Environment

Environment

Buried Boston Copes With Piles Of Snow

12:22pm February 14, 2015

Boston has been buried under piles of snow this winter. The streets are covered and there's more snow on the way. Car Talk's Ray Magliozzi talks to NPR's Scott Simon about how the city is coping.

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Brazil's Atibainha river dam is shown here in December 2014. It is part of Sao Paulo's system of dams, which supplies about half the water to the metropolitan region of 20 million people and is now at historic lows.

World News

A Historic Drought Grips Brazil's Economic Capital

6:44pm February 13, 2015

by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro

Restaurants are using disposable cutlery and plates. Residents only have water for a few hours. Food prices are soaring. Now, Sao Paulo faces draconian rationing of up to five days a week.

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Observers Flock To Erupting Reunion Volcano

6:40pm February 13, 2015

by Emma Jacobs

One of the world's most active volcanoes is erupting again. Piton de la Fournaise in the Indian Ocean on the French island of Reunion began spewing lava from one of its four craters on Wednesday.

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Keystone XL Pipeline Would Transport 'Dirty Energy'

1:54pm February 13, 2015

Despite veto threats, the House sent the Keystone XL pipeline bill to President Obama. David Greene talks to Susan Casey-Lefkowitz of the Natural Resources Defense Council about environmental issues.

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Giant chunks of ice break away from the Hans Glacier in Svalbard, Norway, in 2013.

The Ice Is Talking. We Just Have To Listen

8:14am February 12, 2015

by NPR Staff

Glaciers moan and groan. They crackle, fizz and rumble. Researchers say the noises they make might help us understand how fast they're melting.

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A lone polar bear poses on a block of arctic sea ice in Russia's Franz Josef Land.

Arctic Is Warming Twice As Fast As World Average

7:37am February 11, 2015

by Christopher Joyce

Polar bears continue to take a hit in regions with the greatest loss of snow and ice, the latest report card on the Arctic shows. Meanwhile, plankton are thriving as the sea heats up.

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Fish on ice in Palau Misa Island, Indonesia. Thanks to satellite data, John Amos of SkyTruth can track fishing activity near the Pacific island nation from his office in West Virginia.

Gotcha: Satellites Help Strip Seafood Pirates Of Their Booty

5:08pm February 10, 2015

by Christopher Joyce

Most of the seafood Americans eat is imported; a lot of that is illegally caught. Now, environmentalists are using satellites to track pirate vessels on the high seas and help crack down on the trade.

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Shake, Rattle And Toll: Berkeley's Bells Play Sounds Of Earth

8:04am February 10, 2015

by Laura Sydell

In celebration of its 100th anniversary, the bells of UC Berkeley's Sather Tower were programmed to play a score composed in real time by the data from seismic shifts happening under the campus.

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Sled dogs prefer below-zero weather for running, says musher Cody Strathe. Some mushers now train at night, when it's colder.

Climate Change Puts Alaska's Sled Dog Races On Thin Ice

4:20pm February 07, 2015

by Emily Schwing

Warm temperatures and dwindling snow have shaken even the toughest mushers. Alaskans are worried about the future of their state sport.

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Birders Predict Another Snowy Owl 'Irruption'

11:46am February 07, 2015

In 2014, ornithologists documented record numbers of snowy owls wintering unusually far south. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Talkin' Birds host Ray Brown about this year's numbers.

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