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Andrea Kissack Andrea Kissack is NPR's Chief Science Editor and head of the Science Desk.
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Andrea Kissack

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Monday

Seaweed is mucking up beaches. This robot could stop it — and fight climate change

Seaweed Generation's marine biologist Duncan Smallman at the company's workshop in Glasgow, Scotland. Robert Ormerod for NPR hide caption

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Robert Ormerod for NPR

NPR's Climate Week: A Search For Solutions

Seaweed is mucking up beaches. This robot could stop it — and fight climate change

A new robot is designed to sink sargassum before the stinky seaweed comes ashore. Blooms of sargassum, a leafy brown seaweed, have increased in size and number over the past decade. As the blooms have grown, so too has their impact on coastal communities. The stinky seaweed can wreck local economies and ecosystems — and even threaten human health, some research suggests. But the creators of the AlgaRay say that their robot might do more than halt this damage. It could also fight climate change.

Seaweed is mucking up beaches. This robot could stop it — and fight climate change

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Wednesday

Monday

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Monday

Wednesday

Electric Vehicle Companies Tap Silicon Valley Cash

Tesla Motors plans to use a former Toyota-GM joint venture factory in California to build its Model S electric sedan. Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images

A Mainstream Push For Electric Cars

Electric Vehicle Companies Tap Silicon Valley Cash

KQED

As hard times have fallen on America's Rust Belt, a new region is hoping to give Detroit a run for its money. Clean-tech entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley are investing in the emerging electric car industry. And Google is among the investors.

Electric Vehicle Companies Tap Silicon Valley Cash

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Tuesday

In Search Of Charging Stations For Electric Cars

A power cable from a vehicle charging station is seen plugged into the side of a Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid in San Francisco.  Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A Mainstream Push For Electric Cars

In Search Of Charging Stations For Electric Cars

KQED

The futuristic world of the electric car may finally be here. The first mass-produced electric vehicles for sale in the United States are being released over the next few months, but what's missing are places to charge up.

In Search Of Charging Stations For Electric Cars

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Monday

Will Electric Cars Work For The Everyday Driver?

The Chevy Volt is a plug-in hybrid. Drivers can extend their range by tapping into a gas tank. Photo courtesy of GM hide caption

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Photo courtesy of GM

A Mainstream Push For Electric Cars

Will Electric Cars Work For The Everyday Driver?

KQED

The first mass-produced electric vehicles ever sold in the United States will begin to hit auto showrooms by the end of the year. The owner of a 15-year-old Honda on its last legs sets out to test-drive the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt.

Will Electric Cars Work For The Everyday Driver?

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Wednesday

'Big Solar' Struggles To Find Home In California

This composite illustration shows what a proposed solar array built by Solargen Energy in the Panoche Valley would look like from ground level. Solargen Energy hide caption

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Solargen Energy

Renewables Race: California's Clean Power Quest

'Big Solar' Struggles To Find Home In California

KQED

A battle over where to build big clean-energy projects is putting the green revolution in gridlock. In California's rural Panoche Valley, clean-energy advocates and wildlife environmentalists debate whether the world's largest solar energy project should be built there.

'Big Solar' Struggles To Find Home In California

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Tuesday

Business

Solar Panel Thefts Heating Up

KQED

Solar panel theft is on the rise. The growing crime wave is particularly acute in Napa Valley where several dozen wineries have gone solar in recent years. Thieves are using Google Earth to locate solar arrays and breaking into vineyards at night to steal panels. Several wineries have been hit, some more than once.

Solar Panel Thefts Heating Up

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Thursday

Environment

Salmon Ban Threatens California Fishermen

Northern California fishing communities are predicting economic devastation if federal regulators extend a ban on salmon fishing all along the Pacific Coast. Andrea Kissack of member station KQED reports.

Salmon Ban Threatens California Fishermen

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Friday

Food

Vegan Dining with a Side of Self-Affirmation

Simply asking for tofu won't cut it at San Francisco's Cafe Gratitude. The meals at the vegan raw-food restaurant have self-affirming titles like "I am lusciously awake" and "I am peaceful." Patrons must use these names to order their food. Andrea Kissack of member station KQED reports.

Vegan Dining with a Side of Self-Affirmation

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Thursday

National

Children of Mexican Vineyard Laborers Now Vintners

It's the classic American success story, with a twist: A new generation of wine producers in Napa and Sonoma counties in Northern California are the children of Mexican immigrants who once labored in the same vineyards. Reporter Andrea Kissack of member station KQED in San Francisco profiles the Mexican-American vintners.

Children of Mexican Vineyard Laborers Now Vintners

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