Environment

Dennis Pungowiyi sells his ivory carvings at a craft fair during the annual Alaska Federation of Natives conference.

Ivory Ban Hurts Alaska Natives Who Legally Carve Walrus Tusks

6:20pm November 24, 2016

by Zachariah Hughes

Strict bans on ivory trade are aimed at preventing elephant poaching. But the measures are causing unintended consequences for Alaska Natives who hunt walruses and carve their tusks for a living.

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Clean Energy Analyst: Renewables Are 'Here To Stay' Under Trump Presidency

6:02pm November 24, 2016

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks to Amy Myers Jaffe, executive director of energy and sustainability at the University of California, Davis, about the future of renewable energy under the Trump administration.

Dakota Access Pipeline Protests Continue On Thanksgiving Day

4:29pm November 24, 2016

by Doualy Xaykaothao

Opponents of a 1,200-mile oil pipeline from North Dakota are marking this Thanksgiving Day at the site of a planned river crossing near Lake Oahe. Protesters say the pipeline could damage local drinking water sources and Native American heritage sites. The pipeline's developers say the project will have big economic benefits.

T.J. Plenty Chief stands in front of one of the three semitrucks owned by his company, Red Road Trucking. The trucks operate in the Fort Berthold reservation oil fields, carrying everything from gravel to pipe to water needed for drilling. His business is

Upstream From Standing Rock, Tribes Balance Benefits, Risks Of Oil Industry

8:25am November 24, 2016

by Amy Sisk

Hours from Standing Rock, N.D., is another reservation, in the the Bakken oilfield's sweet spot. Drilling has brought in millions of dollars, but the tribes have environmental worries, too.

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Heavy smog in London's Piccadilly Circus on Dec. 6, 1952, was part of a five-day fog that killed thousands of people.

Research On Chinese Haze Helps Crack Mystery Of London's Deadly 1952 Fog

4:44pm November 23, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

Atmospheric scientists, pinning down chemical processes behind Beijing's pollution, discovered an explanation for the unusually toxic smog that killed thousands of people in London in December 1952.

Trump Says He Has 'Open Mind' On Climate, But Staff Pick Raises Questions

2:56pm November 23, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Myron Ebell has been chosen to lead the president-elect's transition team for the Environmental Protection Agency. Ebell is a well known climate change skeptic.

Police confront protesters with a rubber bullet gun near Cannon Ball, N.D., on Sunday, during a protest against plans to pass the Dakota Access Pipeline near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

Woman Injured At Standing Rock Protest Might Lose Arm, Family Says

12:31pm November 23, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

Sophia Wilansky, a 21-year-old protester, has been hospitalized with a gruesome injury. Protesters say it was caused by a police concussion grenade; police say they have not been using grenades.

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India May Be Overtaking China As Most Polluted Country

7:35am November 23, 2016

by Julie McCarthy

Pollution levels in New Delhi hit record highs this month. The World Health Organization says India's capital isn't the only city with toxic air. Ten of the world's most polluted cities are in India.

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A computer illustration of a large asteroid colliding with Earth. (Size may not be to scale.) Such an impact is believed to have led to the death of the dinosaurs some 66 million years ago.

Scientists Say Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid Made Earth's Surface Act Like Liquid

7:13pm November 22, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

The asteroid smashed into Earth. And from miles under the Earth's surface, rock hurtled upward to a height twice that of Mount Everest and then collapsed outward to form a ring of mountains.

Tonya Stands recovers from being pepper sprayed by police after swimming across a creek with other protesters hoping to block construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, near Cannon Ball, N.D., on November 2.

The Standing Rock Resistance Is Unprecedented (It's Also Centuries Old)

3:41pm November 22, 2016

by Leah Donnella

Many say the Dakota Access Pipeline resistance is beyond anything they've experienced before. But there are preludes in Native American history, and you don't have to look too far back to find them.