Duke Energy Offering Energy Makeover in Two Winston-Salem Neighborhoods
A new program from Duke Energy will help more than 12-hundred lower income homes in Winston-Salem take steps to save energy and money.
Environment
Is Living With Extreme Wildfires The New Normal?
The Yarnell Hill fire in Arizona was deadly in part because of how close a highly flammable forest was to a community. The U.S. once faced a crisis with structural fires, but managed to change regulations to turn the trend around. Experts say it will take a renewed effort to take on this newer fire threat.
Forum Discusses Arctic Oil And Gas Searches
A protest in the Russian Arctic has dramatized growing problems with oil drilling there. Every country has a stake in the enormously lucrative search for oil and gas in the Arctic, says professor Lawton Brigham. But pollution from reckless attempts at development are evident on an island near the Polar circle.
BP Oil Spill Trial To Begin Second Phase
The months-long federal trial is examining how much fault should be placed on BP and its contractors for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion. The accident killed 11 rig workers and released almost 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Host Scott Simon speaks with NPR's Debbie Elliott to preview the civil trial.
How Recycling Bias Affects What You Toss Where
People tend to throw whole pieces of paper in the recycling bin — and fragments of paper in the trash. Research on the trend finds that we may be acting on unconscious prejudice about what is worth recycling.
Is Climate Change the Global Challenge for Our Generation?
Every few generations, a challenge arises for leaders around the world.
How Many Scientists Does It Take To Write A Climate Report?
Scientists are about to deliver another major assessment of climate change. The report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change involved hundreds of scientists from around the world and has left some of them wondering whether there's a more effective way to put the document together.
Climate Scientists Offer Ways Global Warming Can Be Controlled
Climate scientists paint a grim picture of life on earth in just a few generations given the steady march of global warming.
Black Widow Spider Fan Gets Dangerously Close To His Subject
The first time nature writer Jackson Landers spotted a black widow spider on his front porch, he was transfixed. He grew curious about the spiders and kept one for months as a pet. One day, he got bit.
EPA Wants To Limit Greenhouse Gases From New Coal Power Plants
Under the proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency, new plants that run on coal would be permitted to emit only about half as much carbon dioxide as the average coal plant puts into the air today. Emissions from the electricity industry are already declining as utilities turn to natural gas and wind farms.