Environment

Advocates Say Wind Farm Plans Interfere With Fertile Fishing Areas

7:48am September 28, 2021

by Susan Phillips

The Biden administration has opened the East Coast to massive offshore wind development. But it will happen in some of the country's most fertile fishing grounds, and that's set up a growing battle.

A screengrab from viewer Brandon Warren's video of a fireball meteor taken on Friday, Sept. 24, at 7:40 p.m. in Willow Spring, N.C.

'Fireball' Meteor Caught On Camera Soaring Over North Carolina At 32,000 MPH

7:18pm September 27, 2021

by Jonathan Franklin

The bright phenomenon was videoed above the coast of North Carolina Friday night. Sightings were also reported in South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.

Mary Bradshaw's house in Elkhorn, Ore., in February. The fire-hardened home was one of the few that survived last year's Beachie Creek Fire in the area.

Oregon Has A New Plan To Protect Homes From Wildfire. Homebuilders Are Pushing Back

11:54am September 27, 2021

by Cassandra Profita

Industry groups and property owners are wary of mandating fire-resistant materials in new construction. There's also controversy over exactly where the new rules should be required.

Sam Is Now A Major Hurricane But Isn't Likely To Hit Land

11:27pm September 25, 2021

by Dave Mistich

The storm was located about 630 miles off the coast of French Guiana on Saturday. There's a slight chance it could hit Bermuda, but modeling currently shows it's likely to miss the island.

Wilma Banks, who lives in the neighborhood of New Orleans East, sits on her bed next to her nebulizer and CPAP machine. In the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, when much of New Orleans was left without power, she wasn't able to power up the medical devices and

Entergy Resisted Upgrading New Orleans' Power Grid. Residents Paid The Price

8:28pm September 22, 2021

Entergy failed to rebuild a stronger system after hurricanes repeatedly damaged its electric grid. Then Hurricane Ida knocked out power for more than a week in the middle of a heat wave.

A Dead Wild Male Ocelot May Still Have Offspring, If Scientists' Efforts Succeed

6:43pm September 22, 2021

by Dominic Anthony Walsh

South Texas is the one place in the U.S. where ocelots breed in the wild. After the death of a male, scientists tried something novel: artificial insemination from a wild ocelot into one at a zoo.

How Brazil's Severe Drought Affects The Entire World's Coffee Supply Chain

5:08pm September 22, 2021

by Philip Reeves

Attributed to climate change, Brazil's historic drought is devastating its coffee farmers, who's crops supply much of the world.

The U.S. Department of Labor building on March 26, 2020, in Washington, D.C.

The Biden Administration Is Adding Worker Protections To Address Extreme Heat

3:44pm September 21, 2021

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced it will push to protect workers against rising temperatures, including a federal rule to safeguard workers from heat-related illnesses.

McDonald's says it will phase out most plastic from its Happy Meals by 2025. Here, a customer picks up a kid's meal at a McDonald's drive-through.

Environment

McDonald's Is Phasing Out Plastic Toys From Happy Meals In A Push To Be More Green

1:36pm September 21, 2021

by Bill Chappell

The benefits of the change will be equivalent to more than 650,000 people not using any plastic for a year, the company said.

A patchwork of national and state regulations require utilities to trim around their power lines. More than a dozen of the country's largest utilities told NPR that falling trees and branches represent a leading cause of outages.

Climate Change Is Killing Trees And Causing Power Outages

1:13pm September 21, 2021

by Julia Simon

Fungi, parasites, root rot: Climate change is increasing the risk of trees weakening and dying. Falling trees have increased power outages nationwide, which threaten public health and safety.