Lauren Sommer

Growing wildfires have overtaken old-growth redwoods and endangered condor nests, but biologists say they could survive.

Extreme heat waves are on the rise, but California regulators didn't plan for what that would do the state's electricity grid.

Extreme heat across the western U.S. is creating huge challenges for keeping the lights on in California. Experts say it shows states need to be planning for climate change extremes.

For more than a century, California's Native American tribes were largely banned from doing traditional burning of the landscape. Now, they're restoring that practice to help prevent fires.

Scientists say parasites are important parts of ecosystems, but many are at risk of extinction. So, they're calling for a parasite conservation movement.

Saving endangered species usually brings to mind tigers or whales. But scientists say parasites need protection, too. They play an important role in the ecosystem, and many are at risk of extinction.

Zoning for single-family homes has been tied to racial inequity and climate change, but in California, efforts to pass new laws keep falling short.

Around the U.S., cities have been grappling with how single-family zoning can exacerbate racial inequity and climate change. States like California are struggling to fix that.

A drop in shipping traffic is reducing underwater noise, so scientists are listening for how whales and other marine life are responding.

The global coronavirus crisis has lead to a decline in ship traffic around the world, which means the oceans are quieter. That could be providing some relief to whales and other marine mammals.

Racial discrimination shaped the map of Minneapolis. Community groups are calling on the city to follow through on a new land use plan designed to address housing disparities and climate change.

Communities were counting on historic levels of funding to prepare for climate change-driven disasters. Now, efforts are on hold.

Car traffic took a big dip beginning in late March, and headlines celebrated clean air around the U.S. But an NPR analysis of EPA data tells a more troubling story.

Researchers are testing sewage in hopes of getting a jump on COVID-19 outbreaks in communities — monitoring for when they begin and how quickly they spread.

NPR's science correspondent answers listener questions about the impact the pandemic has had on climate change and wildlife.

A new NASA satellite is providing a detailed look at how much polar ice is melting, raising sea levels around the world.

U.S. health officials said equipping six cities with extra testing would pick up under-the-radar viral spread. But an NPR investigation finds conflicts and shortages caused painful delays.

They may look cute and fluffy, and they don't go far, but cats are deadly stalkers who rule concentrated areas of their neighborhoods.

By making their bodies glow, Humboldt squid illuminate the changing patterns on their bodies to communicate in the depths of the Pacific Ocean.

The global slowdown could create a historic drop in carbon emissions, but it's still not enough to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.