Not Your Grandpa's RV: This Roving Lab Tracks Air Pollution

Richard Harris — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:18:00 +0000

If you're driving down the road someday and you come across a camper with a 50-foot periscope sticking up into the sky, you just might have crossed paths with Ira Leifer. His quirky vehicle is on a serious mission. It's sniffing the air for methane, a gas that contributes to global warming.

Leifer is an atmospheric scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Go Fish (Somewhere Else): Warming Oceans Are Altering Catches

Richard Harris — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:06:00 +0000

Climate change is gradually altering the fish that end up on ice in seafood counters around the world, according to a new study.

"The composition of the [global] fish catch includes more and more fish from the warmer areas, and cold-water fish are getting more rare, because the temperatures are increasing," says Daniel Pauly at the University of British Columbia, a co-author of the study.

'Dangerous Territory:' Carbon Dioxide Levels Reach Iconic High

Richard Harris — Fri, 10 May 2013 16:27:00 +0000

Earth's atmosphere is entering a new era. A mountaintop research station that has been tracking carbon dioxide for more than 50 years says the level of that gas in our air has reached a milestone: 400 parts per million.

That number is one of the clearest measures of how human beings are changing the planet.

Could An 'Artificial Leaf' Fuel Your Car?

Richard Harris — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:28:00 +0000

It's easy to feel dispirited about climate change because the challenge of dealing with it seems so overwhelming. But Miguel Modestino is actually excited about the challenge. He's part of a large team hoping to make an artificial leaf — a device that would make motor fuel from sunlight and carbon dioxide rather than from fossil fuels.

Modestino grew up in Venezuela, a nation whose economy is based on oil and gas.

This Scientist Aims High To Save The World's Coral Reefs

Richard Harris — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:45:00 +0000

Most scientists find a topic that interests them and keep digging deeper and deeper into the details. But Ken Caldeira takes the opposite approach in search for solutions to climate change. He goes after the big questions, and leaves the details to others.

We caught up with Caldeira on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, where he was conducting an experiment to measure how coral reefs are coping with increasing acidity in the world's oceans. People are causing this change by burning fossil fuels and putting carbon dioxide into the air.

Can Acid Neutralizers Help Coral Reefs Bounce Back?

Richard Harris — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:03:00 +0000

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

OK. Yesterday on this program, we took you to Heron Island on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Scientists there are accumulating evidence that coral reefs are in trouble because of climate change. Two problems here, actually: one is the warming waters, the other is the increasing acidity of the water caused by rising levels of carbon dioxide. Today, we're going to take you to another island on the Great Barrier Reef and meet scientists who were testing whether an acid neutralizer can help - think Tums, for coral.

Increased Carbon Dioxide Levels Damage Coral Reefs

Richard Harris — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:23:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

As we burn fossil fuels - we're talking about oil, gas and coal - carbon dioxide builds up in the atmosphere. Now, there are debates about how quickly that is changing the global climate, but there is no question that billions of tons of carbon dioxide have soaked into the ocean. That's making waters more acidic, which puts some ocean ecosystems at risk, particularly coral reefs. We sent NPR science correspondent Richard Harris to Australia's Great Barrier Reef to look into these consequences.

Energy Secretary Nominee Dodges Question On Gas Exports

Richard Harris — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 21:28:00 +0000

A U.S. Senate committee held a confirmation hearing for Ernest Moniz on Tuesday, who has been nominated to be the U.S. Energy Secretary. Moniz says he will retire from MIT, where he's a professor of physics and energy systems. He would advocate for the Obama administration's "all of the above" energy strategy, which calls for continued fossil fuels development and supports nuclear energy, wind and solar.

EPA Proposes New Rule To Clean Up Gasoline And Reduce Smog

Richard Harris — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 20:46:00 +0000

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And I'm Robert Siegel. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a new rule to clean up gasoline. The regulation would reduce ozone and other air pollutants by close to 30 percent. That would benefit 100 million people who now live in areas that at times have unhealthful air.

Coal And Coral: Australia's Self-Destructive Paradox

Richard Harris — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 10:17:00 +0000

NPR Science Correspondent Richard Harris traveled to Australia's Great Barrier Reef to find out how the coral reefs are coping with increased water temperature and increasing ocean acidity, brought about by our burning of fossil fuels.