PBS NewsHour: Environment

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ENVIRONMENT


	2012 MAY May 7, 2012 Bugs for Dinner? Join the Rest of the World Many Americans would squirm when thinking of eating an insect. But a fledgling movement praising insects' health benefits and low environmental impact is encouraging Americans to swap steak sandwiches for salted crickets tostadita.



	APRIL April 25, 2012 Why Clean, Safe Water Is Still Out of Reach for Liberia Since 1980, Liberia has tackled a cycle of civil war, claiming over 200,000 lives while developing an impossible water crisis. In partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, correspondent Steve Sapienza and two local journalists unearth why the government and aid agencies can't crack the country's water problems.

	April 24, 2012 News Wrap: 3 More Secret Service Agents Lose Jobs Over Scandal In other news Tuesday, another three Secret Service agents lost their jobs as a result of the ongoing prostitution scandal ahead of President Obama's Colombia trip. A total of nine have now been forced out and three have been cleared. Also, a Kofi Annan spokesman accused Syria's government of subverting U.N. observers' efforts.

	April 24, 2012 Baby Dolphin Die-Offs Continue in the Gulf An unusually high number of dead dolphins - including stillborn and infant calves - have washed up along the Gulf of Mexico shores in the two years since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded into flames, unleashing tens of thousands of barrels of oil into the ocean.

	April 23, 2012 'Earth: The Operator's Manual' Chronicles Conservation Solutions Around Globe "Earth: The Operator's Manual," a new PBS documentary, chronicles how communities around the world are saving money by conserving energy. Hari Sreenivasan and geologist Richard Alley, who's also the host of the film, discuss the role of human ingenuity in tackling tough global energy problems.



	MARCH March 20, 2012 Coping With Climate Change: Texas Water Woes The drought in Texas has put an unprecedented strain on the state's already tenuous water supply. In the face of continued climate uncertainty and a growing population, Texas communities face the stark reality of a future without enough water.

	March 19, 2012 Planning to Visit the Cherry Blossoms? Err on the Earlier Side Cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C. have bloomed exceptionally early this year, but this is nothing compared to when they might be blooming decades from now. By 2080, cherry blossoms could reach their peak bloom as early as late February, according to Dr. Soo-Hyung Kim of the University of Washington. Hari Sreenivasan reports.

	March 14, 2012 Report: NYC, Southern Calif. Among Big Targets of Accelerating Sea Level Rise Accelerated sea level rise from global warming has doubled the risk of extreme flooding events in many of the country's coastal communities, according to a new report released by research organization Climate Central. Ray Suarez and lead author Ben Strauss discuss the connections between climate change and severe flood threats.

	March 12, 2012 In Oregon, Rare 'Snowstorm' of Pine Butterflies Takes Toll on Forests In Oregon's Malheur National Forest, pine butterflies experience a population explosion for two to three years every three decades. Oregon Public Broadcasting's Oregon Field Guide series explores the snowstorm-like population surge that has stripped needles from 250,000 acres of trees.

	March 9, 2012 Fukushima Survivor: I Want 'To Breathe Freely Again' Nuclear technician Carl Pillitteri was one of 38 Americans at the Fukushima nuclear power plant when an earthquake and tsunami struck Japan's eastern coast and triggered a radiation leak at the reactor. It's taken Pillitteri a full year to be able to talk publicly about what he saw at Fukushima.

	March 8, 2012 Oregon Farmers Surprised to Find Fish in Fields Researchers in Oregon's Willamette Valley found young native fish thriving in ditches that fill with water during the winter months. The unrecognized habitat meant farmers had been inadvertently raising fish in their fields, in addition to their intended crops, for years. This report first appeared on Oregon Public Broadcasting.

	March 7, 2012 O No! Climate Change Shortens Canada's Pond Hockey Season In a paper published Monday, researchers determined that climate change across Canada has already had a negative impact on the outdoor skating season, and if that trend continues, the viability of outdoor skating in Canada will be threatened for future generations.

	March 3, 2012 Gulf Oil Spill: a Timeline of NewsHour Coverage Since the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig killed 11 workers and set off a gigantic environmental disaster, NewsHour journalists have hosted dozens of discussions and filed scores of stories to help shed light on the causes and fallout of the disaster. This timeline chronicles our coverage.



	FEBRUARY Feb. 23, 2012 Upper Big Branch Miners' Families 'Encouraged' by Prosecutors' Moves West Virginia mine safety officials on Thursday issued 253 violations against Massey Energy in their final report on the 2010 Upper Big Branch mining disaster that killed 29 men. Jeffrey Brown and NPR's Howard Berkes discuss the findings and prosecution efforts to reach higher into the ranks of Massey's upper management.

