Environment

Firefighters watch as a wildfire burns Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, in Laguna Beach, Calif.

Firefighters clean up after a wildfire that threatened California's Laguna Beach

1:04pm February 11, 2022

by Rina Torchinsky

A powerful brush fire drove evacuations and school closures in Laguna Beach, Calif., on Thursday. The blaze is about 20% contained, but unseasonably high heat means residents should remain vigilant.

This aerial file photo provided by the National Park Service shows the Junction Butte wolf pack in Yellowstone National Park, Wyo.

Protections for gray wolves restored across much of the U.S.

6:38pm February 10, 2022

by The Associated Press

The ruling by a U.S. district judge puts a spotlight on a species whose recovery from near-extinction has been heralded as a historic conservation success.

Dairy farms that capture methane from their cows' manure can earn valuable pollution-cutting credits through California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard.

How dairy farmers are cashing in on California's push for cleaner fuel

7:13am February 10, 2022

by Dan Charles

Big dairy farms are profiting from California's tougher limits on greenhouse emissions. They're getting paid to capture methane from cow manure. But critics say the system subsidizes polluters.

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A mountain lion photographed with a motion sensor camera in the Verdugo Mountains overlooking the city lights of Los Angeles. New money for wildlife crossings will help animals whose habitat has been cut by roadways.

Our roads are killing wildlife. The new infrastructure law aims to help

5:00am February 10, 2022

For the first time, the federal government is making a sizeable investment in wildlife road crossings. The goal is to help slow extinctions, and also protect people from animal collisions.

Heavy rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ida flooded roads and expressways in New York in 2021. In a hotter climate, rainstorms are becoming more intense.

Environment

An unexpected item is blocking cities' climate change prep: obsolete rainfall records

11:03am February 09, 2022

by Lauren Sommer

Cities are experiencing heavier storms and flooding as the climate gets hotter. But due to outdated rainfall records, many are still building infrastructure for the climate of the past.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice gives his State of the State speech in the House Chambers in January.

Coal-dependent West Virginia eliminates ban on nuclear power

6:40pm February 08, 2022

by The Associated Press

The state's ban on nuclear plants was enacted in 1996, but nuclear power has gained support as a tool to keep climate change under control and other states are transitioning away from fossil fuels.

The White House wants to transition to a green economy, which is tricky without mines

4:44pm February 08, 2022

by Dan Kraker

The Biden administration recently canceled a proposed mine. While environmentalists celebrated, it shows how hard it is to build a domestic supply of the minerals needed to switch to a green economy.

Corporate climate pledges are weaker than they seem, a new study reports

7:45pm February 07, 2022

by The Associated Press

Many companies mislead by using accounting practices that make their environmental goals relatively meaningless or exclude parts of their businesses in their calculations, NewClimate Institute finds.

Flared natural gas is burned off at a natural gas plant. Methane, the main ingredient in natural gas, can leak from natural gas plants and pipelines.

A satellite finds massive methane leaks from gas pipelines

6:05pm February 03, 2022

by Dan Charles

A satellite has detected massive leaks of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, from natural gas plants and pipelines. Most of these releases are deliberate, resulting from sloppy pipeline repairs.

Quentin Maupin stands on the spot where his firetruck was overcome by a 60-80 foot wall of flame in the Dec.15 Kansas wildfires.

Calls to volunteer fire departments are at a high but they have few first responders

10:18am February 03, 2022

by Frank Morris

Fewer volunteers are answering triple the number of calls they did decades ago and those who do show up tend to be older. Some departments were already stretched thin and then along came the pandemic.

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