Keyser in West Virginia represents a national shift in American energy production. And in a town that was defined by coal for generations, change can be difficult.
Keyser, West Virginia, was once known for coal. But the jobs have been disappearing. First because of automation, then cheap natural gas. And now, the urgency to address climate change is one more pressure on this energy source that contributes to global warming.
Now the town, like so much of the country is attempting to transition to renewable energy. The country's first major climate policy, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, gave that transition a boost. It passed with the key vote of West Virginia's own Senator Democrat Joe Manchin.
Keyser represents a national shift in American energy production. And in a town that was defined by coal for generations, change can be difficult.
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The justices will consider whether to hit pause on a federal rule designed to reduce air pollution that drifts across states and can cause health troubles.
The Quinault Indian Nation in Washington state is gradually moving the village of Taholah away from a rising Pacific Ocean. Other communities in the U.S. may need to take a similar approach.
About two years ago, New Jersey's Democratic Governor Phil Murphy said that the state would be partnering with the Danish company Orsted, the largest developer of offshore wind projects in the world.
The company had agreed to build Ocean Wind 1, the state's first offshore wind farm, powering half a million homes and creating thousands of jobs in the process.
The following year, Orsted inked another deal with the state for Ocean Wind 2, a second offshore wind farm with similar capacity. After years of review, the projects were approved in summer 2023. Construction of the first turbines was slated to begin in the fall.
And then Orsted backed out, cancelling the contracts full stop.
Despite the setbacks, Murphy is still all-in on wind. A month after Orsted dropped out, Murphy directed the state's Board of Public Utilities to seek new bids from offshore wind developers. And the state just approved two new offshore wind contracts.
After several setbacks, could this mean a second wind for offshore wind?
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Every year, billions of animals across the globe embark on journeys. They fly, crawl, walk or slither – often across thousands of miles of land or water – to find better food, more agreeable weather or a place to breed. Think monarch butterflies, penguins, wild Pacific salmon. These species are crucial to the world as we know it. But until this week, there has never been an official assessment of the world's migratory animals.
So today on the show, correspondent Nate Rott shares the first-ever report on state of the world's migratory animals – the threats facing them and what can be done to help.
Are you afraid of needles or shots? Send us a voice memo with your story at shortwave@npr.org. We'd love to hear about it for an upcoming episode.
Recycling "does not solve the solid waste problem," the head of a plastics trade group said in 1989, around the time the industry was launching its recycling campaign.
Sets are often discarded after productions, with thousands of tons of materials going into dumpsters each year. Now art directors and their allies are pushing for a more sustainable approach.
Not long after receiving its first passing grade for ozone pollution from the American Lung Association, Fulton County is one of five Georgia counties that need to reduce soot in the air because the Environmental Protection Agency finalized stronger standards.
In a landmark U.N. study, researchers found nearly half of the world's threatened migratory species have declining populations. More than a fifth of the assessed animals face extinction.
The number of days that Georgia can now perform “prescribed burning” is shrinking as a result of climate change, adding to the already delicate balance of the fire prevention action.
People say they move to Los Angeles for the weather. As climate change makes extreme weather events like wildfire and flooding more common, some people wonder if they should stay or go.
