Environment

Obama Aims To Tighten Restrictions On Plants' Greenhouse Gas Emissions

6:28am August 04, 2015

by Jeff Brady

On Monday, President Obama will unveil tougher rules designed to cut carbon emissions from U.S. power plants. If the proposed plan clear legal hurdles, the nation's power grid would face big changes.

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Organic farmer Margot McMillen holds a grape leaf damaged by pesticide drift on her farm, Terra Bella Farm, in central Missouri.

Pesticide Drift Threatens Organic Farms

12:35pm August 03, 2015

by Kristofor Husted

Farmers use millions of pounds of pesticides each year to protect crops from weeds and insects. When those chemicals drift to neighboring property, they can ruin crops on organic farms.

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As Midwest Dams Reach End Of Life, Soaked States Can't Handle Repair Costs

7:53pm July 31, 2015

by Logan Layden

More than 11,000 dams across the U.S. have protected lives and property from flooding for decades. But age is catching up to them, and many need repairs. Record rain hasn't helped matters this year.

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As The West Craves Drought Relief, El Nino May Do More Harm Than Good

7:53pm July 31, 2015

by Kirk Siegler

There is much hype around a potential El Nino that could help ease the drought on the West Coast. But there are concerns that a deluge of rain could do more harm than good for the long term drought outlook.

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As Beijing Prepares To Host Winter Olympics, Where Will It Get The Snow?

7:53pm July 31, 2015

NPR's Melissa Block talks with Jennifer Turner, director of the China Environment Forum at the Woodrow Wilson Center, about water resources and environmental concerns in the extremely arid region.

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Sea bass, pollock, striped bass and other fish species are seen for sale at the Harbor Fish Market in Portland, Maine.

Do Fish Names Encourage Fishy Business?

9:41pm July 30, 2015

by Clare Leschin-Hoar

Legally, a single fish species can go by many names from sea to plate, and different fish can go by the same name. An environmental group says that hampers efforts to combat illegal fishing and fraud.

A Lebanese woman covers her nose as she walks past piles of garbage on a Beirut street.

Amid Political Dysfunction, Beirut Residents Suffer The Stench Of Garbage

8:04pm July 30, 2015

by Alice Fordham

Beirut's streets are piled with two weeks' worth of uncollected trash. To many Lebanese, it's no surprise. The country has been without a president for more than a year.

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Greenpeace Activists Protest Shell Oil's Plan To Drill In The Arctic Ocean

6:47pm July 30, 2015

NPR's Melissa Block speaks with KUCB reporter John Ryan about how protesters are trying to block Shell's plan to drill in the Arctic by keeping a Shell icebreaker from leaving Portland, Ore.

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Shell Announces Plans To Eliminate 6,500 Jobs

6:42pm July 30, 2015

by John Ydstie

Royal Dutch Shell has announced plans to eliminate 6,500 jobs as slumping oil prices force the industry to make adjustments. Shell's profits fell by more than 30 percent in the second quarter.

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AP Study Finds Viruses Linked To Raw Sewage In Rio De Janeiro Olympic Waters

6:24pm July 30, 2015

NPR's Melissa Block speaks with the AP's Brazil bureau chief Brad Brooks about the investigation, which found high levels of dangerous viruses in water venues for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

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