Environment

What 1,200 miles on a paddleboard taught a writer about 'blue space'

NPR News - Environment - Wed, 2025/06/18 - 2:02am

Author Dan Rubinstein paddled from Ottawa to New York City and back to understand how being near water benefits people. His book is called "Water Borne."

Categories: Environment

Leader of top FEMA disaster coordination office resigns, as Trump moves to eliminate agency

NPR News - Environment - Tue, 2025/06/17 - 11:02am

Jeremy Greenberg was in charge of coordinating federal help after hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes and other emergencies. He has resigned from leading FEMA's National Response Coordination Center.

(Image credit: Etienne Laurent)

Categories: Environment

Rural water systems fear cuts to funding to remove 'forever chemicals'

NPR News - Environment - Tue, 2025/06/17 - 1:57am

Rural water systems are struggling to meet the EPA's new limits on so-called forever chemicals in drinking water. Now, federal funds to help remove them are in jeopardy under the Trump administration.

Categories: Environment

Chesapeake Bay is on a rebound, but Trump's proposed budget could set it back

NPR News - Environment - Mon, 2025/06/16 - 1:19pm

Chesapeake Bay is at a turning point. Once severely polluted, the bay has seen major improvements in recent years. But President Trump's proposed budget would slash key programs.

(Image credit: KT Kanazawich for NPR)

Categories: Environment

Chesapeake Bay is on a rebound, but Trump's proposed budget could set it back

NPR News - Environment - Mon, 2025/06/16 - 1:19pm

Chesapeake Bay is at a turning point. Once severely polluted, the bay has seen major improvements in recent years. But President Trump's proposed budget would slash key programs.

Categories: Environment

Yurok Tribe reclaims sacred land

NPR News - Environment - Sun, 2025/06/15 - 3:46pm

It's being called the largest land return deal in California's history. Yurok Fisheries Department Director Barry McCovey tells NPR's Scott Detrow what it means for the Yurok Tribe and for the land.

Categories: Environment

A popular climate website will be hobbled, after Trump administration eliminates entire staff

NPR News - Environment - Thu, 2025/06/12 - 1:47pm

Climate.gov is the main source of timely climate-related information for the public. It will stop publishing new information because the Trump administration laid off everyone who worked on it.

(Image credit: Gregory Bull)

Categories: Environment

Live in a hurricane-prone area? Here's how to prepare your home for flooding

NPR News - Environment - Thu, 2025/06/12 - 2:00am

If you're worried about flooding this hurricane season, here are some ways to harden your home with flooding and climate change in mind.

(Image credit: Chandan Khanna)

Categories: Environment

In Seattle, preserving trees while increasing housing supply is a climate solution

NPR News - Environment - Wed, 2025/06/11 - 3:00am

Seattle, along with other cities, is struggling to balance the need for more housing with the preservation and growth of trees that help address the impacts of climate change.

(Image credit: Parker Miles Blohm)

Categories: Environment

Here's how climate change is affecting your home insurance

NPR News - Environment - Wed, 2025/06/11 - 2:06am

Insurance costs are soaring, and coverage is hard to find in some parts of the United States. Communities say insurers are ignoring their efforts to confront the problem.

(Image credit: Mario Tama)

Categories: Environment

Intense weather means rethinking your home construction — and insurance

NPR News - Environment - Wed, 2025/06/11 - 12:00am

Homeowners' insurance isn't just getting more expensive ... it's also getting harder to secure in the first place. Across the country, an increase in climate-related disasters like heat waves, wildfires and hurricanes is creating challenges for both insurers and their customers. One successful strategy taking hold in Alabama and other states: Climate-proofing houses — and incentivizing it with insurance discounts.

Still, not all states or homeowners face similar risks. And insurers aren't legally required to take climate-proofing into account when assessing the insurability of a home. That's why states are experimenting with different programs — and insurance legislation — to find a solution.

This episode is part of NPR's Climate Solutions Week: a series of stories covering real world solutions for building, and living, on a hotter planet.

(Image credit: Stephan Bisaha)

Categories: Environment

Why knowing your neighbors can be an important climate solution

NPR News - Environment - Tue, 2025/06/10 - 3:00am

Earthaven Ecovillage fared remarkably well after Hurricane Helene. The community had backup power and water systems, as well as food supplies, but members also knew how to work together in a crisis.

(Image credit: Ryan Kellman)

Categories: Environment

By removing invasive bullfrogs, scientists help Yosemite's native turtles recover

NPR News - Environment - Tue, 2025/06/10 - 3:00am

The huge amphibians "will literally just feed on anything that fits into their mouth" — including turtle hatchlings. Clearing thousands of frogs from ponds helped other species stage a comeback.

(Image credit: Sidney Woodruff)

Categories: Environment

Invasive bullfrog eradication allows pond turtles to recover

NPR News - Environment - Mon, 2025/06/09 - 1:05pm

American bullfrog populations have exploded around the world with dire consequences for native wildlife. But researchers say they may have found a way to help these species rebound.

Categories: Environment

5 simple (and cheap) things to make your house use less energy

NPR News - Environment - Mon, 2025/06/09 - 4:00am

Sometimes reducing your home's energy use can be as simple as opening a window or buying tape. Here are five easy ways to have a more climate-friendly home and save on energy bills at the same time.

(Image credit: Illustrations by LA Johnson/NPR)

Categories: Environment

This city is exploring an unconventional solution to water scarcity: sewage

NPR News - Environment - Mon, 2025/06/09 - 3:00am

A booming population and changing climate have strained water supplies in St. George, Utah. Local leaders are betting that recycled wastewater can keep the city's taps flowing.

(Image credit: Ryan Kellman)

Categories: Environment

U.N. Ocean Conference opens in France as U.S. government scientists stay away

NPR News - Environment - Mon, 2025/06/09 - 1:58am

Heads of state, mayors, scientists and policymakers have gathered in France to tackle what is being described as a global emergency facing the world's seas.

(Image credit: Ludovic Marin)

Categories: Environment

Sea turtle Dilly Dally released into the ocean with three flippers after undergoing amputation

NPR News - Environment - Fri, 2025/06/06 - 1:25pm

Dilly Dally, a loggerhead turtle who survived a run-in with a predator that ultimately cost her a flipper, has been rereleased into the wild.

(Image credit: Rebecca Blackwell)

Categories: Environment

Ecologist encourages people with yards to create little 'national parks'

NPR News - Environment - Fri, 2025/06/06 - 2:05am

Ecologist Doug Tallamy thinks a yard can become a little "national park." He's co-founder of Homegrown National Park, which encourages people to grow native plants in their yards.

Categories: Environment

Smoke knows no boundaries: What Canada's fires mean for the U.S. in the future

NPR News - Environment - Fri, 2025/06/06 - 2:01am

More than 200 wildfires are raging across Canada, sending a thick blanket of choking smoke through the U.S. Midwest. Experts says climate change means U.S. residents better get used to it.

(Image credit: Mark Vancleave)

Categories: Environment
Syndicate content