Environment

Climate Change Health Scholar Says Heat Wave Deaths Are Preventable

5:02pm July 17, 2021

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with University of Washington professor Kristie Ebi about the mounting death toll from recent heat waves across the Pacific Northwest.

April Alvarez, field director for Oregon's Farmworker Union PCUN, spoke at a Portland vigil to honor Sebastian Francisco Perez. The 38-year-old farmworker died during the late June heat wave.

As Extreme Heat Kills Hundreds, Oregon Steps Up Push To Protect People

10:44am July 17, 2021

by Monica Samayoa

There are no federal worker protections from extreme heat even as climate change makes deadly heat waves more likely. Oregon has passed emergency rules and is educating the public on how to stay safe.

Local Journalist Says Erftstadt Area Has Never Seen Such Devastating Floods

4:23pm July 16, 2021

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with German freelance journalist Holger Klein about the devastating flooding in Erftstadt, Germany, a town southwest of Cologne.

Flooding has led to the collapse of an entire field in Rhein-Erft-Kreis, a district in western Germany. Officials have said a warming climate is at least partially to blame for floods.

Flood Deaths Are Rising In Germany, And Officials Blame Climate Change

1:19pm July 16, 2021

The worst flooding in decades to affect Germany and parts of Belgium has killed more than 100 people as search and rescue efforts for hundreds of missing continue, officials said.

Wind turbines in a field in Adair, Iowa. Democrats' budget deal would use financial carrots and sticks to encourage utilities to shift to clean energy.

Democrats' Budget Plan Pushes A Shift To Clean Energy. Here's How It Would Work

10:24am July 16, 2021

by Jeff Brady

The budget blueprint would use financial carrots and sticks to encourage utilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The "clean energy standard" is key to President Biden's climate goals.

Environment

How A Group Of Dedicated Volunteers Are Keeping California's Wildfires At Bay

8:38am July 16, 2021

by Gloria Hillard

The Los Angeles Fire Department depends on help from amateur radio volunteers when fire threatens communications infrastructure. NPR looks at how ham radio operators are keeping residents safe.

Environment

Death Toll Continues To Rise In Devastating German Floods

8:36am July 16, 2021

by Esme Nicholson

Dozens of people are dead and dozens more are missing in Western Europe after heavy flooding swept away homes and cars and turned streams into raging rivers.

Aerial view of a burning area of Amazon rainforest reserve, south of Novo Progresso in Para state, on August 16, 2020.

Parts Of The Amazon Rainforest Are Now Releasing More Carbon Than They Absorb

8:30pm July 15, 2021

by Sharon Pruitt-Young

New research published in the journal Nature suggests that mass deforestation and fire have dramatically undercut the Amazon's ability to absorb heat-trapping carbon emissions.

News Brief: Budget Proposal, FBI's Nassar Probe Criticized, Europe's Climate Plan

6:36am July 15, 2021

Democratic leaders aim to sell their $3.5 trillion budget plan. DOJ watchdog says the FBI failed to properly respond to gymnasts' sex abuse allegations. The EU has a plan to tackle climate change.

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Environment

European Officials Unveil A Sweeping Plan To Tackle Climate Change

6:08am July 15, 2021

The European Commission has proposed that new gas and diesel cars be phased out by 2035. If enacted, this could push the global auto industry to switch toward electric vehicles even faster.