Environment

Zurich is expanding its district heating system, which delivers hot water and steam through underground pipes. With more buildings relying on this system for heat, there's less demand for natural gas.

To fight climate change, and now Russia, too, Zurich turns off natural gas

12:15pm April 20, 2022

by Dan Charles

Zurich, Switzerland, is shutting down the gas supply to some neighborhoods. Originally aimed at fighting climate change and saving money, it's also a step to cut gas imports from Russia.

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Pipeline used to carry crude oil is shown at the Superior, Wis., terminal of Enbridge Energy, on June 29, 2018. The Biden administration is restoring federal regulations guiding environmental reviews of major infrastructure projects.

Biden administration restores environmental reviews for major infrastructure projects

1:20pm April 19, 2022

by The Associated Press

The move restores regulations guiding environmental reviews of big projects such as highways and pipelines that were scaled back by the Trump administration in a bid to fast-track the projects.

Climate change has already made storms more intense, flooding cities with more rainfall than they were built to handle.

Environment

Green infrastructure helps cities with climate change. So why isn't there more of it?

5:05am April 15, 2022

by Lauren Sommer

The U.S. is making the largest investment in history in the country's water system. In the rush to spend, some worry green projects will be overlooked.

More than 3 months after the Marshall Fire, clean up is only beginning near Louisville, Colo.

After a rough year, new wildfire warnings have Boulder, Colorado on edge

5:38pm April 14, 2022

by Kirk Siegler

Boulder, Colorado is again under a red flag warning for extreme wildfire danger as powerful winds like those that fanned a destructive blaze in December return to the drought stricken region.

A new study provides the first evidence of its kind that silica dust is responsible for the rising tide of severe black lung disease, including among coal miners in Appalachia.

Researchers say they've linked silica dust directly to severe black lung disease

5:19pm April 13, 2022

by Robert Benincasa

A new study links the epidemic of severe lung disease among coal miners to toxic silica dust. The findings echo a 2018 investigation by NPR and the PBS show Frontline.

Environmental laws can be an obstacle in building green energy infrastructure

4:57pm April 13, 2022

Green energy, like wind or solar power, is one solution to fighting climate change. But sometimes it's environmental laws that get in the way of building the infrastructure to produce it.

A pack of wolves in Yellowstone National Park are spotted from a wildlife tracking plane

A record number of Yellowstone wolves have been killed. Conservationists are worried

11:34am April 13, 2022

by Nick Mott

States neighboring Yellowstone National Park have eased rules on hunting wolves, resulting in the most being killed in nearly a century

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A spike in wolf killings around Yellowstone has conservationists worried

6:11pm April 12, 2022

by Nick Mott

Last year, two neighboring states loosened restrictions on hunting wolves outside Yellowstone, resulting in a spike in deaths. Locally that's politically popular, but biologists see problems.

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The 405 Freeway is packed with rush-hour traffic last month in Los Angeles. Americans' greatest contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions comes from transportation, mostly from cars and trucks, according to the federal government.

How much energy powers a good life? Less than you're using, says a new report

1:32pm April 12, 2022

by Laura Benshoff

Americans use nearly four times the energy researchers say is needed to live a happy, healthy and prosperous life.

Encore: A vital lake in Oregon, around for eons, could run dry within a generation

4:42pm April 11, 2022

In Oregon's high desert, a more than 10,000-year-old lake is drying up. That doesn't have to happen. Summer Lake hosts millions of migratory birds annually, but its water is being diverted to farms.

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