Environment

1334 Stories

Environment

Seattle is now an air conditioning town

For the first time, most homes in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties now have air conditioning.
John Ryan
Environment

How warm will Washington state get during summer 2024?

Weather forecasters have long been talking about a warmer-than-normal summer 2024 in Washington state, but as the season gets closer, it appears that the region may only get slightly warmer than average.
Natalie Akane Newcomb

Angela King
Environment

On this unassuming trail near LA, bird watchers see something spectacular

At Bear Divide, just outside Los Angeles, you can see a rare spectacle of nature. This is one of the only places in the western United States where you can see bird migration during daylight hours.
Kai McNamee
Business

Does mining for batteries erase the climate benefits of EVs? No, and here's why

NPR listeners wrote to ask whether the environmental harm from building EVs "cancels out" the cars' climate benefits. Experts say the answer is clear.
Camila Domonoske
Environment

Emergency declared for spongy moth invading Washington state
Paige Browning
Nerves slippery for Washington’s Ski to Sea race

In a few weeks, relay teams will race from the snowy hills of Mount Baker Ski Area to the salty waters of Bellingham Bay. But organizers have to really watch the snow.
Courtney Flatt
What’s sending first-generation electric cars to an early grave?

A growing number of early electric car adopters are scrapping or replacing their cars when batteries that are no longer under warranty go haywire.
Monica Nickelsburg
Environment

Grizzlies are coming back to Washington

Grizzly bears are coming back to Washington thanks to a new plan from federal wildlife agencies. Local ecologists are celebrating the move as a correction to the bears being driven from the state due to human hunting and trapping. But not everyone is happy with the move, particularly in rural communities of North Central Washington. We dig into the reintroduction and the tension it’s causing with ecologist Chris Morgan and US Representative Dan Newhouse.
Patricia Murphy

Clare McGrane
Environment

A little sunlight goes a long way for this family support center in Olympia

When the Family Support Center of South Sound opened its Olympia facility in 2023, organizers knew that placing solar panels on its roof would be part of the plan. The panels could cut utility costs for the organization that serves survivors of domestic violence — an operation where every penny counts.
Gustavo Sagrero Álvarez
More grizzlies coming to the North Cascades

Grizzly bears will be brought into Washington’s North Cascades. After decades of work, the federal government decided to slowly move them in.
Courtney Flatt

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