Environment

The Camp Fire leveled homes in the Ridgewood Mobile Home Park retirement community late last year in Paradise, Calif. The state's largest utility, PG&E, may face billions in liability costs if its equipment is found to be responsible for igniting the fire

Devastating Wildfires Force California's Largest Utility To Plan Sale Of Gas Assets

8:33pm January 04, 2019

by Eric Westervelt

Senior officials at Pacific Gas & Electric are working on a plan to sell off the company's natural gas division to avert bankruptcy and raise funds to cover huge projected liability costs.

Between 20,000 to 30,000 people visit Yellowstone National Park each month in the winter, many to snowmobile the park's groomed roads and trails. To keep the park open during the shutdown, local hotels have teamed up with concessionaires to pay park emplo

Private Companies Are Paying To Keep Roads Groomed, Bathrooms Cleaned In Yellowstone

6:25pm January 04, 2019

by Eric Whitney

Because of the partial government shutdown, some national parks are closing because employees aren't working and both trashcans and toilets are overflowing. Yellowstone has found a work-around.

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When Gov. Brown Leaves Office, He Plans To Still Battle Climate Change

5:57am January 04, 2019

by Lauren Sommer

Gov. Jerry Brown has helped make California a global leader in addressing climate change. As he leaves office, we look back on what he achieved and what he could not.

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Collette Williams and her son SaVaughn live a few blocks from the Clairton Coke Works. Pollutants from the plant exceed local limits, and Williams believes that exacerbates her son's severe asthma.

One Town's Decades Long Struggle For Cleaner Air

5:01am January 04, 2019

by Reid Frazier

The air has been getting dirtier around the country's largest coke fuel plant near Pittsburgh. The push to clean up pollution is complicated when residents depend on the industry that's causing it.

Scientists have re-engineered photosynthesis, the foundation of life on Earth, creating genetically modified plants that grow faster and bigger. Above, scientists measure how well modified tobacco plants photosynthesize compared to unmodified plants.

Scientists Have 'Hacked Photosynthesis' In Search Of More Productive Crops

10:51pm January 03, 2019

by Dan Charles

Scientists have re-engineered photosynthesis, a foundation of life on Earth, creating genetically modified plants that grow faster and bigger. They hope it leads to bigger harvests of food.

The farewell letter that former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke posted to Twitter was barely legible, although he did also type out his missive.

Zinke's Handwritten Resignation Note: A Bear To Read, A Bone To Critics

11:06am January 03, 2019

by Daniella Cheslow

The outgoing interior secretary wrote his resignation letter in thick red ink. Now critics are piling on for his handwriting and his policies.

David Bernhardt, a former oil-industry lobbyist and a polarizing figure, will lead the Department of the Interior for now as Ryan Zinke steps down.

Environment

The New Acting Interior Secretary Is An Agency Insider And Ex-Oil Lobbyist

2:23pm January 02, 2019

by Nate Hegyi

As Ryan Zinke steps down amid a string of ethics investigations, his deputy David Bernhardt — a former oil-industry lobbyist and a polarizing figure — will take over at the Department of the Interior.

Villagers in Canchayllo stand by a reconstructed canal.

Climate Change Is Bad For Peru's Pastures ... But There's A 1,200-Year-Old Fix

11:09am January 02, 2019

by Elda Cantú

Climate change has shrunk the wetlands in the Andes where livestock graze. Could reviving ancient water systems bring back the grass?

Pittsburgh Struggles For Clean Air As Nearby Town's Pollution Worsens

6:01am January 01, 2019

by Reid Frazier

The air is getting dirtier around the country's largest coke fuel plant near Pittsburgh. But the push to clean up pollution is complicated when residents depend on the industry that's causing it.

House Democrats Form New 'Climate Crisis' Committee

5:41pm December 30, 2018

This past week Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi announced a new Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. NPR's Don Gonyea speaks with Rep. Kathy Castor who will head up the committee in the new Congress.