Dan Charles
Stories
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Big Companies Bet On Cleaner Power From Pig Poop Ponds
Two large companies plan to capture natural gas from manure-filled ponds, turning it into clean, climate-saving energy. But some neighbors just want the ponds gone.
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Science
Lithium-Ion Batteries Help Power Civilizations, But How Can They Be Recycled?
Researchers are worried that the lithium ion batteries powering our phones, and soon our cars, will turn into a big waste problem. They're trying to figure out how to recycle them.
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Food
From Culinary Dud To Stud: How Dutch Plant Breeders Built Our Brussels Sprouts Boom
Brussels sprouts used to be scorned. Now they're trendy. And one reason for their renaissance sits tucked away in a basement storage room in the Netherlands.
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Environment
Irrigation For Farming Could Leave Many Of The World's Streams and Rivers Dry
A new study shows many of the world's streams and rivers could dry up because people are draining underground aquifers that sustain streams through dry periods. Climate change won't help matters.
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Environment
Vineyards Facing An Insect Invasion May Turn To Aliens For Help
A stowaway from China, the spotted lanternfly, is eating its way across Pennsylvania, killing trees and grapevines. Scientists are considering importing the bug's natural enemies from back home.
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Environment
Devastating Banana Fungus Arrives In Colombia, Threatening The Fruit's Future
A fungus that has destroyed banana plantations in Asia is now in Latin America. The disease moves slowly, but there's no cure, and it could mean calamity for the continent's banana industry.
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Environment
Why Utility Companies Are Key To Slowing Climate Change
Some of the oldest companies in America are in the climate change debate. Utilities are supposed to deliver electricity cheaply and reliably. Now, regulators are trying to make them go green.
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Environment
U.N. Says Agriculture Must Change To Prevent Worst Effects Of Climate Change
Humans must drastically alter food production in order to prevent the most catastrophic effects of global warming, according to a U.N. report.
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Environment
New Evidence Shows Popular Pesticides Could Cause Unintended Harm To Insects
Studies are revealing new, unintended threats that neonicotinoid pesticides pose to insects. The chemicals, widely used by farmers, are difficult to control because they persist in the environment.
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Environment
Don't Cut Those Trees — Big Food Might Be Watching
Dozens of food companies have promised to stop their suppliers from clearing forests in order to grow crops or graze cattle. Now the companies have a tool to monitor those farmers from space.