From This Collection

In Massachusetts, land preservation is a waiting game

Jul 1, 2024
The state Conservation Land Tax Credit gives private landowners up to $75,000 to cover some of what their land would be worth to developers and the cost of appraisals, surveys and legal fees. 
Carol Williams walks through the woods behind her home which she hopes to restrict from future development.
Robin Lubbock/WBUR

Female fire crew in Colorado clears a path for women in wildland firefighting

Jun 26, 2024
The vast majority of Forest Service firefighters are men. A crew of women who are comfortable roughing it aim to change the equation.
The crew hikes to their job site on a trail they cut themselves during the early days of the project.
Caroline Llanes/Aspen Public Radio

Climate change forces third-generation fisherman to rethink this year

Jun 25, 2024
Warming ocean temperatures affect albacore tuna’s migratory patterns, and that’s made it more difficult for local fishermen to make a living catching them.
Scott Hawkins photographs his crew, including his sons, Wyatt (left, blue helmet) and Colton (front, red jacket), with dozens of albacore tuna they caught in minutes.
Courtesy Scott Hawkins

As more Floridians turn to state's insurer of last resort, it seeks to raise rates

Jun 21, 2024
Citizens Property Insurance has a huge risk load as private insurers avoid the state. Many residents say coverage is already costly.
A home in the Florida Keys destroyed by Hurricane Irma in 2017. For insurance companies, the state's exposure to climate damage has been a dealbreaker.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Composting is good for the planet. Why don't more cities do it?

Jun 21, 2024
A community program in Baltimore aims to spread "compost fever."
Marvin Hayes, executive director of the Baltimore Compost Collective, which collects food scraps and yard trimmings to compost for use in local gardens. Hayes founded the Baltimore Compost Collective to "starve" the city's trash incinerator.
Amy Scott/Marketplace

Heat waves are a drain on the economy. And they're getting worse.

Jun 17, 2024
Many industries have to slow down, or shut down, when it's too hot to work.
Extreme heat can slow down or halt outdoor jobs like construction, causing ripple effects through the economy.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

He assesses climate risk on the housing market, and he wants your attention

Jun 12, 2024
As people become more aware of living in vulnerable areas, home prices will gradually reflect that risk, says Tim Judge of Fannie Mae.
"We do need every state to have flood disclosures," says Fannie Mae's Tim Judge. Above, water from a flash flood surrounds a home in Thermal, California, after a monsoonal thunderstorm in September.
David McNew/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Some electric grids may feel the heat this summer

Jun 10, 2024
As ACs across the country kick on during heat waves, electricity demand will spike and some energy grids may fall short of supply.
High voltage power lines run along an electrical power grid in southern Florida. If temperatures peak above normal this summer, some regions of the U.S. may suffer electric shortfalls.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Nanobubbles help this lakeside cope with toxic algae — and the changing climate

Jun 5, 2024
As climate change warms water, algae is killing fish and plants in U.S. lakes, including California's Lake Elsinore. New tech could save them.
After a new investment and a wet winter, Lake Elsinore is the bluest and cleanest it’s been in years.
Caleigh Wells/Marketplace

Are we in the midst of a climate housing bubble?

May 28, 2024
Experts warn rising insurance costs could depress property values in risky areas.
Dave Burt at DeltaTerra Capital thinks the market is due for another correction, as homeowners in places with a growing risk of flooding and wildfire have to pay more for insurance.
Lauren Owens Lambert/AFP via Getty Images