Samples of yeast collected around Baltimore, that are being stress-tested at the Casadevall lab at Johns Hopkins University. Casadevall Lab hide caption
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Heavy rains from hurricane Helene caused record flooding and damage in Asheville, North Carolina. Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images/Getty Images North America hide caption
Hurricane Helene dropped more than 2 feet of rain on Spruce Pine, N.C. The town is home to one of the world's only sources of high-purity quartz, which is used to manufacture silicon chips and solar panels. Spencer Bost hide caption
A van is partially submerged in the Swannanoa River in the Biltmore Village area of Asheville, N.C., on Sunday, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Sean Rayford/Getty Images hide caption
Rescue personnel transport a victim who was trapped under a landslide caused by heavy rains in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Sunday. Sujan Gurung/AP hide caption
David Hester inspects damages of his house on Saturday after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Horseshoe Beach, Fla. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Waves from the Gulf of Mexico push up against the shore as Hurricane Helene churns offshore on September 26, 2024 in St. Pete Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption
Hurricane Helene became a major hurricane before landfall, reaching a Category 4 Thursday. Forecasters have been warning communities hundreds of miles inland to prepare for its powerful winds and flooding rains. CIRA/NOAA hide caption
Rain inundated Central and Eastern Europe in early September, causing massive flooding, including in the town of Nysa, southwestern Poland. A new study finds that human-caused climate change roughly doubled the likelihood of that intense rainfall. Maciej Krysinski/KG PSP/State Fire Service of Poland via AP hide caption
California’s new lawsuit says that ExxonMobil has known for decades that recycling would not effectively stem the flow of plastic waste. Despite that knowledge, the lawsuit says, the company actively promoted recycling as a viable solution to plastic pollution. Mark Humphrey/AP hide caption
Tesla Superchargers stand in a parking lot in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 16. Electric vehicles have significant environmental advantages over similar gas-powered vehicles, but the percentage of Americans who believe so has gone down slightly over the last two years. Brandon Bell/Getty Images hide caption
The United Nations headquarters in New York City on on September 21, 2021. Timothy A. Clary/Getty Images hide caption
Electrolyzers fill a pair of warehouses in the desert near Delta, Utah. The machines make hydrogen by splitting water molecules. Michael Copley/NPR hide caption
17-year-old Aysulu walks along the dried riverbed of the Amu Darya, near her home in Nukus, Uzbekistan. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption
The Three Mile Island nuclear plant is seen in March 2011 in Middletown, Pa. Jeff Fusco/Getty Images hide caption
Climate-driven flooding destroyed Tony Calhoun’s home in 2022. But as the water receded, his despair only grew. His fiancee, Edith Lisk (left), hopes to bring attention to the mental health toll of extreme weather. Edith Lisk hide caption
Hurricane Francine hit Louisiana last week, dumping rain across the South. Forecasters are expecting a lot of hurricanes and tropical storms in the next few weeks. Jack Brook/AP hide caption
Climate change is one reason for hotter oceans. But there are others
A box of food scraps that will be composted sits at a waste transfer station in San Francisco. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption
Food being prepared and presented during vegan chef Chloe Coscarelli hosted H&M Home Breakfast in 2017 in New York. Donald Bowers/Getty Images hide caption
Not all Americans eat beef equally. Research finds the nation's biggest beef eaters are disproportionately men. Jackie Lay/NPR hide caption
Eating less beef is a climate solution. Here's why that's hard for some American men
Garbage is unloaded into the Pine Tree Acres Landfill in Lenox Township, Mich., on July 28, 2022. State bans on commercial food waste have been largely ineffective, researchers found. Paul Sancya/AP hide caption
Windmills towers over a soy bean field on August 10, 2024 near Charles City, Iowa. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption
Kayla Abe (pictured here) and her partner, chef David Murphy, co-founded Shuggie's Trash Pie in 2022, in part to address the global problem of food waste. According to the food waste reduction nonprofit ReFED, 38% of the U.S. food supply goes uneaten. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption