Environment

The Well Done Foundation is remediating abandoned and orphaned fossil fuel wells that pollute water, soils and the atmosphere. But plugging a borehole can be even harder than drilling it.Story and photos by J. MattOKMULGEE, Okla.—There are a few truisms in the oil and gas industry: It is crowded with prodigious egos, there is always a boom around the corner and some industry operators aren’t above walking away from their mess at played-out well sites.

India faces challenging heat waves each year, but few places endure conditions as searing as the country's western desert salt pans, where workers rely on simple techniques to survive almost unbearable temperatures.

As states consider a new wave of reactors, the fallout of the most expensive power project in U.S. history offers a cautionary tale.By Ryan KrugmanAs states across the country weigh a new wave of nuclear energy, many in Georgia are urging caution. Two years after Plant Vogtle’s newest reactors came online there, customers are still paying for the project—and many say they are not getting their money’s worth.

Go behind the scenes with senior editor Corey Mitchell, reporter Phil McKenna, and data journalist Peter Aldhous as they discuss a new Senate probe over lucrative and questionable tax credits to the country’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas.By Phil McKenna, Peter AldhousLiquefied natural gas vessels are fueled by their cargo—they’re built specifically to make use of the gas boiling off from their tanks.

Near Hudson, N.Y., a Princeton University team erected a cottage made from the agricultural byproduct, which they said is more sustainable than bricks or concrete.

Justin Smarsh and his family used to kayak a few times a year on the rivers and creeks near their home in Cherry Tree, Pennsylvania. High on the Appalachian Plateau, northeast of Pittsburgh, he spent hours in the woods and taught his two sons to hunt. Today, Smarsh said, he gets “suffocated just walking.” He has a constant dry cough, and he loses his breath if he bends down to tie his shoes.  A few years after he graduated from high school and got married, Smarsh went to work in a coal m

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. says the Trump administration has cut regional staffing serving the state by a third, making progress on Superfund cleanups “nearly impossible.”By Anna MattsonNew Jersey is home to nearly 9 percent of the nation’s Superfund sites—more than any other state. They range from chemical plants with toxic byproducts leached into the soil, to oil-filled lagoons, open fields rife with septic waste and rivers polluted with toxic chemicals. Many have remained contaminated for de

In “Smog and Sunshine,” UCLA’s Ann Carlson tells of the scientists, lawyers, government officials and community members behind the decades-long effort to clear Southern California skies.By Steven RodasAs a child growing up in Southern California, Ann Carlson remembers mountains obscured by haze and yellowish brown air that stung her eyes and made her lungs ache.

Bound by a common threat, unlikely allies of tribes, commercial fishermen and the conservation community came together to stop a gold and copper mine, and won.Interview by Steve Curwood, Living on EarthFrom our collaborating partner “Living on Earth,” public radio’s environmental news magazine, an interview by host Steve Curwood with Alannah Hurley, executive director of the United Tribes of Bristol Bay.

GRAN POPO, Benin — In Benin, mangroves are said to be protected by the Zangbéto. In the Vodun belief, this deity forbids wood cutting, under penalty of a curse. As a result, in 10 years, more than 500 hectares (1,200 acres) of mangroves have been preserved thanks to this spiritual practice, which protects fragile and vital ecosystems. Increasingly, major international climate bodies — from U.N. climate conferences to IPCC reports — recognize the central role of Indigenous knowledge and tradition

The European roller is a small, striking migratory bird that breeds in open woodlands — or farms and orchards — across Europe and Central Asia. Coracias garrulus is also well-known to Southern and South Africa’s avid birdwatching communities, including many citizen scientists who participate in the Southern African Bird Atlas Project. Image courtesy of Lourenço Afonso. But the rollers that spend November to March in South Africa appear to be mostly the C. g. semenowi subspecies. The routes

According to a recent review published by Current Environmental Health Reports, a healthy diet that includes vitamins and minerals (known collectively as micronutrients) may lessen the health effects of some toxic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). In short: Of the 71 studies reviewed, a majority suggested that higher levels of at least one micronutrient mitigated the link between EDC exposure and health impacts. Micronutrients help support healthy cellular function, and therefore may counte

The slick, captured in satellite images near Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, has raised concerns about the condition of Iran’s oil infrastructure.

Fossil fuels have enriched a wealthy few, undermined economic development and left African economies exposed to external shocks, a new report published May 8 in Nairobi, Kenya, argues. Examining 13 oil- and gas-producing African nations, the report concludes that decades of extraction have yielded little benefit for ordinary Africans. “Oil and gas have not and will not deliver development for Africa,” Thuli Makama, Africa director at Oil Change International, said in a press release. “This model

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A judge says Alaska wildlife agents can resume shooting and killing bears as part of a plan to help recover a herd of caribou that was once an important source of food for Alaska Native hunters. Two conservation groups sought to halt the program while they challenged its legality. They argue the program lacks a scientific basis. But a Superior Court judge says Wednesday the groups had failed to show that the state acted without a reasonable basis for approving the plan. The

This would be Clean Harbors’ second major acquisition this year. The company has looked to spend more on M&A this year, expanding its environmental services footprint.

Protecting nature is still a struggle due to funding gaps that governments across developing countries are struggling to close. Indonesia is no exception. For instance, its national parks are chronically underfunded, receiving only about $5 per hectare ($2 per acre) per year, far below the estimated needs of around $18/hectare ($7.30/acre) per year. This long-standing shortfall has contributed to ongoing risks of degradation. While various financing innovations are being explored, no long-lastin

In the San Luis Valley, the ongoing megadrought and a record-low snowpack are draining groundwater and increasing its concentrations of toxic metals. There are few protections for residents drinking from private wells.By Emily PayneJulie Zahringer hears a common refrain at her environmental laboratory in Alamosa, Colorado: A customer has been drinking well water on family land where they’ve lived for years, but recently noticed it has changed. They want to know why.

More than a decade ago, officials in Paraguay expanded a biosphere reserve in the Gran Chaco, hoping to protect more of the world’s largest tropical dry forest and the Indigenous communities who live there. But a lack of enforcement has left the reserve vulnerable to deforestation caused by agribusiness and cattle ranching, observers say. Approximately 2.78 million hectares (6.87 million acres) were added to Paraguay’s Chaco Biosphere Reserve in 2011, yet the area continues to be one of the coun

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