Environment

Environment

U.S. Cities Struggle To Meet Tighter Flood Standards

12:44pm October 02, 2017

by Lauren Sommer

More than a decade ago, after Hurricane Katrina, the federal government tightened flood protection standards. But a lot of communities are still having a hard time meeting them.

Queue Listen Now

Dr. Ariel Lugo looks at a damaged tree on the grounds of the University of Puerto Rico's Botanical Gardens. "You asked me who got defoliated, everyone did," Lugo says about the bare trees.

After Hurricane's Wrath, Puerto Rico's Green Forests Turn Bare Brown

1:09pm October 01, 2017

by John Burnett

"It makes you want to cry when you to see it," one resident says about the stripped vegetation. But a scientist says it will recover relatively quickly: "It will be beautiful again."

Queue Listen Now

Richard Colón, better known by his stage name Crazy Legs at his home in Isabela, Puerto Rico, shows the before-and-after of the water filtration system he's helping deliver to people in remote areas.

Richard 'Crazy Legs' Colón Returns To Puerto Rico With A Clean Drinking Water Mission

12:39pm October 01, 2017

by Mandalit del Barco

With many Puerto Ricans still without drinking water after Hurricane Maria, the legendary New York break dancer teamed up with the nonprofit Waves For Water to help distribute portable water filters.

Queue Listen Now

Flooded houses near Lake Houston on Aug. 30, after the storm called Harvey swept through. Sociologist Clare Cooper Marcus says our homes hold our emotional history — our memories, our hopes, our dreams and pain. In some ways our homes are who we are.

Flee A Cataclysm, Or Cling To A Doomed Home? Why People Stay May Surprise You

7:00am September 30, 2017

by Rebecca Davis

"You must leave now," thousands of Americans from Puerto Rico to Oregon to Florida, Montana, Texas and beyond were told, as floods, fire and wind threatened their lives. Some said no.

Patrick Bayou, pictured on Sept. 2, flooded when Hurricane Harvey slammed the Houston area. The bayou is a Superfund toxic waste site. A March cleanup report for the site did not include preparations for more severe flood events as a result of climate cha

An Absent EPA Climate Report, And A Tale Of Two Flooded Superfund Sites

7:12pm September 29, 2017

by Rebecca Hersher

A 2014 EPA climate report warned that Superfund site cleanup and monitoring processes needed updates to prepare for more severe floods. That report is no longer located on the current agency website.

Animals, Plants Rafted Across The Pacific After Japan's 2011 Earthquake

5:18pm September 29, 2017

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Greg Ruiz, a marine ecologist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, about nearly 300 Japanese marine coastal species that traveled across the Pacific Ocean.

Dave Archambault, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, stands outside court in Washington in October 2016, where appeals court judges heard his tribe's challenge to the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Voted Out Of Office

8:24pm September 28, 2017

by Jeff Brady

Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault lost a re-election bid after a controversial campaign to block the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Environment

It Rained Fish In Mexico, Officials Say. No, It's Not The End Times (We Think)

4:02pm September 28, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

The director of civil protection in Tamaulipas state confirmed reports that several fish fell from the sky during a light rain. And as it turns out, the phenomenon isn't exactly unprecedented.

Rolled oysters have been a favorite snack in Louisville, Ky., restaurants for more than a century, but turmoil in the oyster industry has caused them to dwindle.

The Rolled Oyster, Louisville's Oddball Bar Snack, Is Tumbling Off Menus

1:47pm September 28, 2017

by Ashlie Stevens

The softball-size, deep-fried morsels, which have been offered in this Kentucky city's restaurants for more than a century, are taking a hit due to low supply and high costs in the oyster industry.

Houston Residents Near Chemical Plant Remain Under Health Advisory

5:11pm September 27, 2017

by Travis Bubenik

A month after a Houston chemical plant flooded and caught fire, nearby residents are still under a health advisory. Multiple investigations are looking into what went wrong.