	Feb. 21, 2012 Climate Expert Assumed False Identity to Obtain Documents Fallout over internal memos that were leaked from the conservative Heartland Institute rattled the climate world again this week, when a climate researcher confessed to lying in order to obtain and distribute them.

	Feb. 15, 2012 Debating the Safety, Wisdom of New Nuclear Reactors in Georgia A construction site in Georgia is slated to house the nation's first new commercial nuclear reactors in decades. Jeffrey Brown discusses the controversial Plant Vogtle facility and the state of American nuclear power with Stephen Smith of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and the Nuclear Energy Institute's Tony Pietrangelo.

	Feb. 14, 2012 Poet Tony Hoagland Explores Species' 'Romantic Moments' In honor of Valentine's Day, poet Tony Hoagland reads "Romantic Moment" -- a poem about a man and woman who have just watched a nature documentary on a date, and how their expressions of affection stack up against those of leopard frogs, chimpanzees, bull penguins and so on.



	JANUARY Jan. 23, 2012 News Wrap: At Least 2 Killed, 100 Hurt by Possible Tornadoes in Alabama In other news Monday, at least two people were killed and 100 hurt when possible tornadoes struck Alabama. The huge system stretched from the Great Lakes to the Deep South, where the heaviest storms were hitting. Also, a U.S. Marine pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty in the killing of two dozen Iraqis in 2005.

	Jan. 18, 2012 Could Keystone Pipeline Plan Be Revived After Obama's Rejection? President Obama denied TransCanada Corp.'s application to build the Keystone XL pipeline Wednesday, a project that would have carried oil 1,700 miles from the tar sands of Canada to refineries in Port Arthur, Texas. Hari Sreenivasan discusses the president's decision and the next steps with The Washington Post's Juliet Eilperin.



	2011 DECEMBER Dec. 28, 2011 How 2011 Became a 'Mind-Boggling' Year of Extreme Weather From snowstorms to floods and tornadoes, severe weather wreaked havoc across the United States this year, with 2011 marking far more extreme weather events than a typical year. Hari Sreenivasan discusses the science behind this year of extreme weather with NOAA's Kathryn Sullivan and Weather Underground's Jeff Masters.

	Dec. 28, 2011 Testing Hybrids and Tossing Sandals in the Fight Against 'Wheat Rust' Scientists say they are making promising strides in their race against Ug99, a stem rust disease that, left unchecked, could wipe out 80 percent of the world's wheat crop. But this is a science of watching plants grow. The race is a marathon and the number of farmers forced to be in it will likely drop in the years ahead.

	Dec. 21, 2011 New EPA Rules Target Power Plants' Toxic Mercury Emissions The Environmental Protection Agency unveiled new standards Wednesday to curb mercury emissions from coal- and oil-fueled power plants around the country. Gwen Ifill discusses the announcement with the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council's Scott Segal and the Natural Resources Defense Council's John Walke.

	Dec. 20, 2011 News Wrap: Great Plains Snowstorm Kills at Least 6, Closes Major Highways In other news Tuesday, a snowstorm howled across the Great Plains for a second day, killing at least six people. High winds and heavy snow closed major highways in five states. Also, Egyptian troops and riot police raided Cairo's Tahrir Square in a new bid to evict people protesting military control.

	Dec. 8, 2011 Seattleites Construct Rain Gardens to Curb Pollution From Stormwater Runoff In an effort to curb pollution from stormwater runoff, Seattle residents have begun a campaign to build 12,000 rain gardens around the Puget Sound. Katie Campbell of KCTS 9 reports.

	Dec. 5, 2011 For Wind Energy's Future, Researchers Look High in the Sky The next major innovation in wind power might not involve big, white turbines dotting the countryside. KQED QUEST reports on research being done on "tethered airfoils" that could capture wind energy more efficiently that earthbound turbines. This report is part of the NewsHour's Connect series of quality public media reporting.



	NOVEMBER Nov. 28, 2011 New Climate Change Deal to Succeed Kyoto a Long Shot What's behind the long struggle to reach a new international agreement on reducing greenhouse gases? Margaret Warner and The Washington Post's Juliet Eilperin preview the U.N.'s annual climate conference.

	Nov. 23, 2011 Tiny Mussels Invade Great Lakes, Threaten Fishing Industry Tiny mussels are invading the Great Lakes, threatening the health of the waterways and the livelihoods of fishermen. Ash-har Quraishi of WTTW Chicago reports.

	Nov. 14, 2011 NewsHour Connect: World's Largest Dam Removal Set to Restore Ecosystem The world's biggest dam removal project -- and the second-largest environmental restoration project in U.S. history -- is in progress on the Elwha River on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state.

