Environment

Bob Richling carries Iris Darden as water from the Little River starts to seep into her home in Spring Lake, N.C. on Monday.

Floodwaters Rise In Carolinas, Taking Lives And Prompting Environmental Concerns

4:12pm September 18, 2018

by Laurel Wamsley

The storm is blamed for 34 deaths in three states. More than 10,000 people in North Carolina are living in shelters, and thousands of people have been rescued from their homes.

Flooding From Hurricane Florence Also Poses Environmental Risks

5:40pm September 17, 2018

Flood waters breached a pit of coal ash at a power plant in Wilmington, N.C., spilling heavy metals into a nearby lake. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Frank Holleman at the Southern Environmental Law Center about the risks of coal ash water contamination.

Queue Listen Now

Double Mountain Brewery founder Matt Swihart grabs freshly bottled pale ale from the bottling line in Hood River. The ale is among the first to be sold in Oregon's new refillable beer bottles.

Oregon Launches First Statewide Refillable Bottle System In U.S.

8:02am September 17, 2018

by Cassandra Profita

The new beer bottles can be refilled up to 40 times and are designed to be easily separated from the rest of the glass in the deposit system, ensuring that they get refilled instead of recycled.

Giant 'Pac-Man' Launched To Gobble Garbage Patch

5:21pm September 16, 2018

Last Saturday, the nonprofit Ocean Cleanup dispatched a device to help clean up litter in the Pacific Ocean. NPR's Michel Martin talks with Boyan Slat, the young CEO who came up with the idea.

Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge sits on land surrounding the famous Rocky Flats Nuclear Reservation that produced nuclear weapons during the Cold War.

A New Wildlife Refuge On The Grounds Around An Old Nuclear Weapons Plant

8:26am September 15, 2018

by Dan Boyce

Land around the shuttered weapons production facility in Colorado known as Rocky Flats is slated to reopen today as a wildlife refuge. But some are questioning whether it's too soon to be safe.

Queue Listen Now

Candace and Lawanda Jones are taking shelter at Conway High School in Conway, S.C.

Florence Evacuees Face Four Nights In A Shelter, And No End In Sight

9:46pm September 14, 2018

Residents who evacuated early in the week have already been sleeping in shelters for days. But Tropical Storm Florence still has days of rain and wind to go.

Environment

Did Cape Town Learn From 'Day Zero'?

7:38pm September 14, 2018

by Ari Shapiro

Cape Town, South Africa, averted the "Day Zero" water crisis that made headlines earlier this year, but is the close call enough to change the city's water consumption habits?

Queue Listen Now

Hurricane Florence: Rescue Efforts Underway In North Carolina

7:21pm September 14, 2018

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Chris Coudriet, county manager for New Hanover County, about the rescue efforts underway in and around Wilmington, N.C.

Queue Listen Now

Caught In Hurricane Florence's Path

6:49pm September 14, 2018

Hurricane Florence made landfall on the North Carolina coast early Friday morning. NPR hears from residents who witnessed the storm's damage.

Queue Listen Now

Cajun Navy Rescue Efforts Underway In The Carolinas

5:31pm September 14, 2018

Todd Terrell, founder and president of the United Cajun Navy joins NPR's Ari Shapiro to talk about the volunteer group's rescue efforts underway in the Carolinas.

Queue Listen Now