Environment

Cascara is made by brewing dried coffee cherries, which typically would have otherwise ended up as compost. "We have been throwing away this perfectly good coffee fruit for a long time, and there's no real reason for it, because it tastes delicious," says

Cascara 'Tea': A Tasty Infusion Made From Coffee Waste

11:00am December 01, 2015

by Murray Carpenter

Hot or cold, in a soda, hot toddy or beer — people are finding all sorts of ways to imbibe cascara. It's a caffeinated, tea-like drink with a fruity flavor made from dried coffee cherries.

Environment

Philly Planner: With Climate Change The Past Doesn't Predict The Future

6:57am December 01, 2015

by Susan Phillips

Representatives are in Paris hammering out an agreement to cut CO2 emissions. But most of the people charged with preparing cities and towns for the worst impacts of climate change won't be there.

Obama To Put A Human Face On Dangers Of Climate Change

5:28am December 01, 2015

by Scott Horsley

In Paris, President Obama meets with the leaders of island nations — they are among the first to feel the effects of rising sea levels. Obama will urge the leaders to get serious about climate change.

A building called Sustainability Base, at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., has an energy-efficient design that allows in sunlight. So for most of the year, the interior is illuminated by natural light.

NASA Uses Lessons From Space To Design An Efficient Building

7:24pm November 30, 2015

by Joe Palca

Named Sustainability Base, a NASA facility in California is a model for energy-efficient federal buildings. It's powered by a fuel cell like those used on spacecraft and recycles water for flushing.

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Delegates from about 170 countries gathered in Kyoto in December 1997 during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This year in Paris, the stakes are even higher, negotiators say.

Kyoto Treaty Fizzled, But Climate Talkers Insist Paris Is Different

7:10pm November 30, 2015

by Christopher Joyce

The 1997 Kyoto treaty set targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions that many nations didn't meet. This time, stakes are higher and all countries will be asked to set and meet their own limits.

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Paris Continues To Recover As Global Leaders Attend Climate Summit

7:05pm November 30, 2015

by Eleanor Beardsley

The United Nations climate summit opened Monday with more than 130 world leaders expected to attend. Its a huge security challenge for a city still recovering from the November 13th terror attacks.

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Big Data Predicts Centuries Of Harm If Climate Warming Goes Unchecked

6:26pm November 30, 2015

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

It took about 30 teams of scientists worldwide, using supercomputers to churn through mountains of data, to see patterns aligning of what will happen decades and centuries from now.

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Record Breaking Smog In China, India Underlines Climate Summit In Paris

6:11pm November 30, 2015

India and China's capitals suffer from record breaking smog as the summit to limit greenhouse gas emissions kicks off in Paris Monday.

A piece of ice floats in Los Glaciares National Park in Santa Cruz province, Argentina.

10 Things To Know About The U.N. Climate Talks In Paris

5:49pm November 30, 2015

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Here's a bit about what you should know going into the 2015 U.N. Climate Change Conference beginning Nov. 30.

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President Obama (from left), French President Francois Hollande and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates applaud a speech during the Mission Innovation event at the UN conference on climate change Monday in Paris.

Bill Gates And Other Billionaires Pledge To Take On Climate Change

5:29pm November 30, 2015

by Marilyn Geewax

Twenty countries and 28 investors promised on Monday to jointly fund the development of energy alternatives. Backers of the initiative say private money is key to the next big push in energy.