Environment

The Earth's 'Sixth Extinction' May Be One Of Our Own Making

10:15am February 12, 2014

There have been five major mass extinctions over the last half-billion years, when the diversity of life on Earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists are currently monitoring an era of mass extinction predicted to be the most devastating since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. But this time around, says Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction, it's humans that are causing it.

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Men walk along a railway line in Beijing on Jan. 12, as air pollution reached hazardous levels.

China's Air Pollution Linked To Millions Of Early Deaths

2:25pm February 10, 2014

by Rob Stein

About 1.2 million people die prematurely every year in China from exposure to outdoor air pollution. Smog has dogged the country as it grows at an explosive rate and burns huge quantities of fossil fuels. But there are signs that the government is beginning to take the issue more seriously.

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Kansas Mayor Says Sustainability Is About Community, Not Politics

1:36pm February 10, 2014

by NPR Staff

Today's political polarization makes it seem harder than ever to tackle climate change. Republican Bob Dixson says the goals of going green aren't only for liberals. His town of Greensburg was hit by an unusually strong tornado, and now he's working on a White House task force to prepare communities like his.

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Volunteers with the Dan River Basin Association, graduate students from Duke University and staff with the environmental group Appalachian Voices collect water samples on the Dan River after a massive coal ash spill.

More Than 80,000 Tons Of Coal Ash Flow Into N.C. River

10:23pm February 05, 2014

by Jeff Tiberii

A broken stormwater pipe in North Carolina has sent the waste into the Dan River, which flows through Virginia and out into the Atlantic. Officials say the drinking water is safe, but environmental questions linger.

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Environment

North Carolina Coal Ash Spill Causes Concerns About Public Drinking Water

4:07pm February 04, 2014

by Keri Brown

State and federal environmental officials are continuing their investigations of a coal ash spill into the Dan River in Rockingham County.

How Industrial Chemical Regulation Failed West Virginia

7:55pm January 29, 2014

For Charleston Gazette reporter Ken Ward, the recent chemical spill — and sometimes confusing information authorities have provided about the risks to citizens — reflect long-standing regulatory failures in the state. He says West Virginia has "basically ignored" recommendations for stricter oversight.

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A boat skims through the melting ice in the Ilulissat fjord in August 2008, on the western coast of Greenland.

Entrepreneurs Looking For 'Windfall' Cash In On Climate Change

2:48pm January 28, 2014

A new book explores the ways melting Arctic ice yield new shipping channels, new oil and gas resources — and potential profits. Journalist McKenzie Funk delves into the "booming business of global warming" in Windfall.

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Young survivors of Typhoon Haiyan brave December rain as they ask for gifts from residents in the streets of Tacloban, the Philippines. Months after the storm, cleanup is still ongoing and many of the more than 6,000 dead have yet to be identified.

'Nothing Is Fixed': Recovery Is Slow In Typhoon-Hit Philippine City

1:35pm January 27, 2014

by NPR Staff

Typhoon Haiyan was one of the strongest storms ever recorded at landfall when it struck the Philippines late last year. More than 6,000 people were killed and millions more were displaced, and authorities are still struggling with clearing away debris, rebuilding houses and counting the dead.

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Taking Stock Of The Northern Plains Oil Boom

6:20pm January 26, 2014

Beginning next week, NPR News will be taking an in-depth look at the unprecedented oil drilling boom happening on the Northern Plains, where the state of North Dakota has fast become one of the nation's most productive drilling regions. NPR's Kelly McEvers talks with NPR reporter Kirk Siegler, back from a recent reporting trip in North Dakota for the series.

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Al Jones of the West Virginia Department of General Services tests water as he flushes faucets and opens a rest room at the State Capitol in Charleston, W. Va., on Jan. 13, four days after a chemical spill into the Elk River. It wasn't until Jan. 21 that

Drinking Water Not Tested For Tens Of Thousands Of Chemicals

8:48pm January 24, 2014

by Elizabeth Shogren

The fact that a second contaminant in West Virginia's drinking water eluded detection for nearly two weeks — despite intense testing of the water — reveals an important truth about how companies test drinking water: In most cases, they only find the contaminants they're looking for.

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