Eyes In The Sky: Foam Drones Keep Watch On Rain Forest Trees
The autopilot toy planes, equipped with cameras, help conservationists detect illegal logging and mining earlier in the remote parts of the Amazon basin.
Environment
As States Ready Disaster Plans, Feds Urge Them To Consider Climate Change
Several U.S. senators are accusing the Federal Emergency Management Agency of injecting "unnecessary, ideological-based red tape" into the disaster-preparedness process.
They're Going Door To Door In The Amazon To See Why People Get Sick
In one of the most remote parts of the Peruvian Amazon, researchers are in the midst of an extensive health census. The study could be key to figuring out the impact of mercury used in illegal mining.
In Arctic Drilling Debate, A Dispute Over Cleanup Preparedness
Royal Dutch Shell can drill oil exploration wells this summer in the Chukchi Sea, if Shell shows it can prevent and clean up a potential spill. Environmentalists are skeptical; Shell says it's ready.
Who Did This To Peru's Jungle?
When the price of gold skyrocketed, illegal miners flooded into the country's Amazon basin, eager to find even the tiniest bits of the precious metal. Trees and villagers have paid a price.
'Not On My Land': Southern Residents Fight Building Of Palmetto Pipeline
Kinder Morgan is proposing the pipeline to carry oil and natural gas through South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. But smaller oil suppliers are also concerned about markets like Savannah, Georgia.
Massive Antarctic Ice Shelf Will Be Gone Within Years, NASA Says
What's left of the Larsen B shelf, two-thirds of which underwent a spectacular collapse in 2002, will disappear by the end of the decade, according to a new study.
Seasons May Tweak Genes That Trigger Some Chronic Diseases
Genes linked to inflammation are more active in winter, a study hints. That might partly explain why some diseases, including Type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, are more likely to start then.
California Builders Prepare For Future Water Needs As Population Grows
Under the growing burden of drought, California is struggling to supply enough water to all of the people currently living there. The state is also working on ways to ensure water for millions more residents expected to live there in the future.
Santa Fe Cuts Water Consumption By Imposing Tiered Pricing Model
NPR's Melissa Block interviews Santa Fe, N.M., Mayor Javier Gonzales about how the city managed to cut water usage by one-fifth while its population grew by 10 percent.