Environment

Groups connected to the fossil fuel industry are trying to shape an international treaty to cut plastic pollution. And oil- and gas-producing nations are at the negotiating table.

(Image credit: Shammi Mehra/AFP via Getty Images)

The Key deer is losing the only place it lives, raising uncomfortable questions for the people tasked with keeping endangered species alive.

(Image credit: Ryan Kellman/NPR)

There's a little-known air pollution rule that more and more cities are using to keep their air quality within federal limits when wildfire smoke threatens to send them over pollution limits.

Leave the leaves? Is it really as simple as that? NPR's Scott Simon talks with Jessica Damiano - who writes the Weekly Dirt Newsletter, about the wisdom of this movement.

Last winter in Wyoming was so harsh that tens of thousands of deer and antelope perished. This season, thousands of hunters are voluntarily sitting out to give the herds time to recover.

Pakistan is reforesting its river delta with mangrove forests nearly the size of Rhode Island. But why are some upset?

(Image credit: Diaa Hadid/NPR)

After decades of plastic garbage bags stacked daily on New York City's sidewalks (and the rats they attract), officials hope to solve this issue just like other U.S. cities have already: garbage bins.

(Image credit: Austin Cope)

Geothermal energy has been limited to places with subtera reservoirs of hot water. A new technology being proven in Utah is expanding it to exploit dry hot rock underground.

As Republicans seek their party's nomination in the 2024 presidential election, their stances on key issues will be top of mind for voters. Climate change is particularly important to younger voters.

(Image credit: Anna Moneymaker, Brandon Bell, Win McNamee, Michael M. Santiago, Robyn Beck/AFP (2), Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

NPR's Brian Mann trekked to a hidden forest in the Superstition Wilderness in Arizona and sends an audio postcard.

American Lung Association’s study also found great disparity between coasts, with 10 of 11 most polluted counties in California

The climate crisis has upended progress on improving air quality, with one in three Americans currently living in areas with harmful levels of pollutants known to increase the risk of medical emergencies, pregnancy complications and premature death, new research reveals.

Almost 120 million people in the US are still exposed to unhealthy levels of soot and smog, according to the annual report by the American Lung Association (ALA), which found that people of color are almost four times more likely to live in the most polluted places than white Americans.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says Labor support for recommendations is a ‘huge blow’ to companies trying to frack in the NT

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An inquiry into major plans to exploit gas in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin has recommended the federal government commit to a national plan to offset the vast emissions the project is expected to release.

The former government made gas exploration in the Beetaloo Basin a central tenet of its plans for recovering from the Covid pandemic, using grants and tax breaks to incentivise gas corporates to begin work in the region. The basin covers about 28,000 sq km south-east of Katherine and is thought to contain huge reserves of shale gas.

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Griffith University researcher captures video of five whales doing ‘bizarre rolls’ on the sea floor as they exfoliate and socialise

Whales have been caught on camera enjoying a marine version of a day spa, returning to their favourite spot off the Gold Coast to scratch off itchy skin and parasites, and catch up with their cetacean buddies.

Griffith University whale researcher Dr Olaf Meynecke and his colleagues were trying to shed light on the behaviour of competing pods of humpbacks that use Gold Coast waters to rest, breed and socialise.

Scientists operating a submersible have discovered deep-sea coral reefs in pristine condition in a previously unexplored part of the Galapagos marine reserve. Diving to depths of 600 metres (1,970ft), to the summit of a previously unmapped seamount in the central part of the archipelago, the scientists witnessed a breathtaking mix of deep marine life. This has raised hopes that healthy reefs can still thrive at a time when coral is in crisis due to record sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification

• Scientists discover pristine deep-sea Galápagos reef ‘teeming with life’

Reusables have 25% less global heating potential, finds UK government report, but overall picture is mixed

Environmental campaigners are calling on the UK government to take action after new analysis found a significant difference between the carbon footprints of washable and disposable nappies.

Reusable nappies have 25% less global heating potential compared with single-use nappies, according to a report commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Diving to 600m, researchers find reefs full of octopus, lobster and fish, raising hopes for corals’ survival amid rising sea temperatures

Scientists operating a submersible have discovered deep-sea coral reefs in pristine condition in a previously unexplored part of the Galápagos marine reserve.

Diving to depths of 600 metres (1,970ft), to the summit of a previously unmapped seamount in the central part of the archipelago, the scientists witnessed a breathtaking mix of deep marine life. This has raised hopes that healthy reefs can still thrive at a time when coral is in crisis due to record sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification. It also showed the effectiveness of conservation actions and effective management, they said.

The Bristol-based charity Forest of Avon Trust has recently acquired 100 acres of grazed farmland near the village of Pensford in Somerset, to create the Great Avon Wood. Alongside charity partners Avon Needs Trees, the aim is to plant more than 40,000 trees supplied by the Woodland Trust over the next three years, resulting in a green corridor of three linked woodland sites. The first step is an army of volunteers …

Unique ecosystem on the brink of collapse due to climate crisis and mismanagement, says conservation group American Rivers

A 277-mile stretch of the Colorado River that snakes through the iconic Grand Canyon is America’s most endangered waterway, a new report has found.

The unique ecosystem and cultural heritage of the Grand Canyon is on the brink of collapse due to prolonged drought, rising temperatures and outdated river management, according to American Rivers, the conservation group that compiles the annual endangered list.

Exclusive: Conservation group Action for Dolphins has lodged a complaint with police, demanding the meat be removed from sale

Marine conservation campaigners have lodged a complaint with police demanding that “toxic” dolphin meat be removed from sale in Japan, after a test showed a sample contained levels of mercury up to 100 times higher than the government’s recommended safe level.

Action for Dolphins (AFD), a nonprofit based in Australia, filed the complaint with police in central Japan this month, amid expert warnings that regular consumption of dolphin meat could threaten the health of consumers.

Change to bill says opening and licensing of new coalmines by the Coal Authority to be prohibited

An amendment to the energy bill currently going through the House of Lords means that it will not be possible to open a new coalmine in England.

The amendment may still be reversed in the House of Commons, but it marks the growing frustration of politicians as they press the government to move faster and harder on the climate crisis.