Environment

This photo taken Nov. 3, 2015, shows SoCalGas crews and technical experts attempting to safely stop the flow of natural gas leaking from a storage well at the utility's Aliso Canyon facility in Los Angeles. Efforts to plug the well appear to have destabil

Gas Company Understated Benzene Exposure From California Leak

3:23pm January 15, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

SoCalGas wrote about two air samples with high levels of the carcinogen — but not about 12 others, the AP reports. And the LA Times writes that efforts to cap the well appear to have destabilized it.

The federal government will stop issuing new coal leases on some 570 million acres of federal land, under a new plan being released Friday. In this photo from 2013, coal is loaded onto a truck at a mine built on federally controlled land in Montana.

U.S. Announces Moratorium On New Coal Leases On Federal Lands

11:05am January 15, 2016

by Bill Chappell

The change won't affect existing leases, which generated nearly $1.3 billion for the federal government's coal program last year.

A scientist holds a northern long-eared bat suffering from the white-nose syndrome in LaSalle County, Ill.

Environmentalists Say 'Threatened' Status For Bats Not Enough

7:14am January 15, 2016

by Brian Mann

Northern long-eared bats were listed as a "threatened" species this week after being ravaged by a disease that has killed millions of bats. Some environmentalists say the protection is not enough.

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Environment

Low Oil Prices Interfere With What Recyclers Are Paid For Plastic

2:21pm January 14, 2016

by Stacey Vanek Smith

The price of oil has been on a downward dive for a couple of years. This has been great for some businesses and not so for others. One industry hit especially hard is the recycling business.

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Environment

Solar Firms Stop Selling Panels In Nevada To Protest State Rule Change

6:25pm January 13, 2016

by Jeff Brady

The latest battle over state subsidies for the solar industry is in Nevada. Regulators ruled against solar companies and they are closing operations in the state and laying off hundreds of employees.

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Environment

Volkswagen CEO: 'We Didn't Lie' About Emissions

2:30pm January 13, 2016

by Sonari Glinton

Volkswagen CEO Mattias Mueller, who was in Detroit earlier this week for the auto show, told NPR that the emissions cheating scandal was a technical problem and not an ethical one.

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The big 1946 rupture in the fault near the Aleutians also sent a tsunami to Central California, in a glancing blow. The large wave swept boats inland, where they blocked roadways in tiny Princeton-by-the-Sea, a 35-mile drive south of San Francisco.

Aleutian Quake Zone Could Shoot Big Tsunamis To Hawaii, California

8:21pm January 12, 2016

by Christopher Joyce

Tension is building along a major fault in the seabed off Alaska's coast, research shows. Devastating tsunamis from sudden slips in certain sections could directly hit Hawaii and Central California.

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Environmental Agencies Reject VW's Plan For Recall Over Emissions

3:57pm January 12, 2016

by Bill Chappell

The EPA says Volkswagen is responsible for nearly 600,000 diesel-powered vehicles that are now producing harmful air pollution in the U.S.

One of the banana plants in the collection at the USDA's Tropical Agriculture Research Station in Puerto Rico. It's just one of many banana collections around the world that might just hold the key to stopping a fungus's deadly reach.

Our Favorite Banana May Be Doomed; Can New Varieties Replace It?

9:11pm January 11, 2016

by Dan Charles

The Cavendish banana and other beloved varieties are threatened by a fungus that's spreading around the world. Scientists are trying to find new varieties that will be resistant to the disease.

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Environment

LA Councilman Compares Porter Ranch Gas Leak To BP Oil Spill But On Land

4:14pm January 11, 2016

A natural gas leak in a Los Angeles community is spewing 1,2000 tons of methane into the air daily. Renee Montagne talks to Mitchell Englander, the LA City Councilman who represents Porter Ranch.

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