Here & Now

Value this story? Donate

Fireworks light up the sky against the Boston skyline, as seen from Cambridge side of the Charles River, Sunday, July 4, 2004. (Chitose Suzuki/AP)

Jul 2, 2020

Fireworks Are Fun. But The Noise And Pollution, Not So Much

All those fireworks people are setting off? They can be bad for your health and the environment.

Recent Stories from Earthwhile

Clockwise from top left, hardwood logs in Charlotte, Vermont in 2020; solar panels in Pittsfield, Mass. in 2010; a group of volunteers work in a community garden; compostable food (AP Images; Getty Images; and Compassionate Eye Foundation/Natasha Alipour Faridani via Getty Images)

16 Ways The Pandemic Recovery Could Be Green

Jun 25, 2020

In this Aug. 13, 2015, file photo, a plastic bottle lies among other debris washed ashore on the Indian Ocean beach in Uswetakeiyawa, north of Colombo, Sri Lanka. (Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP)

Those Plastic Stats Are Trash. No One Knows How Long It Takes For Your Dunks Cup To Biodegrade

Jul 3, 2020

Loggerhead sea turtle being released into ocean off Cape Cod. (Vanessa Kahn/New England Aquarium)

7 Sea Turtles Released Back Into Wild, After A Winter Of Rehab In Quincy

Jul 1, 2020

Mike Nichols, Tomas Cardoso and Romeo Gonzales place the tree in a hole at Prescott Sq. Park in East Boston. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Dead And Dying Trees Have More Methane In Their Soil, Study Finds

Jun 5, 2020

Series: The Nuclear Option

The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

To Combat Climate Change, Do We Need The Nuclear Option?

07:31Sep 17, 2019

Floating nuclear power plant 'Akademik Lomonosov' is towed out of the St. Petersburg, Russia shipyard where it was constructed in St. Petersburg, Russia. (Dmitri Lovetsky/AP)

Big Plans For Small Nuclear Plants

08:41Sep 18, 2019

Martin Greenwald demonstrates how you can use a magnetic fields to contain and insulate a hot fusion plasma. Here the magnet pushes the bright plasma away from the wall of the glass tube. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

For Green Energy, MIT Aims To Build 'A Star On Earth'

07:09Sep 19, 2019

Series: Closing Pilgrim

In this photo, circa 1971, the 525-ton, 65-foot-tall reactor vessel arrives by boat at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. (Courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)

Timeline: The 52-Year History Of The Pilgrim Nuclear Plant

08:30May 29, 2019

Spent fuel casks at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Pilgrim Is Closing. So Then What Happens To The Radioactive Waste?

06:45May 30, 2019

Entergy's Chiltonville Training Center is an identical twin mock-up of the control room at the Pilgrim nuclear power plant. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

In An Identical Simulator, Pilgrim Operators Prep For Shutdown

07:25May 31, 2019

You Asked, We Answered: Questions About The Pilgrim Shutdown

May 28, 2019

The discharge canal at Pilgrim, where water used for cooling at the plant is released back into Cape Cod Bay. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

For 46 Years, Pilgrim Nuclear Plant Has Used Water From Cape Cod Bay. How Has It Impacted The Ecosystem?

07:24Apr 22, 2019

Signs warn of radiation and restrict access to working areas above the reactor at Pilgrim. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

As Pilgrim Powers Down, Some Worry It Will Leave Behind Too Much Radiation

05:35Apr 25, 2019

The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station, in the town of Vernon, is seen in a 2013 file photo. (Toby Talbot/AP)

This Vermont Town Took A Big Hit When Its Nuclear Plant Closed

09:55Apr 23, 2019

Historic Plymouth Looks To A Future Without Pilgrim

10:11Apr 24, 2019

More Environmental Coverage from WBUR

Native American Activists Celebrate Dakota Access Pipeline Victory

A federal judge has ruled that the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline must be emptied pending an environmental review.

Here & Now

2 hours ago

A woman wheels a carriage past the Make Way For Ducklings sculpture in the Boston Public Garden. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

If Remote Work Is Our New Reality, Is Boston Still Worth The Trouble?

State and local leaders need to start thinking of Massachusetts, and Boston in particular, as a product they need to sell, not only a location they need to govern, writes...

Cognoscenti

8 hours ago

Chad Brown with his dog Axe on the Willamette River, Oregon. (Courtesy of Chad Brown)

Racism And The Outdoors: Group Provides Safe Space For People Of Color To Enjoy Nature

The benefits of nature have become clear to many people who sheltered in place during the coronavirus pandemic. But Black people don't always feel welcome in green spaces.

Here & Now

04:32Jul 6, 2020

‘A Species That We Cannot Afford To Lose’: Hundreds Of Elephants In Botswana Found Mysteriously Dead

More than 350 elephants have mysteriously died in Botswana over the past few months.

Here & Now

05:47Jul 6, 2020

Andrew Wheeler, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, adjusts his mask at a hearing during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee oversight hearing to examine the Environmental Protection Agency, Wednesday, May 20, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/AP)

Environmental Regulations Are Being Rolled Back. In A Pandemic, What Does That Mean For Public Health?

The Trump Administration has rolled back, or attempted to roll back, dozens of environmental rules, including regulations on emissions and air quality standards. We’ll touch on some of them and...

On Point

46:10Jul 1, 2020

A portion of the Bush fire burns through the Tonto National Forest, Tuesday, June 16, 2020, as seen from Apache Junction, Arizona. (Matt York/AP)

How The Coronavirus 'Changes Everything' About Fighting Wildfires

Several fires are burning across Arizona, including the state's fifth-largest fire in history.

Here & Now

05:51Jun 26, 2020

The Pilgrim nuclear reactor building. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Report: Company Decommissioning Pilgrim Nuclear Plant Under Criminal Investigation

According to a Politico New Jersey report, Holtec International sued the New Jersey Economic Development Authority in March over the payment of $26 million of a $260 million New Jersey...

Jun 25, 2020

Vanessa O'Brien during her journey to the Challenger Deep in the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench. (Photo by Enrique Alvarez)

Mountaineer Vanessa O'Brien Has Reached The Highest And Lowest Points On Earth

Vanessa O'Brien just completed the journey into the deepest place on Earth, the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench.

Here & Now

09:48Jun 24, 2020

In this May 29 photo, Eric Pray weighs a lobster in his garage in Portland, Maine. The coronavirus shutdown had prompted Pray to sell his product direct to customers. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP)

As Price For Catch Falls, Maine Lobstermen Seek Ways To Prevent Crash

Dock prices for lobster in Maine are dropping as low as $2.30 a pound, and lobstermen and regulators are looking at options to prevent a full-fledged crash.

Jun 23, 2020

Sahara Desert Dust Cloud Set To Reach U.S.

Meteorologists also expect record setting heat in the Arctic Circle.

Here & Now

03:13Jun 23, 2020