Environment

The U.S. gets nearly a third of its pork from Iowa. One family is making the switch from pigs to more sustainable specialty mushrooms and trying to show other pig farmers how they did it.

(Image credit: Madeleine Charis King)

A fisherman has the ultimate fishing tale: He spotted an adult humpback whale has in California's largest river. That's a rare sighting in those parts.

State officials say the new SpaceX site will be a $100 billion investment and launch thousands of rockets. Lawmakers helped ease regulations and negotiations were covered under nondisclosure agreements.

(Image credit: Kathleen Flynn)

Last year, remnants of a typhoon damaged homes, infrastructure and an archaeological dig site. Now, archaeologists are trying to get as many objects out as possible before the next storm.

(Image credit: MaryCait Dolan)

This year's single-elimination tournament will see 16 competitors face off, compared to 12 in past years. Officials report more cubs in Katmai National Park than they've seen in recent memory.

(Image credit: C. Loberg)

A bacterial infection is wiping out Florida's citrus trees. Growers hope a rootstock developed with gene-editing technology could keep the disease at bay.

(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

No one across the U.S. is consistently tracking climate-fueled deaths. One medical examiner has a new protocol on heat-deaths.

(Image credit: Cassidy Araiza for NPR)

Gene technology is giving hope to citrus farmers in Florida who are fighting greening disease, which has been killing their trees for two decades.

Residents in Louisiana near SpaceX's next launch site are concerned about the project's impact on the environment and say they were kept in dark about the deal.

Antarctic krill serve as a crucial food source for penguins, seals, and whales. They recycle nutrients used by algae. Now researchers say they've found krill in a surprising place: hydrothermal vents.

The EPA announced Monday its repealing limits on greenhouse gas emissions that come from power plants.

The Trump administration is eliminating limits on climate-warming pollution from the nation's fossil fuel power plants. Environmental groups say this will impact the climate and public health.

(Image credit: J. David Ake)

Scientists say that August was the hottest month ever recorded globally. In the U.S., summer temperatures also shattered heat records.

(Image credit: Alex Wong)

The European climate service Copernicus said the Earth just sweltered through its hottest month on record in August. Scientists said the heat surge is mostly due to human-caused climate change.

(Image credit: Ahn Young-joon)

Heat kills thousands of people across the U.S. every year. The risk is especially high for the millions of Americans who live in manufactured housing like mobile homes and trailers.

(Image credit: Ryan Kellman)

A floating island is playing peekaboo on Williston Lake in British Columbia. NPR's Ayesha Rascoe chats with BC Hydro's Bob Gammer about this natural mystery.

The Western U.S.'s wildfire season has been one of the worst in years. More than 8 million acres have burned, at least seven wildland firefighters have died, and hundreds of homes have been destroyed.

When Arizona counts heat-related deaths, Adam Willson isn't included. His story shows how thousands of heat deaths can go uncounted every year in the United States.

(Image credit: Ryan Kellman)

An NPR investigation found that people in the U.S. are dying from heat much more often than official counts show. We explore the reasons why — and how lives can be saved.

As the climate continues to warm, scientists warn that the frequency of disasters like the floods in Nepal will increase.

(Image credit: Niranjan Shrestha)