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Dan Charles Dan Charles is NPR's food and agriculture correspondent.
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Dan Charles

Story Archive

Wednesday

Energy

Why growing wind and solar projects can't connect to the grid

Many green energy projects want to connect to the grid but they're running into a surprising obstacle. (Story aired on All Things Considered on June 15,2023.)

Why growing wind and solar projects can't connect to the grid

Listen · 3:31
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Friday

'Water batteries' could store solar and wind power for when it's needed

The San Vicente reservoir in San Diego County stores water from as far away as the Colorado River. Pumping water into a smaller reservoir in the surrounding mountains could store excess solar power until it's needed, when the sun sets. Dan Charles for NPR hide caption

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Dan Charles for NPR

Climate

'Water batteries' could store solar and wind power for when it's needed

San Diego has an ambitious plan to store renewable energy, using extra solar power to pump water up a mountain. This old-style "water battery" technology could be set for a revival.

'Water batteries' could store solar and wind power for when it's needed

Listen · 4:05
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Tuesday

Meet the California farmers awash in Colorado River water, even in a drought

Sprinklers deliver vital Colorado River water to a field of celery in California's Imperial Valley. The Imperial Irrigation District draws enough water from the river each year to cover 470,000 acres with 5 feet of water. Dan Charles for NPR hide caption

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Dan Charles for NPR

National

Meet the California farmers awash in Colorado River water, even in a drought

A single irrigation district in California, along the Mexican border, takes more water from the Colorado River than all of Arizona and Nevada. It's under pressure to use less.

Meet the California farmers awash in Colorado River water, even in a drought

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Wednesday

To fight climate change, and now Russia, too, Zurich turns off natural gas

Zurich is expanding its district heating system, which delivers hot water and steam through underground pipes. With more buildings relying on this system for heat, there's less demand for natural gas. City of Zurich hide caption

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City of Zurich

Climate

To fight climate change, and now Russia, too, Zurich turns off natural gas

Zurich, Switzerland, is shutting down the gas supply to some neighborhoods. Originally aimed at fighting climate change and saving money, it's also a step to cut gas imports from Russia.

To fight climate change, and now Russia, too, Zurich turns off natural gas

Listen · 3:48
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Friday

How climate change is forcing cities to rebuild stormwater systems

A car gets towed while people walk in the flooded waters of Telephone Rd. in Houston, Texas on August 30, 2017. THOMAS SHEA/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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THOMAS SHEA/AFP via Getty Images

Short Wave

How climate change is forcing cities to rebuild stormwater systems

Deep below our city streets lie intricate networks of underground piping built to carry away excess rainfall run off. These stormwater systems mostly go unnoticed until heavy rains overwhelm them, causing streets to flood. Now, with rising rainfall averages in much of the nation, cities need to plan for more water. Guest host Dan Charles talks to climate correspondent Lauren Sommer about the challenges of such planning and why many cities aren't set up to handle the coming rains.

How climate change is forcing cities to rebuild stormwater systems

Listen · 12:27
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Thursday

How dairy farmers are cashing in on California's push for cleaner fuel

Dairy farms that capture methane from their cows' manure can earn valuable pollution-cutting credits through California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Rich Pedroncelli/AP hide caption

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Rich Pedroncelli/AP

Climate

How dairy farmers are cashing in on California's push for cleaner fuel

Big dairy farms are profiting from California's tougher limits on greenhouse emissions. They're getting paid to capture methane from cow manure. But critics say the system subsidizes polluters.

How dairy farmers are cashing in on California's push for cleaner fuel

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Thursday

A satellite finds massive methane leaks from gas pipelines

Flared natural gas is burned off at a natural gas plant. Methane, the main ingredient in natural gas, can leak from natural gas plants and pipelines. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

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Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Climate

A satellite finds massive methane leaks from gas pipelines

A satellite has detected massive leaks of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, from natural gas plants and pipelines. Most of these releases are deliberate, resulting from sloppy pipeline repairs.

