Environment Breaking news on the environment, climate change, pollution, and endangered species. Also featuring Climate Connections, a special series on climate change co-produced by NPR and National Geographic.

Environment

The Conemaugh Generating Station in New Florence, Pa., is among the nation's coal-fired power plants that face tough new regulations to limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. Gene J. Puskar/AP hide caption

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Gene J. Puskar/AP

Coal and new gas power plants will have to meet climate pollution targets

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Wildfire smoke from Canada caused dangerously unhealthy air quality in New York City and across much of the U.S. in 2023. While air quality has improved greatly in the U.S. in recent decades, wildfire smoke and other climate-influenced problems are endangering that progress. Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images

Damming waterways is what beavers do best, often to the chagrin of people who want the opposite. But those same damming skills are what make beavers important ecosystem engineers. Chase Dekker Wild-Life Images hide caption

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Chase Dekker Wild-Life Images

Beavers can help with climate change. So how do we get along?

NPR's Tom Dreisbach is back in the host chair for a day. This time, he reports on a story very close to home: The years-long battle his parents have been locked in with the local wild beaver population. Each night, the beavers would dam the culverts along the Dreisbachs' property, threatening to make their home inaccessible. Each morning, Tom's parents deconstructed those dams — until the annual winter freeze hit and left them all in a temporary stalemate.

Beavers can help with climate change. So how do we get along?

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People rest at a cooling station in Portland, Oregon during the deadly Northwest heat dome of 2021. Climate change has made heat risks more dangerous across the country. A new heat forecasting tool could help people stay safe. KATHRYN ELSESSER/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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KATHRYN ELSESSER/AFP via Getty Images

A new version of the popular board game Catan, which hits shelves this summer, introduces energy production and pollution into the gameplay. Catan GmbH hide caption

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Catan GmbH

How do you build without over polluting? That's the challenge of new Catan board game

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Artists UMI (left) and Louis VI (right) teamed up with the Museum for the United Nations - UN Live to re-release songs with nature sounds for Earth Day. Ryusei Sabi, Orson Esquivel. hide caption

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Ryusei Sabi, Orson Esquivel.

Nature has a mixtape. The U.N. hopes young people will listen to it

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Andrew Song and Luke Iseman of Make Sunsets ready for a launch. Iseman says they hope to someday cool the earth on a larger scale. Julia Simon/NPR hide caption

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Julia Simon/NPR

In this undated photo provided by the United States Geological Survey, permafrost forms a grid-like pattern in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, managed by the Bureau of Land Management on Alaska's North Slope. David W. Houseknecht/United States Geological Survey via AP hide caption

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David W. Houseknecht/United States Geological Survey via AP

There's more plastic waste in the world than ever. So, where did the idea come from that individuals, rather than corporations, should keep the world litter-free? Tim Boyle/Getty Images hide caption

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Tim Boyle/Getty Images

An empty room is pictured in a concrete house in Matam, Senegal. Many families don't have electricity nor the means to own a fan or air conditioning to help quell the intense heat at night, temperatures can stay around 35 degree Celsius throughout the night. John Wessels/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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John Wessels/AFP via Getty Images

Wildfire smoke covered huge swaths of the U.S. in 2023, including places like New York City, where it has historically been uncommon. New research shows the health costs of breathing in wildfire smoke can be high. David Dee Delgado/Getty Images hide caption

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David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

A set of four tubes known as the "river outlet works," pictured on Nov. 2, 2022, could soon be the only way for water to make it through Glen Canyon Dam. Recently-discovered damage to those tubes has raised questions about their role going forward. Alex Hager/KUNC hide caption

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Alex Hager/KUNC

Damage at Glen Canyon Dam has Colorado River users concerned

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Record levels of heat in the ocean are causing a worldwide mass bleaching event on coral reefs, as seen here on the Great Barrier Reef. Scientists are working on creating more heat-resistant coral to help restore reefs. Veronique Mocellin /AIMS hide caption

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Veronique Mocellin /AIMS

Coral reefs can't keep up with climate change. So scientists are speeding up evolution

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University of Miami Marine Sciences student Lauren Hayes with her catch, a 7 or 8 pound mutton snapper, which was released and returned to its reef habitat more than 100 feet below the surface. Greg Allen/NPR hide caption

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Greg Allen/NPR

After catch and release, here's how to make sure reef fish survive

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Author Cristina Henriquez next to the cover of her new novel, The Great Divide. Brian McConkey/Ecco hide caption

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Brian McConkey/Ecco

An image provided by the National Park Service shows two men who were caught on video earlier this month toppling rock formations near the Redstone Dunes Trail. Screenshot by National Park Service hide caption

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Screenshot by National Park Service