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'Her body temperature was 106': How heat is killing Americans in their homes

NPR News - Environment - Mon, 2026/09/07 - 2:00am

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)

Categories: Environment

An island in Western Canada was spotted for the first time. Then it disappeared

NPR News - Environment - Sun, 2026/09/06 - 5:20am

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.

Categories: Environment

NPR's wildfire correspondent on one of the Western U.S.'s worst wildfire seasons

NPR News - Environment - Sun, 2026/09/06 - 5:02am

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.

Categories: Environment

He died of 'natural causes.' But his mother says she knows what killed him: heat

NPR News - Environment - Wed, 2026/09/02 - 2:00am

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)

Categories: Environment

NPR spent 2 years tracking deaths from heat. We found a staggering hidden toll

NPR News - Environment - Mon, 2026/08/31 - 2:00am

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.

Categories: Environment

A melting glacier contributed to the deadly Nepal floods. We can expect more like this

NPR News - Environment - Fri, 2026/08/28 - 2:00am

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

(Image credit: Niranjan Shrestha)

Categories: Environment

Forest service to allow chainsaws to clear trails of downed trees despite ban

NPR News - Environment - Fri, 2026/08/28 - 1:42am

This summer, fallen trees are blocking hundreds of miles of wilderness trails, following unusual weather events. Some forests will allow chainsaws as a controversial exception to a ban on motors.

Categories: Environment

The real cause of most wildfires? People

NPR News - Environment - Thu, 2026/08/27 - 4:30am

More than three quarters of all wildfires in the U.S. are caused by human behavior including accidents, negligence and arson.

(Image credit: Margaret Albaugh for NPR)

Categories: Environment

Spokane wildfire evacuees return home, but it's 'still a hazmat situation'

NPR News - Environment - Tue, 2026/08/25 - 2:00am

Most evacuees have been allowed to return to their homes near burn zones in Spokane, despite concerns about lingering toxins.

(Image credit: Margaret Albaugh for NPR)

Categories: Environment

Did climate change cause this heat wave? Most likely, and here's why

NPR News - Environment - Tue, 2026/08/25 - 2:00am

As the senior climate editor at NPR, when extreme weather impacts us, I often send out guidance to the newsroom to help everyone understand the role of climate change. Here's what I tell them.

(Image credit: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images)

Categories: Environment

Indonesians brave choking smoke to pray for rain as country battles wildfires

NPR News - Environment - Mon, 2026/08/24 - 10:24pm

Huge blazes in central and western regions of Indonesia have scorched wide areas of forests and peatland, creating a choking haze that blanketed some cities.

(Image credit: Muhammad Fajri)

Categories: Environment

Drying springs in Arizona jeopardize the future of a key Navajo tradition

NPR News - Environment - Mon, 2026/08/24 - 1:54pm

For centuries, Navajo shepherds have herded sheep in Arizona's mountains. Now, springs they rely on are drying up, putting a mainstay of the tribe's culture at risk.

Categories: Environment

A new Colorado River plan means big water cuts for some states

NPR News - Environment - Fri, 2026/08/21 - 1:15pm

The federal government finally has a new plan for the shrinking Colorado River. With its two biggest reservoirs at record lows, Arizona, California and Nevada will have to make major water cuts.

Categories: Environment

Federal government thins the herds of wild horses in Colorado

NPR News - Environment - Fri, 2026/08/21 - 2:00am

U.S. officials say the ever-growing population of wild horses that roam federal lands in Colorado is depleting natural resources. But some activists say efforts to remove the horses are inhumane.

(Image credit: McKenzie Lange)

Categories: Environment

The country's two largest reservoirs of water are at historic lows

NPR News - Environment - Wed, 2026/08/19 - 1:14pm

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University, about new record low water levels in two major reservoirs.

Categories: Environment

Trump administration moves to open untouched national forests to logging

NPR News - Environment - Tue, 2026/08/18 - 5:58pm

The end of "roadless rule" protections would open millions of acres of pristine forests to commercial use. Supporters say it will lead to better managed forests.

(Image credit: Mario Tama)

Categories: Environment

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers solicits long-term solutions for Juneau's glacial floods

NPR News - Environment - Tue, 2026/08/18 - 2:21pm

This year's glacial outburst flood event in Juneau was minimally damaging, but residents worry about the future. A permanent solution to drain the glacial lake will be chosen by the end of 2026.

Categories: Environment

A uranium revival brings new worries to tribal lands

NPR News - Environment - Mon, 2026/08/17 - 2:38pm

Uranium production has been revived in the US Southwest. Tribal communities there who suffered illnesses from previous development are worried nuclear energy will harm them again.

Categories: Environment

Nearly 120 million people in US exposed to unhealthy levels of soot and smog – report

Guardian Environment News - Tue, 2023/04/18 - 9:01pm

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.

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Categories: Environment

Beetaloo Basin inquiry calls for national plan to offset vast emissions expected from gas projects

Guardian Environment News - Tue, 2023/04/18 - 8:54pm

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

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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Categories: Environment
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