Environment

The Colorado River wraps around Horseshoe Bend in the in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Page, Ariz. on Feb. 11.

Environment

Instagram Crowds May Be Ruining Nature

7:52am November 12, 2017

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

When a particularly scenic shot gains traction on Instagram, visitors flood in. Travel photographer Brent Knepper tells NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro that can lead to permanent changes in the landscape.

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Gregory Reed tours a former school now becoming a lab for energy research in Pittsburgh. Reed says he's focusing on how microgrids can provide reliable, resilient and locally produced energy.

Pittsburgh's Microgrids Technology Could Lead The Way For Green Energy

1:11am November 12, 2017

by Daniella Cheslow

Pittsburgh wants to become a model for cutting edge energy supply. Researchers in the city are planning a network of microgrids.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with EPA chief Scott Pruitt on June 1 after speaking about the U.S. role in the Paris climate change accord in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington.

Certain And Confident: Predicting The Future In A Climate-Changing World

1:36pm November 10, 2017

by Adam Frank

The Climate Science Special Report, released by the White House last week, is a valuable read — it's a primer on how science works when it overlaps with the need to make informed bets on our future.

A algae bloom in Lake Erie contaminated the water supply for Toledo, Ohio, in August 2014. About 400,000 people were without useable water.

Algae Toxins In Drinking Water Sickened People In 2 Outbreaks

4:53pm November 09, 2017

by Greta Jochem

In Ohio, more than 100 people got sick in 2013 and 2014 when municipal drinking water was contaminated with toxins from algae blooms in Lake Erie. The CDC says these are the first known instances.

Cattle stand by the side of a road as a truck drives through smog in Greater Noida, near New Delhi, on Wednesday.

New Delhi Chief Minister Calls India's Smog-Choked Capital A 'Gas Chamber'

2:04pm November 09, 2017

by Scott Neuman

The situation is so bad that doctors are describing it as a public health emergency and calling for the government to order an evacuation of the city.

Hurricane Harvey dropped record rainfall on Houston neighborhoods like this one, near Addicks Reservoir.

Scientists In Houston Tell A Story Of Concrete, Rain And Destruction

1:27pm November 09, 2017

by Christopher Joyce

As researchers and engineers analyze the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, it's becoming clear that Houston's runaway development had a big role to play in flooding.

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This coal mine is in the town of Gujiao in Shanxi Province.

As China Moves To Other Energy Sources, Its Coal Region Struggles To Adapt

1:12pm November 09, 2017

In Shanxi Province, coal is big business and a source of identity. Now China is closing and consolidating its coal mines under state ownership, and the region has not figured out how to rebound.

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Fish market workers in Jersey City, N.J., prepare a bluefin tuna for shipment to some of New York's top sushi restaurants.

Is It Time To Catch The Wave Of Rebounding Atlantic Bluefin Tuna?

7:00am November 09, 2017

by Fred Bever

New England fishers say it's been decades since they've hauled in so many tuna, and some in the industry are urging higher quotas. But some environmental groups fear the population is still imperiled.

"Success for me is having a significant impact on dengue disease in communities," says Scott O'Neill, holding a container of mosquitoes.

EPA Approval Of Bacteria To Fight Mosquitoes Caps Long Quest

5:40pm November 08, 2017

by Joe Palca

Scientists have long sought a way to fight mosquito-borne viruses without pesticides. For researchers like Scott O'Neill, the Wolbachia bacteria offered that chance. But they had to prove it.

Stromatolites (deposits built by colonies of cyanobacteria), are seen underwater at high tide in Shark Bay, Western Australia.

The Interdependence Of Humanity And Earth

8:33am November 08, 2017

by Marcelo Gleiser

We owe our existence to little photosynthetic bacteria — but there is much more to this story, as life can only mutate and adapt when the planet offers the right conditions, says Marcelo Gleiser.