Environment

Researchers in Massachusetts and Wisconsin are comparing modern flower blooming data with notes made by Henry David Thoreau and Aldo Leopold. The sight of irises blooming during a Boston winter helped spur the research.

Understanding Climate Change, With Help From Thoreau

12:35pm January 18, 2013

by Elizabeth Shogren

Some of the most beloved nature writers of all time, Henry David Thoreau and Aldo Leopold, are helping scientists learn how global warming will affect spring. Using historical records, the scientists are able to predict when flowers will bloom during especially hot years.

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Vegetation like the kind growing here at Michigan State University's Kellogg Biological Station could one day be used to feed small biofuel refineries spread throughout the Midwest.

Could Some Midwest Land Support New Biofuel Refineries?

7:16am January 18, 2013

by Richard Harris

Land that isn't in good enough condition to grow crops could be used to produce substantial amounts of liquid biofuels, a new study claims. But there are many concerns about the study, and about the future of advanced biofuels in the U.S. and abroad.

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Florida's Python Problem: Snakes Reshape The Everglades

4:01pm January 14, 2013

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission launched its first ever "Python Challenge." More than 800 hunters have registered for the month-long competition aimed at harvesting Burmese pythons. University of Florida professor Frank Mazzotti talks about the threat they present to the ecosystem of the Everglades.

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From Corn Belt To Main Street: The Drought's Far-Reaching Grasp

7:37pm January 12, 2013

by NPR Staff

Record heat and relatively dry winters have created a historic drought in the U.S., but the ripple effects extend beyond the farmland and ranches. Low crop yields are driving up food prices, and dry conditions are causing forest fires and water main breaks. The costs are high, and it's still unclear if we'll see the end of it in 2013.

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The butter sculpture will be dumped into this pit of rotting fruit and vegetables on the Reinford family's farm. Then, all that food will get ground up and put into the farm's methane digester.

This Butter Sculpture Could Power A Farm For 3 Days

9:49pm January 11, 2013

by Scott Detrow

The biggest attraction at the annual Farm Show in Harrisburg, Pa., is always a giant, 1,000-pound sculpture crafted from butter. Once this year's show wraps up, all that beautiful butter will go right into a manure pit to become methane gas.

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How E-Waste Is Becoming a Big, Global Problem

1:03pm January 11, 2013

According to the EPA, more than 2.5 million tons of electronic waste, or e-waste, is produced each year in the U.S. Derek Markham, a contributing writer for Treehugger.com, discusses the global impacts, and why you should think twice before discarding your old cell phone.

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Craig Childs walks in the desert surrounding the Colorado River delta.

The True Weight Of Water

8:35am January 11, 2013

by Craig Childs

A recent report from the Department of the Interior suggests that the Colorado River is drying out. But commentator Craig Childs says sometimes the answers are simpler than they seem.

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The Nekoosa Paper Mill was established in 1883. Its mill in Nekoosa, Wis., sits on the banks of the Wisconsin River, and is now owned by a Canadian paper company.

iPads, China: Twin Threats To Wisconsin's Paper Industry

8:11pm January 08, 2013

by NPR Staff

The paper industry once employed thousands of people across the state. Now, mills are closing. John Schmid of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on the state of the industry in Wisconsin as well as in China. He explains how the state is losing a publishing-grade paper mill each year.

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The Shell Oil Jackpine open pit mine uses trucks that are 3 stories tall, weigh 1 million pounds and cost $7 million each. There is explosive growth in the oil field areas around Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada.

Deep In Canadian Lakes, Signs Of Tar Sands Pollution

6:43pm January 08, 2013

by Elizabeth Shogren

The contaminants researchers found at the bottom of Alberta lakes are from air pollutants coming from tar sands oil production and processing facilities. The pollution wasn't picked up by the industry-funded monitoring program that was supposed to track environmental risks from tar sands over recent decades.

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2012 Smashes Record For Hottest Year In The Lower 48

6:37pm January 08, 2013

by Richard Harris

It's official: 2012 was the hottest year on record for the contiguous United States. In fact, it shattered the record set in 1998. The National Climatic Data Center says last year was also extraordinarily dry — and drought conditions are persisting into 2013.

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