Environment

How Colorado Politics Could Interfere With New EPA Standards

8:07am August 20, 2015

by Grace Hood

When it comes to new regulations for existing coal-fired power plants, Colorado is ahead of the curve. But the state's governor and attorney general are clashing over next steps.

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It Took A Musician's Ear To Decode The Complex Song In Whale Calls

4:25pm August 19, 2015

by Christopher Joyce

Male humpback whales create "songs" together, scientists say. Katy Payne was the first to hear the shifts in pitch and pattern in the collective calls as complex music — haunting, evolving tunes.

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Humpback whales and tanker in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in Massachusetts Bay.

Listening To Whale Migration Reveals A Sea Of Noise Pollution, Too

4:24pm August 19, 2015

by Christopher Joyce

Christopher Clark, an engineer turned whale biologist, wired the world's oceans with hydrophones. Whales sing as they migrate, he learned. And the ship sounds clouding the ocean can deeply interfere.

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EPA Announces New Regulations On Methane Emissions

1:25pm August 19, 2015

by Jeff Brady

The Environmental Protection Agency is aiming to cut methane emissions by 40 to 45 percent over the next 10 years. The new regulations are expected to regulate emissions from the oil and gas industry.

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After the Animas River spill, rancher Irving Shaggy is forced to travel a 70-mile round trip to get water for his livestock. "It's going to be a long struggle," he says.

Navajo Nation Farmers Feel The Weight Of Colorado Mine Spill

6:30am August 18, 2015

by Laurel Morales

The spill of heavy metals into the Animas River has contaminated water for hundreds of farmers in the Navajo Nation downstream, bringing up memories of past environmental disasters.

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Papal Encyclical On Climate Change Puts Coal Country Catholics In Tough Spot

7:48pm August 17, 2015

by Aaron Schrank

Pope Francis' encyclical on the environment is getting a thorough reading in Wyoming, which is the country's top coal-producing state. The letter presents a moral framework for approaching issues such as global climate change, but it's a difficult subject for Catholics in coal country.

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A Week Since The EPA Spill, Coloradans Look Back On How It Happened

3:17pm August 17, 2015

The Environmental Protection Agency accidentally released millions of gallons of pollutants into a Colorado river last week. John Flick, owner of a fishing shop in Durango, Colo., discusses the spill.

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UC Berkeley tree biologist Wendy Baxter is about to begin her ascent of a giant sequoia.

To Measure Drought's Reach, Researchers Scale The Mighty Sequoia

2:56pm August 17, 2015

by Ezra David Romero

After a scientist on a hike in Sequoia National Park saw trees with thin and browning needles, it got scientists thinking: Did the drought cause this? So they're climbing up them to study the damage.

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Environment

EPA Chief: 'Holding Ourselves To A Higher Standard'

10:36am August 15, 2015

NPR's Scott Simon asks EPA administrator Gina McCarthy about the toxins released into a Colorado river this week by an EPA contractor working on a shuttered gold mine.

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Contaminated wastewater is seen at the entrance to the Gold King Mine in San Juan County, Colo., in this picture released by the Environmental Protection Agency. The photo was taken Wednesday; the plume of contaminated water has continued to work its way

EPA Says It Released 3 Million Gallons Of Contaminated Water Into River

8:12pm August 14, 2015

by Bill Chappell

The spill on Wednesday sent heavy metals, arsenic and other contaminants into a waterway that flows into the San Juan National Forest. Estimates of the spill's size have risen sharply since then.