Environment

Inside Beijing's Gao'antun incinerator plant, garbage piles past the 25-meter (82-ft.) mark inside an arena-sized garbage container where engineers operate giant claws to sift through it.

The Burning Problem Of China's Garbage

11:48am February 20, 2017

by Rob Schmitz

China produces 520,000 tons of garbage a day. To get rid of it, the government favors burning it, which harms the environment. One answer: sorting garbage and recycling. But that's proved challenging.

Environment

Scientists Use Flying Laboratory To Track Greenhouse Gases

6:57am February 20, 2017

by Craig LeMoult

A team of scientists is flying the globe to track greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. We join a crew over the Arctic as they measure things they say computer models could never pick up.

On one Alaskan island, reindeer have eaten the lichen faster than it could regrow. They're now digging up roots and grazing on grass.

When Their Food Ran Out, These Reindeer Kept Digging

7:54am February 18, 2017

by Zoë Sobel

Reindeer are thought to face a grim future as climate change threatens lichen, a key winter food source. But on one Alaskan island, reindeer have found a new food source, making scientists hopeful.

Nahant, Mass., is a rocky crescent-moon-shape piece of land that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean just north of Boston. In the era of climate change, residents are trying to figure out how to adapt to rising sea levels.

In Massachusetts, Coastal Residents Consider How To Adapt To Climate Change

5:16pm February 17, 2017

by Sam Evans-Brown

Living by the shore in the age of climate change means managing risk. In the community of Nahant, Mass., residents are trying to decide how to adapt.

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Senate Confirms Scott Pruitt To Lead Environmental Protection Agency

4:34pm February 17, 2017

by Nathan Rott

Scott Pruitt is promising an aggressive rollback of regulations at the Environmental Protection Agency. NPR takes a look at what he's likely to target and the challenges he will face.

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Scott Pruitt has been confirmed by the Senate to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

Scott Pruitt Confirmed To Lead Environmental Protection Agency

2:32pm February 17, 2017

by Scott Detrow

The Senate approved the longtime EPA critic on a 52-46 vote. Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota voted for him; Republican Susan Collins of Maine voted against.

Chart: Oroville Dam reservoir storage in 2017 compared to 2000-2016 (in acre feet)

Oroville Dam Reached Capacity Faster Than Previous 16 Years

2:09pm February 17, 2017

The Oroville dam is the tallest in the country and has a capacity of 3,537,577 acre feet. It went over capacity last week causing massive evacuations and bringing attention to its damaged spillways.

WATCH: The 'Firefall' Offers A Grand Glimpse Of A Glow In Flow

2:09pm February 17, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

Once a year around this time, when conditions are just right, Horsetail Fall in Yosemite National Park lights up at sunset with a majestic spectacle of orange and yellow. See the phenomenon in action.

William Ruckelshaus is sworn in as administrator of the new Environmental Protection Agency as President Richard Nixon looks on at the White House on Dec. 4, 1970.

How The EPA Became A Victim Of Its Own Success

1:23pm February 17, 2017

by Nathan Rott

The Trump administration faces protests for its plan to aggressively rein in the EPA, an agency created by President Richard Nixon. But environmental protection was not always so politically divisive.

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A visitor stands next to the U.S.-Mexico border fence at Friends of Friendship Park on Feb. 4 in San Ysidro, Calif.

The Environmental Consequences Of A Wall On The U.S.-Mexico Border

11:01am February 17, 2017

by Leah Donnella

Discussions of a border wall happen at the intersection of environmental and civil rights.