Curtis Wynn, president and CEO of Roanoke Electric Cooperative, with a bi-directional charger that can use electricity from an electric vehicle's battery to power a building. Dan Charles/NPR hide caption
Environment Breaking news on the environment, climate change, pollution, and endangered species. Also featuring Climate Connections, a special series on climate change co-produced by NPR and National Geographic.
Environment
A thin strip of sand is all that stands between multimillion-dollar homes on the Southern California coast and a rising Pacific Ocean. A state bill aims to buy, then rent out such properties until they're no longer habitable. Axel Koester/Corbis via Getty Images hide caption
Deb Haaland, who made history this week by becoming the first indigenous interior secretary, promised to begin repairing a legacy of abuses committed by the federal government toward tribes. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption
The Celebration Over, Deb Haaland Now Faces A Long To-Do List At Interior
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Ariel Waldman: What Can We Learn From Microscopic Life In Antarctica?
Christian Richard stands next to a groundwater well on his southwestern Louisiana farm. A centuries-old law allows landowners in the state to use as much water as they want for free. Austin R. Ramsey/IRW hide caption
Known For Its Floods, Louisiana Is Running Dangerously Short Of Groundwater
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Rep. Deb Haaland D-N.M., sworn in during a Senate Committee hearing on Feb. 23 in Washington, D.C. She was confirmed as first Native American Interior Secretary on Mar. 15. Graeme Jennings/AP hide caption
Energy-Producing Tribal Nation Hopes New Interior Secretary Will Make Drilling Easier
Climate change is also making ocean waters more acidic, potentially harming shellfish like oysters. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption
Pictured is a FedEx truck produced by BrightDrop, a General Motors company dedicated exclusively to electric delivery vehicles. FedEx was BrightDrop's first customer. The delivery company has pledged to replace its entire pickup and delivery fleet with electric vehicles by 2040. General Motors hide caption
Planetary scientist Roger Fu hikes through the Pilbara region of Australia, looking for rock samples that are billions of years old. Alec Brenner hide caption
Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., is sworn in before her Senate confirmation hearing to be interior secretary last month. Her confirmation makes her the United States' first Native American Cabinet secretary. Jim Watson/AP hide caption
A woman cycles along a street during a sandstorm in Beijing on Monday. Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Bill Gates delivers a speech at the fundraising day at the Sixth World Fund Conference in Lyon, France, on Oct. 10, 2019. NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption
Bill Gates Weighs In On 'How To Avoid A Climate Disaster' With New Book
This prototype of a new USPS mail delivery truck is part of a recent contract to upgrade the Postal Service's fleet of delivery trucks. Only about 10% of the new vehicles will be electric, despite pressure from the president and Congress to do more. USPS hide caption
When It Comes To Clean Energy, USPS Delivery Trucks Don't Yet Answer The Mail
Thousands of snow geese take flight near Conway, Wash., in 2019. The Biden administration is reversing a policy under former President Donald Trump that drastically weakened protections for most U.S. bird species. Elaine Thompson/AP hide caption
People wait in line for Fiesta Mart to open after the store lost electricity in Austin, Texas on February 17, 2021. Montinique Monroe/Getty Images hide caption
How Giant Batteries Are Protecting The Most Vulnerable In Blackouts
Edgar McGregor, with some of the debris he's collected from Eaton Canyon, part of the Angeles National Forest in Southern California. Edgar McGregor hide caption
President Biden and Vice President Harris invited 10 labor leaders into the Oval Office in mid-February. Biden has pledged to be the most labor-friendly president ever. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
In early September 2020, Seattle, Wash., had some of the worst air quality in the world because of wildfire smoke. The city was among the first to create smoke shelters for the most vulnerable. Nathan Rott/NPR hide caption
The landscape at Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pa., is still beautiful in the winter. Harold Davis/Longwood Gardens hide caption
Shipping workers recorded the tide levels beginning in 1854 at St. George's Dock in Liverpool, England, creating valuable records for future scientists. Heritage Images/Getty Images hide caption
How Fast Are Oceans Rising? The Answer May Be In Century-Old Shipping Logs
Adam Baske (left) and Capt. Rob Odlin of Running Tide Technologies in the Gulf of Maine. They release rope that's entwined with early-stage kelp, a fast growing seaweed that will soak up carbon dioxide. Fred Bever/Maine Public hide caption
Electrical grid transmission towers in Pasadena, Calif. Major power outages from extreme weather have risen dramatically in the past two decades. John Antczak/AP hide caption