A satellite finds massive methane leaks from gas pipelines

Listen · 2:28
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Wednesday

Megadrought fuels debate over whether a flooded canyon should reemerge

Eric Balken in part of Glen Canyon. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption

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Claire Harbage/NPR

Short Wave

Megadrought fuels debate over whether a flooded canyon should reemerge

In the 1960s, the Bureau of Reclamation built a dam that flooded a celebrated canyon on the Utah-Arizona border. Today, it's known as Lake Powell — the second-largest reservoir in the U.S.

Megadrought fuels debate over whether a flooded canyon should reemerge

Listen · 12:21
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Monday

Placebos Vs Parkinson's: The Power Of Joy

Exercise, such as cycling, can help treat patients with Parkinson's disease. PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP via Getty Images

Short Wave

Placebos Vs Parkinson's: The Power Of Joy

Parkinson's disease is a brain disorder that leads to difficulty with walking, balance and coordination. There is currently no cure, but scientists in Pittsburgh, PA have an ambitious plan to develop a treatment based on the placebo effect. NPR science correspondent, Jon Hamilton, tells the story of how this plan came to be. It involves a batch of illegal drugs, the rabies virus, and figuring out what makes a monkey really happy.

Placebos Vs Parkinson's: The Power Of Joy

Listen · 13:38
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Friday

The Debate About Pablo Escobar's Hippos

Picture of a sign warning about the presence of hippos in a neighborhood in Colombia, near the Hacienda Napoles theme park, once the private zoo of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP via Getty Images

Short Wave

The Debate About Pablo Escobar's Hippos

Pablo Escobar had a private zoo at his estate in Colombia, with zebras, giraffes, flamingoes - and four hippopotamuses. After Escobar was killed in 1993, most of the animals were relocated except for the so-called "cocaine hippos." Authorities thought they would die but they did not and now, about a hundred roam near the estate. Conservationists are trying to control their population because they worry about the people and the environment. But some locals like the hippos and a few researchers say the animals should be left alone and are filling an ecological void. The controversy reflects growing debate in ecology about what an invasive species actually is.

The Debate About Pablo Escobar's Hippos

Listen · 14:05
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Monday

The Electric Car Race! Vroom, Vroom!

The driver of an electric car handles the charging cable to charge the car at a public charging station in Berlin, Germany. Carsten Koall/Getty Images hide caption

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Carsten Koall/Getty Images

Short Wave

The Electric Car Race! Vroom, Vroom!

Electric cars can help reduce greenhouse gases and companies are taking note — racing to become the next Tesla. Today on the show, guest host Dan Charles talks with business reporter Camila Domonoske about how serious the country is about this big switch from gas to electric cars. Plus, what could get drivers to ditch the gas guzzlers?

The Electric Car Race! Vroom, Vroom!

Listen · 14:24
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Wednesday

In 2021, climate ambitions soared and crashed in the U.S. and around the world

President Biden signs the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, part of Biden's climate plans, in November on the South Lawn at the White House. Kenny Holston/Getty Images hide caption

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Kenny Holston/Getty Images

Climate

In 2021, climate ambitions soared and crashed in the U.S. and around the world

President Biden's lofty domestic goals were brought down to earth by congressional opposition, notably from one Democratic senator. International efforts to fight planetary warming also fell short.

Monday

Climate

With the loss of Manchin's vote, Biden's climate change agenda may be doomed

Despite a year of increasing weather disasters, Biden's ambitious climate plans may be doomed in Congress.

With the loss of Manchin's vote, Biden's climate change agenda may be doomed

Listen · 7:51
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Tuesday

Most nations are promising to end deforestation, but skeptics want proof

Cattle graze on land burned and deforested by cattle farmers near Novo Progresso, Para state, Brazil. Brazil is among the nations that have signed a pledge to protect forests. Andre Penner/AP hide caption

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Andre Penner/AP

Environment

Most nations are promising to end deforestation, but skeptics want proof

More than a hundred countries just promised to protect and restore forests. Similar pledges in the past have not succeeded, but forest advocates hope that this effort can learn from past mistakes.

Most nations are promising to end deforestation, but skeptics want proof

Listen · 3:37
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Monday

Weather

Scientists are working to figure out how climate change influences tornadoes

Tornadoes remain among the most unpredictable weather events. Unlike hurricanes, there's little evidence so far that the planet's warming climate is producing more of them, or more severe ones.

Scientists are working to figure out how climate change influences tornadoes

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Monday

Carbon trading gets a green light from the U.N., and Brazil hopes to earn billions

Activists protesting "greenwashing," in which a company or government appears to do more for the environment than it is, gather outside the JP Morgan premises near the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit. Alastair Grant/AP hide caption

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Alastair Grant/AP

Climate

Carbon trading gets a green light from the U.N., and Brazil hopes to earn billions

Carbon offsets got a big boost from November's U.N. climate summit. New rules could make it easier for companies to pay for carbon-cutting projects in other countries, rather than doing it themselves.

Carbon trading gets a green light from the U.N., and Brazil hopes to earn billions

Listen · 4:31
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Saturday

Climate

World leaders commit to ambitious goals at U.N. climate summit

The U.N. climate summit's landmark decision sets aggressive targets for cutting greenhouse emissions. It also promises more aid for developing countries, but many of those countries wanted more.

World leaders commit to ambitious goals at U.N. climate summit

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Climate

Climate negotiations at COP26 center on timeline and aid to developing countries

Climate negotiations in Glasgow, Scotland, have gone into overtime. Countries are divided over how quickly to cut greenhouse gas emissions and over aid to developing countries.

Climate negotiations at COP26 center on timeline and aid to developing countries

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Friday

Climate

Negotiators are in the home stretch on the final day of UN climate conference

The final day of COP26, the UN's conference where global leaders and delegates are negotiating crucial and concrete strategies to limit greenhouse gas emissions, is underway in Glasgow, Scotland.

Negotiators are in the home stretch on the final day of UN climate conference

Listen · 4:22
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Climate

As climate talks come to a close, not all the countries there are on the same page

Negotiations are coming down to the wire at the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland. There's a new draft agreement, but bitter differences remain between rich and poor countries.

As climate talks come to a close, not all the countries there are on the same page

Listen · 3:25
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Wednesday

Draft agreement at the COP26 climate summit looks to rapidly speed up emissions cuts

A stacker-reclaimer next to a stockpile of coal at the Newcastle Coal Terminal in Newcastle, New South Wales. Australia is a major coal producer. A new draft agreement at the climate summit in Scotland calls for ending coal power. Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The COP26 summit

Draft agreement at the COP26 climate summit looks to rapidly speed up emissions cuts

The draft, circulated at the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, calls for an end to coal power and more rapid cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.

Tuesday

Can climate talk turn into climate action?

Participants are in the so-called "action zone" at the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow. Christoph Soeder/Getty Images hide caption

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Christoph Soeder/Getty Images

Short Wave

Can climate talk turn into climate action?

In the first week of COP26, the UN climate conference, world leaders took to the podium to talk about what their countries are going to do to fight climate change. They made big pledges, but protestors in the streets call their promises "greenwashing" and are calling for more action.

Can climate talk turn into climate action?

Listen · 11:53
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Monday

World

Halfway through COP26, here's what has happened so far and what lies ahead

It's the second and final week of the UN climate conference in Glasgow after a weekend of protests. World leaders are expected to hammer out details on their plans to slow catastrophic global warming.

Halfway through COP26, here's what has happened so far and what lies ahead

Listen · 4:12
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Friday

Latest climate pledges could limit global temperature rise, a new report says

Smoke rises from a brick kiln on the outskirts of Gauhati, India, in 2015. India's pledge this week to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2070 factors into a new, more optimistic, analysis by the International Energy Agency on climate change goals. Anupam Nath/AP hide caption

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Anupam Nath/AP

The COP26 summit

Latest climate pledges could limit global temperature rise, a new report says

The International Energy Agency says that if nations honor their latest pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, global temperatures could be held to 1.8 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.

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