Climate

The Boulders development, built in 2006 in Seattle's Green Lake neighborhood, features a mature tree along with a waterfall. The developer also added mature trees salvaged from other developments — placing them strategically to add texture and cooling to the landscaping. Parker Miles Blohm/KNKX hide caption

Contractors install a roof in Mobile County, Ala., designed to better withstand hurricanes. Other states are adopting similar programs, offering insurance discounts to encourage disaster preparation. Stephan Bisaha/Gulf States Newsroom hide caption

Volunteers help a homeowner search for personal items in the remains of a home that burned in the Palisades Fire in January in Pacific Palisades, California. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

Contractors install a storm-ready roof in Mobile County, Alabama. Stephan Bisaha/Gulf States Newsroom hide caption

Amanda Devecka-Rinear and her daughter can skip rocks from their front yard. Devecka-Rinear's home on a tiny island in Stafford Township, N.J., escaped damage during Superstorm Sandy because it happened to be raised for maintenance work. "It was elevation that saved this house," she says. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption

Earthaven Ecovillage members work together to plant crops in their shared garden. Like many ecovillages, Earthaven's culture is built on a strong spirit of collaboration. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption

Planting trees for their specific environment is very important according to Brad Daseler. For example, he might choose to plant a tree with a smaller profile to fit a narrower patch of sidewalk or a backyard garden, versus a city park. Here, Daseler points out tree pots with a textured felt lining that helps keep roots from binding up. "There's a lot of nuance to planting trees," Daseler says. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption

People wade in the shallow waters of the Virgin River in St. George, Utah. The river provides the desert community with water, but climate change and a growing population threaten that supply. Local leaders are looking toward recycled sewage as a solution. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption

Homes destroyed by a 2020 wildfire in Talent, Ore. FEMA denied about 70% of assistance applications related to massive Oregon wildfires that year, an NPR investigation found. The agency has a long history of failing to help vulnerable disaster survivors, but reforms under the Biden administration were starting to fix those long-standing problems. Noah Berger/AP hide caption

Former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern speaks during Cinema Cafe 2 during the 2025 Sundance Film Festival Awards. Maya Dehlin Spach/Getty Images hide caption

The Super 8 Motel in Swannanoa has sat vacant and destroyed since Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina in September 2024. Nickolai Hammar/NPR hide caption

An abandoned vehicle sits along the Swannanoa River in a landscape scarred by Hurricane Helene, on March 24, near Swannanoa, N.C. Sean Rayford/Getty Images hide caption

Stuart and Jackie Pacheo stand where the entryway to their home of 30 years was before the floods from Hurricane Helene washed it away. The circles of the tops of foundation pillars in the dirt behind them are all that remain of the Pacheo home. Nickolai Hammar/NPR hide caption

As the wind shifted, wafting gases from Adélie penguin poop, researchers in Antarctica noticed that a fog formed within a few hours. Matthew Boyer hide caption

The sun begins to set beyond an oil refinery in California. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

Robert Taylor sits outside the two-story home he built in Reserve, Louisiana. He built his two-story brick house around the same time the DuPont Plant started operating – now called Denka Performance Elastomer – is located walking distance from Taylor's house in St. John Parish. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption