Environment

Winter Snow And Rain May Lead To More Destructive Wildfire Season

4:48pm July 04, 2017

by Kirk Siegler

Fire officials warn that an abundance of fresh brush, the result of record-setting precipitation this winter in California and the Southwest, could provide plenty of fuel for wildfires this summer.

Pump jacks and a gas flare are seen near Williston, N.D., in 2016.

Appeals Court Says EPA Can't Keep Delaying Obama-Era Methane Rules

2:55pm July 04, 2017

by Camila Domonoske

The U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. notes the EPA can choose to rewrite a rule designed to prevent leaks from natural gas facilities. But it can't just put it off for two years, the judges decided.

Hurricane Katrina victims wait at the Convention Center in New Orleans, in September 2005. A report from Scientific American says such natural disasters may increase the gap between rich and poor in affected communities.

Natural Disasters May Widen Income Gap, Report Says

7:24pm July 03, 2017

by Scott Neuman

Scientific American concludes that disasters correlate to a 1-percentage-point increase in poverty in the affected areas. It also finds that the rich leave disaster-prone areas but the poor can't.

The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina and Virginia has been dramatically altered over the past few centuries by human development.

After Centuries Of Draining This Swamp, The Government Now Wants To Save It

5:47pm July 03, 2017

by Sarah McCammon

Hundreds of years after George Washington first began draining the now-112,000-acre Great Dismal Swamp in southeastern Virginia, biologists are working to restore it to a more natural environment.

Britain's Professor Stephen Hawking delivers a keynote speech as he receives the Honorary Freedom of the City of London during a ceremony at the Guildhall in the City of London, March 6, 2017.

Stephen Hawking: Trump Pushing Earth's Climate 'Over The Brink'

1:18pm July 03, 2017

by Scott Neuman

The renowned physicist and cosmologist says the U.S. pulling out of the Paris climate change accord could turn our planet into another Venus.

Increased snowmelt from Mount Whitney is turning the Kern River into a dangerous playground for kayakers and other whitewater enthusiasts.

California's Near-Record Snowpack Is Melting Into Raging Rivers

11:34am July 03, 2017

by Nathan Rott

After a decade of drought, high snow levels this year are melting and turning California rivers into hazards. At the Kern River, at least six people have died this year.

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The remains of prayer material and discarded idols of Hindu deities pollute the banks of the river Ganges in Allahabad, India.

Will Giving The Ganges Human Rights Protect The Polluted River?

5:10pm July 02, 2017

by Julie McCarthy

A court in India declared its holiest river is entitled to the same rights as a person that would include the right to sue polluters. Still, many think the divine waters are unimpacted by pollution.

Inside a pumping station on the Guadalquivir River, José Godoy tests the water for salt content. When drought hits, the water becomes too salty, and can poison crops.

Drought Threatens Crops, Wildlife Along Spain's Guadalquivir River Delta

11:36am July 02, 2017

by Lauren Frayer

As they drill more wells to water crops, drought-stricken farmers in southwest Spain confront environmentalists in Doñana National Park, a migratory bird refuge that's lost 80 percent of its aquifer.

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A grizzly bear roams near Beaver Lake in Yellowstone National Park, Wyo., in 2011.

Wildlife Activists Plan Lawsuits To Protect Yellowstone Grizzlies

5:24pm June 30, 2017

by Scott Neuman

The Northern Cheyenne Tribe and The Humane Society are among the organizations that will sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to keep the iconic carnivore on the endangered species list.

Researchers monitored the health of these wild bees, from the species Osmia bicornis. They nest inside small cavities, such as hollow reeds.

Pesticides Are Harming Bees — But Not Everywhere, Major New Study Shows

6:22pm June 29, 2017

by Dan Charles

A huge new study conducted in 33 sites across Europe finds that seeds coated with neonicotinoid pesticides harm bees living nearby. The damage, though, depends on local conditions.