RSS Feed from NPR's Environment Programs

Temporary Cap That Stopped BP Gusher Removed: Click here

The cap was removed Thursday as a prelude to raising the massive piece of equipment underneath that failed to prevent the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

Fire Extinguished On Gulf Oil Platform: Click here

An investigation is under way to determine the cause of an explosion Thursday on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. All 13 people aboard the rig were found floating in the water and rescued. The Coast Guard said initial reports of an oil sheen on the water could not be confirmed.

Greenpeace Activists Held After Leaving Arctic Oil Rig: Click here

Four members of the environmental group had clung to the rig for two days to protest drilling in the Arctic. They were forced to abandon their protest because of a storm. The rig is owned by Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy.

BP Prepares To Resume Efforts To Kill Gulf Well: Click here

Rough seas near the site of the well forced crews to suspend work removing the temporary sealing cap and failed blowout preventer. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said Wednesday that BP expects to begin work plugging the well for good later this week.

Calif. Lawmakers Reject Plastic Bag Ban: Click here

California lawmakers have rejected a bill seeking to ban plastic shopping bags after a contentious debate over whether the state was going too far in trying to regulate personal choice.

Heat Waves Are Bad For (Even The Healthiest) Lungs: Click here

It's been the hottest summer on record in many cities on the East Coast -- and the hot days that keep coming could be dangerous. Ozone and fine particles are the two types of pollution that trigger Code Red and Orange days. Both are formed out of exhaust from power plants, cars and other things. And when people breathe in the chemicals, it irritates their lungs.

Trouble In Paradise: Hawaii Waits For Drought Relief: Click here

Hawaii is enduring an unprecedented drought, thanks to El Nino. A two-year dry spell has fueled wildfires and destroyed crops from Oahu to the Big Island. The entire state has been designated an agricultural disaster area by the federal government.

N.C. Orders Barrier Island Evacuation Ahead Of Earl: Click here

North Carolina officials are ordering tourists and residents to leave Ocracoke Island as powerful Hurricane Earl heads toward the U.S. coast. The decision came late Tuesday, as the hurricane whipped across the Caribbean.

U.S. Weighs Grades For Car Fuel Economy: Click here

Cars with higher fuel economy and very low tailpipe emissions would get an A, while less-efficient cars could get a D. But critics say the proposal doesn't address all of the complex reasons people buy cars.

Researchers Fight To Save Fruits Of Their Labor: Click here

A Russian court has cleared the way for the government to sell off land used by a world-renowned fruit research center outside St. Petersburg. Scientists say losing the facility means losing seeds and plants that exist nowhere else. But a Russian agency says much of the research center occupies weed-choked fields that would be the perfect spot for new houses.

BP Assures Governors It Will Restore The Gulf: Click here

The Southern Governors' Association wraps up its annual conference in Birmingham, Ala., Monday. State officials at Sunday's meeting heard from BP CEO Bob Dudley, claims czar Kenneth Feinberg and Thad Allen, the government's point person on the oil spill recovery.

Danielle Now Lowest-Level Hurricane Far Offshore: Click here

Hurricane Danielle has weakened to a Category 1 storm, the lowest on the scale, as it speeds deeper into the open Atlantic far offshore.

Disappointed By Congress, EPA Pursues Climate Change: Click here

The last time we spoke to EPA administrator Lisa Jackson in October of last year, she was pretty hopeful that Congress would pass a climate change bill. They didn't, and now the agency is issuing new rules and regulations that will do some of the things it hoped Congress would. Host Liane Hansen asks Jackson how she responds to critics who say the EPA is overstepping its authority.

Floods Head For The Sea Over Pakistan Farmlands: Click here

Pakistan's epic floods, which began in the northern mountains, have moved down nearly the full length of the country and spread wide over vast tracks of farmland. The flood waters have reached Hyderabad, not far from where the Indus enters the Arabian Sea.

Adirondack Waters Welcome Paddlers Back: Click here

In New York's Adirondack Mountains, the state has been re-opening traditional canoe routes that were closed for generations. Paddlers are free once again to explore some of the most remote wilderness in the Northeast.