Why Water Markets Might Work In California
When Australia suffered a drought in the 2000s, it set up markets to trade water rights. NPR's Linda Wertheimer asks McKenzie Funk whether water markets could help California.
Environment
India, China Seek To Capitalize On Nepal's Water Wealth
China and India are each spending billions of dollars on infrastructure, especially hydroelectric dams, in Nepal. Steve Inskeep talks to journalist Donatella Lorch about what China and India want.
Will Turning Seawater Into Drinking Water Help Drought-Hit California?
During its last major drought, Santa Barbara built a desalination plant. It was never used. Now it's being reopened, but critics say desalination is costly, energy-intensive and may harm marine life.
Environmental Groups Take Legal Action Against Large Factory Farms
A lawsuit was filed Wednesday that could impact industrial meat producers.
If Walls Could Talk: What Lead Is Doing To Our Students
A new study says Massachusetts' aggressive effort to lower lead exposure has also improved student performance.
Mountain Lion That Hid Out Under LA Home Appears To Have Left
P-22, as the mountain lion is known, typically lives in Los Angeles' Griffith Park. Attempts to dislodge him from under a home Monday failed.
In Pennsylvania, Employment Booms Amid Oil And Natural Gas Bust
While lower oil and natural gas prices are great for the wallet, they've led to layoffs. NPR visits Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale region, which is still seeing growth in high-paying natural gas jobs.
Lunch, Not Landfill: Nonprofit Rescues Produce Rejected At U.S. Border
Each year, millions of pounds of Mexican produce are rejected just past the border even though it's tasty and edible. Instead of the landfill, it's now going to needy families across the U.S.
Plagued By Smog, Krakow Struggles To Break Its Coal-Burning Habit
Russian gas is expensive, so many Poles still rely on coal. Krakow is one of the most polluted cities in the EU's most polluted country. All that coal is akin to "smoking 2,000 cigarettes per year."
Federal Government Protects Bat, Angers Industry
The northern long-eared bat has been designated as a threatened species, triggering new regulations to protect it. But oil and gas and agriculture organizations say those new rules will hurt them.