“A 6.4 magnitude earthquake rocked Puerto Rico early Tuesday, killing at least one person and plunging nearly the entire population into darkness in a mass power outage. It is the largest earthquake to hit the island in more than 100 years and follows a series of strong quakes that have rattled the island in recent…
“The U.S. each year produces more than 100 million tons of coal ash, a toxic substance made when coal is burned for electricity. Much of that waste is kept in active storage units around the country, where it can potentially leach into the groundwater and major waterways. Ivette Feliciano reports from one of these facilities…
“Scientists in Minnesota and Kansas are developing a grain called Kernza, which, unlike most of our food crops, is a perennial plant with a whole host of environmental benefits. While it’s still far from hitting the market widely, food producers big and small are starting to get on board. Megan Thompson reports as part of…
“We speak to journalist Sharon Lerner about how corporations in the United States are refusing to turn to more sustainable materials, with most of the country’s plastic waste ending up in landfills or scattered around the world. According to her investigation, in 2015, the United States only recycled 9% of its plastic waste, and since…
“The world’s oceans and seas have already absorbed an enormous amount of excess heat in our climate system, according to a new UN report. And the risks of dire consequences for marine and coastal life will get significantly worse if carbon emissions don’t change. William Brangham learns more from study co-author Michael Oppenheimer of Princeton…
“Young leaders gathered on Saturday at the United Nations for the Youth Climate Summit, where they voiced concerns and offered solutions for a warming planet, a day after millions of young people participated in a global climate strike. Megan Thompson spoke with producer Maya Navon and associate producer Nina Joung, who covered the strike in…
Last Friday was the Global Climate Strike, inspired by 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. “As people took to the streets in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Australia, we host a roundtable discussion with youth activists organizing marches in the United States — in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Minneapolis — ahead of next week’s U.N….
“The United Nations has called climate change the “defining issue of our time.” But new analyses suggest the planet’s temperature will rise by even more than the UN had estimated — and that warming creates ever-increasing energy consumption due to the need for more air conditioning. Paul Solman takes an updated look at the extreme…
“Mattias Lehman, digital director of the Sunrise Movement, reacts to last night’s historic climate town hall, where Democratic presidential candidates outlined their plans for combating the climate crisis. Lehman emphasizes that any climate proposal must take the issue of environmental racism seriously. “This is a reality for a lot of people of color, for a…
“The United Nations is calling for the protection of the Amazon amid fears that thousands of fires raging across Brazil and some parts of Bolivia are rapidly destroying the world’s largest rainforest and paving the way for a climate catastrophe. The fires have spread a vast plume of smoke across South America and the Atlantic…