Nathan Rott

Addressing climate change is one of the Biden administration's top priorities. NPR looks at President Biden's pledge to stop new oil and gas leasing on public lands and the challenges he might face.

President Biden signed an executive order to have the country reenter the Paris Climate Agreement, less than four months after formally withdrawing.

Deb Haaland would be the first Native American Cabinet secretary. She opposed many Trump environmental rollbacks and considers climate change "the challenge of our lifetime."

The Fish and Wildlife Service has declined to list the monarch butterfly as endangered, even though it finds such a listing necessary. Officials cite limited resources and other species in danger.

President-elect Joe Biden wants to conserve 30% of U.S. land and water by 2030. It's part of a global push to avoid the worst effects of climate change and the decline of the natural world.

The governors of California and New York have sounded the alarm that hospitals may be overwhelmed this winter if COVID-19 infection rates continue to rise.

Efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus are being hampered because many people don't believe it's real. "It's absolute garbage," said Craig Mann of Flathead County in northwest Montana.

Doctors and public health officials in states like Montana, Idaho and the Dakotas say they're being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients, many of whom believe the pandemic isn't a big deal.

Climate change is one of the top four crises President-elect Biden says he will tackle first. NPR discusses what step he can take if there is no solid Democratic-majority in the Senate.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is removing federal protections for gray wolves in the contiguous U.S., saying the species' recovery is a success. Wildlife groups are promising to sue.

Despite the cascade of other crises this year, climate change has emerged as a key election issue. The two major-party presidential candidates' positions on it could not be more different.

Former Vice President Biden says tackling climate change is all about creating jobs. We examine his ambitious plans to make the U.S. economy carbon neutral and challenges he would face as president.

President Trump touts his success at boosting fossil fuels and rolling back climate rules. But he's faced setbacks in court and pushback from states and industry.

This year's record-setting wildfires are being compared to 1910's Big Blowup, which shaped U.S. fire suppression policy for a century. Experts aim for a policy reset but historians are skeptical.

Scientists know that tiny particles from smoke can be inhaled deep into a person's lungs and even enter the bloodstream. But the long-term health effects of this are not fully understood.

At Wednesday's digital gathering, nations are making new pledges to protect vast areas of land from development, but the U.S. is not taking part.

Firefighters are making progress against wildfires in the state. Some residents are slowly being allowed to return to their homes and businesses after wildfires swept through their area.

More frequent and severe wildfires and hurricanes have caused billions of dollars of damage in the U.S. Climate experts warn the costs to the economy and to individual families are only rising.

Wildfires have led to Oregon having the world's worst air quality, and the smoke is now moving east. Researchers say there's evidence that prolonged exposure to it can have a long-term health impact.

In Oregon, better weather could help as firefighters battle ongoing blazes. Tens of thousands are displaced, others missing, and hazardous smoke continues to blanket much of the state.