NPR News - Environment

Newly discovered damage to part of the dam holding back America's second-largest reservoir has people who rely on the Colorado River worried about their ability to get the water they need.

(Image credit: Alex Hager)

Climate change is heating oceans faster than the world's coral reefs can handle. So scientists are breeding corals that can withstand hotter temperatures – but only to a point.

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People who fish in Florida and in federal waters are required to have special gear on board to help ensure groupers, snappers and other reef fish survive when they're returned to the water.

The Panama Canal has been dubbed the greatest engineering feat in human history. It's also (perhaps less favorably) been called the greatest liberty mankind has ever taken with Mother Nature. But due to climate change, the Canal is drying up and fewer than half of the ships that used to pass through are now able to do so. So how did we get here? Today on the show, we're talking to Cristina Henriquez, the author of a new novel that explores the making of the Canal. It took 50,000 people from 90 different countries to carve the land in two — and the consequences of that extraordinary, nature-defying act are still echoing through our present.

The National Park Service is seeking the public's help in identifying the two men, caught on video pushing rocks off a cliff near the Redstone Dunes Trail earlier this month.

We visit an orchard where researchers are breeding Chestnut trees they hope will one day fight off a fungus that's been killing the iconic American tree for more than a century.

Half of the Great Salt Lake in Utah has now dried up but scientists say there's still some time left to reverse its decline.

President Biden has been pushing new regulations to promote electric vehicle production to combat the climate crisis — and former president Trump is using those regulations as a talking point against Biden. To break down how cars became the latest weapons in the culture wars, host Brittany Luse is joined by NPR's transportation correspondent Camila Domonoske and Dan Brekke, a reporter and editor at KQED in San Francisco who covers transit. Together, they talk about why Americans are so invested in their cars — and how cars became more than just a policy battle.

Then Brittany discusses a new HBO documentary series that is making waves right now: Quiet On Set. The show alleges a pattern of sexual harassment behind the scenes at Nickelodeon, and includes interviews with several former child stars describing experiences that range from taking part in sexualized gags to facing downright sexual abuse while working for the network. Brittany looks closer at the trouble with child performers with Joan Summers and Matthew Lawson, co-hosts of the Eating for Free podcast. They discuss what makes child performers especially vulnerable to abuse — and they ask why society demands performances from children.

Akagera National Park in eastern Rwanda was hard hit by the violence of the country's genocide. For a time, the park floundered — but it's now flourishing.

Japan is giving the U.S. 250 new cherry trees to help replace the hundreds that are being ripped out this summer as construction crews work to repair the seawall around the capital's Tidal Basin.

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Two years after the U.S. Forest Service accidentally ignited the biggest fire in New Mexico history nearly 2,500 victims are suing over slow aid payments.

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Ali Zaidi, President Biden's national climate advisor, about the first ever national standards on the amount of PFAS in drinking water.

Arizona Supreme Court allows a near-total abortion ban to take effect soon. EPA limits the amount of PFAS in drinking water. President Biden will welcome Japan's prime minister to the White House.

PFAS chemicals have been used for decades to waterproof and stain-proof consumer products and are linked to health problems.

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The Environmental Protection Agency tightens standards for air pollution coming from more than 200 chemical plants in the U.S.

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A new EPA rule will force hundreds of chemical plants to limit emissions of two carcinogenic pollutants, ethylene oxide and chloroprene. The rule will affect factories in Texas and Louisiana.

Norfolk Southern has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit stemming from the fiery train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio in early 2023.

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Research into new pharmaceuticals has produced an unanticipated by-product: Petunias that glow in the dark

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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Jay Woiderski, President of the Black Lake Chapter of Sturgeon For Tomorrow, about their volunteer Sturgeon Guard program.

Petunias that glow in the dark are a thing now. The genetically modified flowers actually generate their own light, and are now legal to sell.