Patients

7:00am March 30, 2019

The medical community in Florida is increasingly sounding the alarm about the health risks associated with rising temperatures.

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Special Counsel Mueller's Trump-Russia Probe Report Reviewed By Attorney General William Barr

Friday News Roundup - Domestic

2:25pm March 29, 2019

Will the public ever see the Mueller report?

The sea squirt Ascidia sydneiensis, a tubelike animal that squirts water out of its body when alarmed, is one of 48 additional nonnative marine species in the Galapagos Islands documented in a newly published study. Previously, researchers knew of only fi

Dozens Of Nonnative Marine Species Have Invaded The Galapagos Islands

9:14pm March 28, 2019

by Christopher Joyce

The number of alien species, likely brought by ship traffic, stunned scientists. And they suspect that the foothold of such creatures may have been underestimated in other tropical habitats, too.

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Smog filled Utah's Salt Lake Valley in January 2017. Winter weather in the area often traps air pollution that is bad for public health.

EPA Science Panel Considering Guidelines That Upend Basic Air Pollution Science

9:06pm March 28, 2019

by Rebecca Hersher

Some panel members said they don't agree that breathing sooty air can cause premature death. The panel's draft recommendations to the EPA would change how it assesses the dangers of air pollution.

Power lines and power-generating windmills rise above the rural landscape on June 13, 2018, near Dwight, Ill. Driven by falling costs, global spending on renewable energy sources like wind and solar is now outpacing investment in electricity from fossil f

From Walmart To Google, Companies Teaming Up To Buy More Solar And Wind Power

5:41pm March 28, 2019

by Camila Domonoske

Walmart, GM, Google, Johnson & Johnson and other corporations are forming a trade organization to promote the interests of renewable energy buyers.

David Bernhardt, a former oil and gas lobbyist, speaks before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee at his confirmation hearing to head the Interior Department, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 28, 2019.

Interior Secretary Nominee Gets Grilled On Ethics At Confirmation Hearing

3:10pm March 28, 2019

by Nathan Rott

David Bernhardt, President Trump's pick to lead the Department of Interior, made his case before a key Senate panel on Thursday. He faced hard questions about his background as an energy lobbyist.