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Rebecca Redelmeier / WSKG NewsA new facility at the Steuben County Landfill converts methane emissions into so-called renewable natural gas. Some environmentalists are concerned about its development. -
Lucas Heinrich/Random HouseAbout ten years ago, science writer Ferris Jabr started contemplating Earth as a living planet rather than a planet with life on it. It began when he learned that the Amazon rainforest doesn't simply receive the rain that defines it; rather, it helps generate that rain. The Amazon does that by launching bits of biological confetti into the atmosphere that, in turn, seed clouds. After learning this, he began looking for other ways life changes its environment. That led to his new book Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life. He talks to host Regina G. Barber about examples of life transforming the planet — from changing the color of the sky to altering the weather. Have a story about the environment you'd like us to cover? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
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To a lot of people, mosquito bites are annoying. But to the rare Hawaiian honeycreepers, they're deadly. Scientists in Maui are racing against time to save them ... and discovering some pretty crazy innovations along the way. Like, releasing-mosquitos-incapable-of-breeding level innovations. -
It's a depressingly familiar story — devastating floods triggered by climate change — but with an Afghanistan twist. -
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has never responded to deadly or damaging extreme heat. Environmental groups and labor unions are asking for that to change. -
Environmental groups are calling on the university to halt its plans to develop indoor and outdoor artificial turf fields. The university has said that the material is the only option that meets its needs. -
Forecasters say the warming climate pattern El Niño is officially over. Its cooling counterpart, La Niña, could develop as soon as July — just in time to exacerbate an above-average hurricane season. -
Climate change means more extreme weather across the U.S. That’s a challenge for weather forecasters. -
Multiple federal and state government agencies count the number of deaths from extreme floods, wildfires, heat waves and hurricanes. They don't always agree on which deaths should be counted. -
Plastic has become embedded in everyday life. That’s because for the last 70 years, the plastics industry convinced consumers to embrace the material for its low cost and disposability. -
Farmers in the European Union could hold the key to the bloc's parliamentary vote. -
The town board passed a law last year allowing for commercial solar farm developments. But a proposed moratorium could delay those projects for at least a year.
