The actor and author has a new book, Where the Deer and the Antelope Play. He talks with NPR's Scott Simon about why walking in the woods makes him feel better and how to experience nature in a city.

Environment : NPR

Nick Offerman on why he finds solace in the outdoors

As the Biden administration prepares to negotiate reductions in fossil fuel use at the Glasgow climate summit at the end of the month, U.S. coal production is actually up significantly this year.

U.S. coal production is up sharply after hitting a 50-year low last year

Researchers have hardened wood and fashioned a knife out of it. It's three times sharper than steel and can slice through steak, and could be a sustainable alternative.

Scientists made a wooden steak knife that's 3 times sharper than a steel blade

The mayor of Seville, Spain, has announced a new program — the world's first — to give official names to severe heat waves. The hope is that such a system will make people take them more seriously.

In Spain, Seville hopes naming heat waves can save lives

When cows overgraze it's bad for the soil and the climate. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is trying new technology to help avoid overgrazing: virtual fencing.

Virtual fences may help cows have less of an impact on climate change

Fewer cars were on the road during pandemic lockdowns. And for Maine's frogs and salamanders, that translated to far fewer roadkill deaths.

Fewer cars on the road during lockdowns was good news for frogs and salamanders

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with environmental policy expert Leah Stokes about what the Democrats' spending plan can achieve on climate, with President Biden's clean electricity performance plan in limbo.

With Biden's climate plan in jeopardy, can America lead on climate change?

California wants to limit the water that farmers can pump from depleted aquifers. To enforce those limits, regulators are turning to remote sensing satellites.

Satellites reveal the secrets of water-guzzling farms in California

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks to climate scientist Antonio Nobre about how climate change is affecting the Amazon forest in Brazil.

How the Amazon rainforest is faring under climate change

Last year Colorado saw the two largest wildfires in it's history, destroying hundreds of homes and 600 square miles of forest. Largely unbothered, though, are beavers, whose wet habitats offer refuge.

To improve wildfire resistance, researchers look to beavers

Offshore wind is on the verge of becoming a major new industry in the U.S. There's a push to make sure it creates lots of good-paying union jobs.

Will the offshore wind industry solve pay and environmental issues?

In 2008, Prince Charles asked engineers to convert his Aston Martin to run on something more environmentally friendly. They came up with a way to power a car that's fit for royalty: wine and cheese.

Prince Charles' Aston Martin runs on a unique power source

Along the Northeast coast, seals, whales and tuna feast on menhaden, fish that rebounded after regulators limited the catch. The oily fish are a foundation of coastal ecosystems from Florida to Maine.

Catch limits imposed on menhaden have sparked a population rebound

In the land of the open prairie, an invasive plant is threatening to transform Kansas' grassland ecosystems into biodiversity wastelands. Researchers are running out of time to find ways to stop it.

An invasive plant is taking over the Kansas prairie. It may be too late to stop it

Researchers at the International Monetary Fund say trillions of dollars in fossil fuel subsidies are making greenhouse-gas-producing fuels cheaper than they should be and making climate change worse.

Raising the price of fossil fuels to reflect the true social cost

Breaking news on the environment, climate change, pollution, and endangered species. Also featuring Climate Connections, a special series on climate change co-produced by NPR and National Geographic.

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