Covering Climate
Here & Now's continued coverage of climate change and environmental news.
Southern Illinois farmers face a growing problem: What to do when nature reclaims your land
As climate change and development exacerbate the Mississippi River’s environmental problems, many communities will have to grapple with the questions facing Dogtooth Bend: how to balance the costs of maintaining...
Historic Mississippi flood destroyed his home. 5 years later, it's finally rebuilt
On Thanksgiving Day, 2024, Anderson Jones had something to be grateful for. He finally made it home. Five years earlier, the sandbag levee protecting his family home failed, causing flood...
After 8 decades, a huge flood-control project in Mississippi may finally get built
For more than 80 years, residents of Mississippi’s Yazoo Backwater have been banking on a pumping project to protect their farms and homes from floods. The federal government is now...
Canoeing the 'mighty queen' Mississippi River
For people who live along the river, the Mississippi is “a creative force” that sculpts the landscape and rejuvenates the people who experience it up close.
In search of clean water, scientists are improving desalination technology
Drought and climate change are impacting water supplies around the world. But desalination — pulling fresh, drinkable water from saltwater— can offer some relief.
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Who can drink Great Lakes water? Joliet, Illinois, raises a familiar — and contentious — question
This year, Chicago breaks ground on a pipeline that will bring water from the Great Lakes to some suburbs whose groundwater is running dry.
Facing shortages, cities tap sewers to bolster drinking water supply
On a hot day, there’s nothing quite like a refreshing drink of water. But how would you feel if that water was sourced from the sewer?
Biochar could be a viable climate solution, study finds
Farmers scorch weeds, husks and other biomass to create biochar, then tuck it into the soil to boost crop yields and lock that carbon out of the atmosphere.
Reporters' notebook: How can we be less wasteful?
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American throws away almost five pounds of trash per day.
Cities forgo wrecking balls and order ‘deconstruction' of old buildings, instead
The construction industry creates about 600 million tons of trash each year, more than twice the amount of everyday garbage that people in cities and towns throw away.
Resell, recycle, remake: Fighting the flood of ultra-fast fashion
Fashion trends die quickly, but old clothes can live for years. Nearly every garment eventually winds up burned for fuel or tossed in a dump.
Why climate change 'tipping point' conversations may do more harm than good
We often use the term "tipping point" when discussing climate change. It's a term rooted in science and important when it comes to trends around polar ice, permafrost and sea...
Reporters' notebook: 'Electric speed' and hurricane-ready wind turbines
For our series Reverse Course, Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd and Chris Bentley visited a wind farm in New Mexico, solar power companies in West Virginia and a port in...
Battles over environment slow down clean-energy projects
Environmental groups have protested solar projects in California over threats to the state's iconic Joshua tree and the burrowing owl.
After nearly 20 years of planning, New Mexico powerline set to electrify the West with wind power
The SunZia wind farm and transmission line has been dubbed the largest renewable infrastructure project in American history.
In the Gulf of Mexico, an oil hub sees opportunity in offshore wind
Offshore wind energy is a major source of power in China, the UK and Germany, but there are only 19 turbines spinning off American shores. But three more projects under...
California coastal erosion is sending homes into the ocean
Images from the Californian coastal city of Rancho Palos Verdes show homes precariously close to collapsing into the Pacific Ocean.
How scientists are enhancing the ocean's ability to capture carbon
As money pours into companies promising to take greenhouse gasses out of the atmosphere, there’s a small but fast-growing sector of startups that want to leverage one of the world’s...
Climate change and resilience in Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, the severity of the drought in some regions has forced people to find new ways to grow food.
Phoenix moves to provide cold water to combat record heat
Phoenix's efforts to end setting new records for the number of heat-related deaths each year include providing sources of cold water in public places.