Environment

A vowel sound like "e" can still sound clear through the dense vegetation in Hawaii.

Did The Language You Speak Evolve Because Of The Heat?

5:27pm November 06, 2015

by Angus Chen

People speak very differently depending on where they live, and the climate and environment might have something to do with that. Crisp English consonants don't carry well in the rain forest.

Some Texans Puzzled By Keystone XL Pipeline Rejection

4:56pm November 06, 2015

by Mose Buchele

President Obama's rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline provoked cheers from environmental groups and a little bit of head scratching in the state of Texas.

Juvenile Chinook salmon swim in the American River in California. The state's salmon fishery, which revolves around fall-run Chinook, has been estimated to be worth $1.4 billion, with the fish finding their way into markets and restaurants.

Big Trouble Looms For California Salmon — And For Fishermen

4:32pm November 06, 2015

by Alastair Bland

Thanks to a blazing hot summer and unusually warm water, early counts of juvenile winter-run Chinook are at extreme low levels. To protect them, regulators may restrict ocean fishing.

Obama: Keystone XL Pipeline Would Undercut U.S. Leadership On Climate Change

4:30pm November 06, 2015

President Obama announced Friday that he rejected a permit to allow construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The controversial project would have carried oil harvested from tar sands in Canada.

Canada's Trudeau Expresses Disappointment In U.S. Decision On Keystone XL

4:21pm November 06, 2015

by Jeff Brady

Canadian Company TransCanada took a blow Friday when President Obama announced he was rejecting its request to build the Keystone XL pipeline. The pipeline would have helped transport hundreds of thousands of barrels of Canadian tar sands oil from Alberta to U.S. refineries. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed disappointment.

New York Attorney General Launches Investigation Into ExxonMobil

3:05pm November 06, 2015

NPR's Kelly McEvers talks to Neela Banerjee of Inside Climate News about the investigation into the allegations ExxonMobil knew more about climate change than it told investors and the public.

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The region where two mining dams failed in southeastern Brazil is seen in this satellite image. According to Yahoo, one of the dams that failed is at bottom right.

Mine Wastewater Floods Countryside In Brazil After 2 Dams Fail

12:16pm November 06, 2015

by Bill Chappell

The flooding overwhelmed houses, leaving a coating of mud — and in one case, setting a car atop a structure's walls. Rescue crews are still looking for survivors. At least one person has died.

An NPR team joined Brazil's environmental police, the Ministry of Defense and other government enforcement agencies as they carried out a joint operation in the Jacunda National Forest in western Brazil. They seized timber that had been cut down by illega

The Claims Are Rosy, But Brazil's Rain Forest Is Still Disappearing

9:58am November 06, 2015

by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro

Brazil says it has greatly reduced the rate of deforestation. That may be true, critics say, but they argue such figures are misleading because so much of the Amazon has already been degraded.

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Flares and electric lights on oil well pads illuminate low-hanging clouds near Watford City, North Dakota.

Oil Boom Means Sky Watchers Hoping for Starlight Just Get Stars, Lite

8:05pm November 05, 2015

by Emily Guerin

Light pollution has increased by 500 percent at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, thanks to nearby oil fields. Stargazers and oilmen are working together to find a solution.

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N.Y. Attorney General Investigates Whether Exxon Mobil Lied On Climate Change

6:10pm November 05, 2015

by Marilyn Geewax

Investigators want to know if the company deceived investors and the public about risks associated with climate change. The company protests that it has included those risks in its reports for years.