U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen speaks in front of a newly fortified border wall structure in Calexico, Calif. in October. A federal court ruled Monday that DHS has broad authority to waive environmental regulations in the name of border security. Gregory Bull/AP hide caption
Cemetery workers prepare burial sites for the victims of the collapsed dam in Brumadinho, Brazil, on Tuesday. Andre Penner/AP hide caption
An Indian farmer burns rice stalks after harvesting the crop in fields on the outskirts of Amritsar in Punjab. Narinder Nanu/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
An aerial view of Hawaii's East Island after it was struck by Hurricane Walaka last month. The island, home to endangered monk seals and Hawaiian green sea turtles, nearly disappeared after the storm. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association hide caption
The barley used to make beer as we know it may take a hit under climate change, but growers say they are already preparing by planting it farther north in colder locations. Dean Hutton/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
A worker heads out to hand-feed fish at a Scottish salmon farm, a method that is unusual among fish farms. Eileen Guo for NPR hide caption
Allagash employees Salim Raal, left, and Brendan McKay stack bottles of Golden Brett, a limited release beer fermented with a house strain of Brettanomyces yeast. The Maine brewery recently installed solar panels as part of its sustainability initiatives. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images hide caption
Researchers say there's growing evidence that nature has a powerful effect on us, improving both our physical and psychological health. Angela Hsieh/NPR hide caption
A new report suggests that when consumers buy sustainably-certified coffee, they have little way of knowing whether or how their purchase helps growers. MediaforMedical/Michel Cardoso/UIG via Getty Images hide caption
Nicolas Hulot, the French environmental minister, departs a weekly Cabinet meeting in Paris in February. "I don't want to give the illusion that my presence in government means we're answering these issues properly," Hulot said in resigning Tuesday. Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Activists from Concerned Women for America make a stop on their bus tour in Indianapolis, where Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly is facing pressure from the right as he prepares to vote on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh just weeks before Election Day. Sarah McCammon/NPR hide caption
Waste engineer Jenna Jambeck of the University of Georgia surveys plastic waste in a southeast Asian village, where it will be recycled to make raw material for more plastic products. Jambeck advises Asian governments on how to keep plastic trash out of waterways. Courtesy of Amy Brooks hide caption
An Indonesian ranger inspects a peat forest fire in Aceh province in July 2017. Indonesia, unlike most of the world, lost less overall tree cover than usual last year. Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
A woman walks along a row of misters on June 19, 2017 in Tempe, Ariz., when the temperatures were over 110 degrees. Matt York/AP hide caption
Johanna Humphrey, left, ended up with 24 boxes of crayons she didn't need. She gave them to teacher Laura Smith, right, through the Buy Nothing Project. It encourages people to share without money changing hands. Jeff Brady/NPR hide caption
Scott Pruitt speaks on election night 2010, after his successful campaign for Oklahoma attorney general. When Pruitt assumed office, he also took control of the state's case against the poultry industry. Sue Ogrocki/AP hide caption
Deep-sea trawling can include bycatch and harm coral, so some activists want it banned. Monty Rakusen/Getty Images/Cultura RF hide caption
An illustration from 1870 shows Prehistoric men using wooden clubs and stone axe to fend off an attacks by a large cave bear. The cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) was a species of bear that lived in Europe during the Pleistocene and became extinct at the beginning of the Last Glacial Maximum, about 27,500 years ago. Mammoths can be seen in the background. British Library/Science Source hide caption
Trash and assorted garbage collected from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which has up to 16 times more plastic in it than previously thought. UniversalImagesGroup/UIG via Getty Images hide caption
Mardi Gras beads strewn on a New Orleans street. Gerald Herbert/AP hide caption
A paddy field sits on the outskirts of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, the only country that even comes close to delivering the good life in a sustainable way. Hoang Dinh Nam /AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Denver's newest skyscraper (center) followed new building codes for energy efficiency. The city wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050. Dan Boyce for NPR hide caption
Echo, an English Labrador, narrows down the search for the ashes of Kathy Lampi's mother. She died in June, but her cremains were lost in the wildfire in October. Thomas Nash/nashpix.com hide caption
Jadav Payeng, "The Forest Man of India," has planted tens of thousands of trees over the course of nearly 40 years. He has made bloom a once desiccated island that lies in the Brahamputra river, which runs through his home state of Assam. Furkan Latif Khan/NPR hide caption
Belinda Batten of Oregon State University stands in front of a wave energy generator prototype. Jeff Brady/NPR hide caption