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
There are over eight hundred species of leeches, but researchers estimate that only ten percent of all leeches are terrestrial. Auscape/Contributor/Getty Images hide caption
Once completed, India's National River Linking Project will transfer an estimated 200 billion cubic meters of water around the country each year. STRDEL / Stringer/Getty Images hide caption
India's plan to reroute rivers could have unintended consequences on rainfall
Synchronous fireflies, known as Photuris frontalis, blink in the woods near the Congaree River on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. Sam Wolfe for NPR hide caption
A blue shark captured from below off the coast of New Zealand. Cultura RM Exclusive/Richard Robinson/Getty Images hide caption
Ferris Jabr's book Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life examines the ways life and Earth have shaped each other. Lucas Heinrich/Random House hide caption
Earth is more than a planet with life on it. It's a "living planet"
The 'i'iwi is one of Hawaii's honeycreepers, forest birds that are found nowhere else. There were once more than 50 species. Now, only 17 remain. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption
Joro spider sits in the middle of a spider web. GummyBone/Getty Images hide caption
The illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be a multi-billion dollar enterprise. Live animals that are caught, like this box turtle, need immediate and long-term care at facilities like The Turtle Conservancy. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption
Illegal wildlife trade is booming. What does that mean for the confiscated animals?
Mangroves are unique ecosystems protecting humans and wildlife. Sea level rise and more severe storms from climate change threaten them, according to a new global assessment. Sia Kambou /AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Researchers have detected microplastics in human testicles. Volodymyr Zakharov/Getty Images hide caption
A sea otter in Monterey Bay with a rock anvil on its belly and a scallop in its forepaws. Jessica Fujii hide caption
When sea otters lose their favorite foods, they can use tools to go after new ones
Sperm whale families talk a lot. Researchers are trying to decode what they're saying
Scientists reveal mysterious origin of Baobab trees, Rafiki's home in 'The Lion King'
A giant truck hauls coal at a mine in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming Stephanie Joyce/Wyoming Public Media hide caption
A burial team in Liberia awaits decontamination after performing "safe burials" for people who died of Ebola during the 2014-15 outbreak. Strains of the virus are harbored by bats and primates. A new study looks at how human activity affects the transmission of infectious diseases like Ebola. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption
Jackye Lafon, who's in her 80s, cools herself with a water spray at her home in Toulouse, France during a heat wave in 2022. Older people face higher heat risk than those who are younger. Climate change is making heat risk even greater. Fred Scheiber/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
More than 200 million seniors face extreme heat risks in coming decades, study finds
Public Health student Hanna Stutzman helps establish new native plantings at The College of New Jersey. Nathaniel Johnson/The College of New Jersey hide caption
Lauren Hill, a graduate student at Cal State LA, holds a bird at the bird banding site at Bear Divide in the San Gabriel Mountains. Grace Widyatmadja/NPR hide caption
People cycle along the street in Afuá, a city in northern Brazil's Pará state, in January. Since 2002, this city on the banks of the Amazon River has been famously off limits to motor vehicles. Stefan Kolumban hide caption
Isabella Mogeni, 54, from the neighborhood of Mukuru kwa Reuben, looks on as bulldozers destroy homes in the slum area on May 3. Emmanuel Igunza for NPR hide caption