Environment

An aerial view shows a deforested area of Amazonia rainforest in Labrea, Amazonas state, Brazil, in September.

Environment

Amazon deforestation in Brazil hits its worst level in 15 years

3:04pm November 19, 2021

by Emma Bowman

Deforestation in the region rose 22% compared to the year prior, according to data released just days after Brazil made new global promises to combat environmental degradation.

Volcano tourism has overwhelmed La Palma as people come to see the spectacle.

As a sea of lava destroys livelihoods on La Palma, it also offers a lifeline

6:00am November 19, 2021

The lava and ash the Cumbre Vieja volcano has spewed for two months have consumed homes and forced thousands to flee. However, the rock formed by the lava will ultimately save the island from the sea.

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A supply ship sits anchored next to the Chevron Corp. Jack/St. Malo deep water oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico in the aerial photograph taken off the coast of Louisiana, U.S., on Friday, May 18, 2018.

The Biden administration sold oil and gas leases days after the climate summit

7:53pm November 17, 2021

by Nathan Rott

The Biden administration oversaw one of the largest oil and gas lease sales in American history just days after pledging to take action on climate change at the international climate summit.

The ringed antpipit (corythopis torquatus) was among the 77 species examined in the recent study.

Amazon birds are shrinking as the climate warms, prompting warning from scientists

7:43pm November 15, 2021

A new study examined 77 bird species in the Amazon over a 40-year period. It found they were rapidly evolving due to rising temperatures because smaller birds shed heat more efficiently.

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Commuters drive along a road amid heavy smog conditions in New Delhi last week.

New Delhi's air pollution is so bad, officials are calling for a citywide lockdown

1:09pm November 15, 2021

by Lauren Frayer

New Delhi's schools are already closed this week because of air pollution that has been about four times the safe limit.

In drought-plagued New Mexico, farmer places high hopes in infrastructure bill

4:55pm November 14, 2021

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Greg Daviet, a pecan farmer in Las Cruces, N.M., about how the infrastructure plan passed by Congress may affect his business.

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Environment

Growers are working to make our coffee habit more sustainable

5:04pm November 13, 2021

Experts say the way we cultivate and grow coffee isn't sustainable. Some coffee growers are hoping to change that.

Last minute resistance at the COP26 summit over efforts to phase out coal left many countries disappointed, but the agreement still marked new progress.

Environment

Here's what world leaders agreed to — and what they didn't — at the UN climate summit

3:57pm November 13, 2021

by Lauren Sommer

Intense climate negotiations in Glasgow, Scotland brought about major breakthroughs and compromises, as world leaders sought to avert extreme climate change.

Birds in the Amazon have been shrinking. Here's why scientists think it's happening

5:08pm November 12, 2021

by Christopher Intagliata

Over the last four decades, birds in the Amazon have been shrinking — and scientists believe their smaller bodies may be a response to hotter, drier weather brought by climate change.

Climate activists demonstrate at the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Friday. Negotiators from almost 200 nations were making a fresh push to reach agreement on a series of key issues.

In a first, U.N. climate agreement could include the words 'coal' and 'fossil fuels'

3:44pm November 12, 2021

The U.N. secretary-general warns the main goal of limiting global warming is "on life support." But Glasgow negotiators are making modest progress in their final hours.