Environment 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.

Environment

Synchronous fireflies, known as Photuris frontalis, blink in the woods near the Congaree River on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. Sam Wolfe for NPR hide caption

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Sam Wolfe for NPR

A blue shark captured from below off the coast of New Zealand. Cultura RM Exclusive/Richard Robinson/Getty Images hide caption

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Cultura RM Exclusive/Richard Robinson/Getty Images

Ferris Jabr's book Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life examines the ways life and Earth have shaped each other. Lucas Heinrich/Random House hide caption

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Lucas Heinrich/Random House

Earth is more than a planet with life on it. It's a "living planet"

About ten years ago, science writer Ferris Jabr started contemplating Earth as a living planet rather than a planet with life on it. It began when he learned that the Amazon rainforest doesn't simply receive the rain that defines it; rather, it helps generate that rain. The Amazon does that by launching bits of biological confetti into the atmosphere that, in turn, seed clouds. After learning this, he began looking for other ways life changes its environment. That led to his new book Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life. He talks to host Regina G. Barber about examples of life transforming the planet — from changing the color of the sky to altering the weather.

Earth is more than a planet with life on it. It's a "living planet"

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We're in for a brutal hurricane season, according to predictions

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting a record number of hurricanes this season, which began on June 1 and runs through Nov. They're forecasting anywhere from 17 to 25 storms in the Atlantic basin, including at least four major hurricanes. Scientists think this storm activity could be due to strong winds, warmer ocean temperatures and a scientific mystery unfolding in the Atlantic.

We're in for a brutal hurricane season, according to predictions

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The 'i'iwi is one of Hawaii's honeycreepers, forest birds that are found nowhere else. There were once more than 50 species. Now, only 17 remain. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption

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Ryan Kellman/NPR

Joro spider sits in the middle of a spider web. GummyBone/Getty Images hide caption

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GummyBone/Getty Images

The illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be a multi-billion dollar enterprise. Live animals that are caught, like this box turtle, need immediate and long-term care at facilities like The Turtle Conservancy. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption

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Mangroves are unique ecosystems protecting humans and wildlife. Sea level rise and more severe storms from climate change threaten them, according to a new global assessment. Sia Kambou /AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Sia Kambou /AFP via Getty Images

A sea otter in Monterey Bay with a rock anvil on its belly and a scallop in its forepaws. Jessica Fujii hide caption

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Jessica Fujii

When sea otters lose their favorite foods, they can use tools to go after new ones

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Sperm whale families talk a lot. Researchers are trying to decode what they're saying

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A burial team in Liberia awaits decontamination after performing "safe burials" for people who died of Ebola during the 2014-15 outbreak. Strains of the virus are harbored by bats and primates. A new study looks at how human activity affects the transmission of infectious diseases like Ebola. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption

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John Moore/Getty Images

Jackye Lafon, who's in her 80s, cools herself with a water spray at her home in Toulouse, France during a heat wave in 2022. Older people face higher heat risk than those who are younger. Climate change is making heat risk even greater. Fred Scheiber/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Fred Scheiber/AFP via Getty Images

More than 200 million seniors face extreme heat risks in coming decades, study finds

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Lauren Hill, a graduate student at Cal State LA, holds a bird at the bird banding site at Bear Divide in the San Gabriel Mountains. Grace Widyatmadja/NPR hide caption

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Grace Widyatmadja/NPR

On this unassuming trail near LA, bird watchers see something spectacular

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People cycle along the street in Afuá, a city in northern Brazil's Pará state, in January. Since 2002, this city on the banks of the Amazon River has been famously off limits to motor vehicles. Stefan Kolumban hide caption

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Stefan Kolumban

Isabella Mogeni, 54, from the neighborhood of Mukuru kwa Reuben, looks on as bulldozers destroy homes in the slum area on May 3. Emmanuel Igunza for NPR hide caption

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Emmanuel Igunza for NPR

In Kenya's flooded slums, people mourn their losses and slam their leaders

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