An aerial view of Colombia's Regadera Reservoir in Usme, near Bogotá, April 16. Colombia's capital of Bogotá imposed water rations due to a severe drought aggravated by the El Niño. Raul Arboleda/AFP via Getty Images 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
Volunteers clean up plastic waste on a beach in Peru. ERNESTO BENAVIDES/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A new version of the popular board game Catan, which hits shelves this summer, introduces energy production and pollution into the gameplay. Catan GmbH hide caption
How the new Catan board game can spark conversations on climate change
Richelle Dietz holds an empty five-gallon water bottle at her home in Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Monday, April 22, 2024, in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Dietz family relies on bi-weekly water deliveries for basic needs since their water was tainted in 2021. Mengshin Lin/AP hide caption
A caprese salad prepared with Norfolk's Purple Tomato. The tomato was created using genes from a snapdragon. Norfolk Plant Sciences hide caption
A mix-up over bioengineered tomato seeds sparked fears about spread of GMO crops
Boise State Public Radio News
Independence Hall in Philadelphia in 2021. The National Park Service plans to install gas-fired boilers at Independence National Historical Park, despite a 2007 law mandating new and remodeled federal buildings be 100% free of fossil fuels by 2030. Matt Rourke/AP hide caption
The Flint River water starts flowing to Flint, Mich. on April 25, 2014. Without corrosion control, lead leeched from the pipes. Brett Carlsen/Getty Images hide caption
10 years after Flint, the fight to replace lead pipes across the U.S. continues
A coyote at the Fort Worth Zoo is photographed in the hours leading up to the April 8 total solar eclipse. The Hartstone-Rose Research Lab, NC State hide caption
Animals get stressed during eclipses. But not for the reason you think
The Conemaugh Generating Station in New Florence, Pa., is among the nation's coal-fired power plants that face tough new regulations to limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. Gene J. Puskar/AP hide caption
Coal and new gas power plants will have to meet climate pollution targets
Wildfire smoke from Canada caused dangerously unhealthy air quality in New York City and across much of the U.S. in 2023. While air quality has improved greatly in the U.S. in recent decades, wildfire smoke and other climate-influenced problems are endangering that progress. Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Damming waterways is what beavers do best, often to the chagrin of people who want the opposite. But those same damming skills are what make beavers important ecosystem engineers. Chase Dekker Wild-Life Images hide caption
Plastic waste and garbage are seen at a beach in Panama. LUIS ACOSTA/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
People rest at a cooling station in Portland, Oregon during the deadly Northwest heat dome of 2021. Climate change has made heat risks more dangerous across the country. A new heat forecasting tool could help people stay safe. KATHRYN ELSESSER/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A new version of the popular board game Catan, which hits shelves this summer, introduces energy production and pollution into the gameplay. Catan GmbH hide caption
How do you build without over polluting? That's the challenge of new Catan board game
Artists UMI (left) and Louis VI (right) teamed up with the Museum for the United Nations - UN Live to re-release songs with nature sounds for Earth Day. Ryusei Sabi, Orson Esquivel. hide caption
Nature has a mixtape. The U.N. hopes young people will listen to it
President Biden arrives to commemorate Earth Day at Prince William Forest Park in Triangle, Va., on April 22. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
This Earth Day, how to know if the seafood you're eating is sustainable
A volunteer at City Wildlife in Washington, D.C., feeds a baby squirrel with formula. The center helps rehabilitate animals that are injured or orphaned. Jacob Fenston hide caption
Andrew Song and Luke Iseman of Make Sunsets ready for a launch. Iseman says they hope to someday cool the earth on a larger scale. Julia Simon/NPR hide caption
Startups want to cool Earth by reflecting sunlight. There are few rules and big risks
In this undated photo provided by the United States Geological Survey, permafrost forms a grid-like pattern in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, managed by the Bureau of Land Management on Alaska's North Slope. David W. Houseknecht/United States Geological Survey via AP hide caption
There's more plastic waste in the world than ever. So, where did the idea come from that individuals, rather than corporations, should keep the world litter-free? Tim Boyle/Getty Images hide caption
An empty room is pictured in a concrete house in Matam, Senegal. Many families don't have electricity nor the means to own a fan or air conditioning to help quell the intense heat at night, temperatures can stay around 35 degree Celsius throughout the night. John Wessels/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Wildfire smoke covered huge swaths of the U.S. in 2023, including places like New York City, where it has historically been uncommon. New research shows the health costs of breathing in wildfire smoke can be high. David Dee Delgado/Getty Images hide caption