	Nov. 10, 2011 Obama Administration Delays Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Should President Obama approve a major extension of the Keystone XL pipeline? Ray Suarez discusses that question, which has divided business, environmental groups and labor unions, with The Washington Post's Juliet Eilperin.



	OCTOBER Oct. 10, 2011 Environment, Economy at Heart of Keystone XL Pipeline Debate A Canadian company wants to build a $13 billion, 1,700-mile pipeline to carry crude oil from the so-called tar sands region in Alberta through six states and a major aquifer to Texas for refining. Correspondent Tom Bearden reports from Nebraska on the high-stakes environmental and economic battle over the Keystone XL project.

	Oct. 10, 2011 Keystone Oil Pipeline Project Divides Nebraska Residents Many Nebraskans have little interest in helping TransCanada, the company seeking to build the pipeline, which would stretch 1,700 miles from northern Alberta to Texas.



	SEPTEMBER Sept. 30, 2011 Solar Decathlon Contest Refocuses on Affordability of New Homes WASHINGTON \| In addition to more space for her family, Lakiya Culley's new home in Southeast Washington, D.C., comes with another big benefit: miniscule power bills. Culley will be living in the Empowerhouse, one of 20 houses built for the 2011 Solar Decathlon.

	Sept. 19, 2011 Cowboys vs. Gray Wolves: Predator Once Again Prey For the first time in years, hunting season for the once-endangered gray wolf is underway in Idaho and Montana to reduce the predator's population. Cattle ranchers say the hunts are necessary to protect their herds, but environmentalists disagree. Science correspondent Miles O'Brien reports.

	Sept. 19, 2011 The Return of the Gray Wolf Science correspondent Miles O'Brien reports on the successful return of a once endangered species now caught in the crosshairs of cattle ranchers.

	Sept. 14, 2011 Deepwater Horizon Oil Report Fingers BP's Safety Lapses A government report out Wednesday finds that British oil giant BP bears the lion's share of blame for the 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The blast killed 11 workers and led to the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

	Sept. 2, 2011 Obama Drops Proposed Clean Air Rules President Obama has reversed course on proposed smog standards, a victory for business interests that had decried the smog restrictions on the grounds that they should be postponed -- until at least 2013 -- due to the recession.

	Sept. 1, 2011 Arsonists or Terrorists? Film Details Rise, Fall of Earth Liberation Front Cell In "If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front," filmmaker Marshal Curry looks at radical environmentalists who were named a top domestic terrorist threat by the FBI. This excerpt is part of The Economist Film Project series of independently produced films aired in partnership between The Economist and the NewsHour.



	AUGUST Aug. 31, 2011 Film Chronicles Rise and Fall of Eco-Terrorist Cell On Thursday's NewsHour, we will feature an excerpt of the film "If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front," which looks at the radical environmental group through the transformation of one of its members, Daniel McGowan.

	Aug. 29, 2011 Tar Sands Pipeline Plan Renews Energy vs. Environment Debate A proposed pipeline would carry oil from Canadian tar sands fields to Texas refineries, but the project has sparked high-profile protests. Jeffrey Brown discusses the controversial Keystone XL pipeline proposal with the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research's Robert Bryce and environmentalist Bill McKibben.

	Aug. 29, 2011 Proposed Tar Sands Oil Pipeline Elicits Protests At organized sit-ins in recent weeks, demonstrators gathered at the White House to voice their objections to the controversial pipeline, citing concerns over the environmental impacts of the $7 billion proposal. View a map of its path.

	Aug. 26, 2011 Environment vs. Economy in 2012 In every election there are a few issues that shape the look and feel of the campaign, and even in the earliest stages of the 2012 race, one issue has emerged: economy vs. environment. Many GOP hopefuls have already made a point of talking about the voter concerns as a choice -- the economy and jobs or environmental regulation.

	Aug. 10, 2011 Mobile Slaughterhouse Helps Wash. State Farmers Meet Demand for Local Food With the popularity of local food on the rise, Washington state farmer Cheryl Ouellette raises pigs to meet the demand. However, small farmers often can't process their own meat. A mobile slaughterhouse program brings a USDA-licensed facility to farms to benefit farmers, animals and "locavores." Sabrina Register of KCTS reports.

	Aug. 1, 2011 New Widget Tracks Record-Breaking High Temperatures Using data collected by the NOAA's National Climatic Data Center, the PBS NewsHour has set out to track the number of high temperature records set each day of the year across the U.S.



	JULY July 29, 2011 How Will New Fuel Efficiency Rules Affect Consumers? President Obama, flanked on stage by executives from the country's leading automakers, announced new fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks Friday that would double the current requirement to 54.

	July 28, 2011 5 Years Later, Scientists Still Puzzled by Honeybee Decline Five years ago, honeybees began dying in large numbers and hives were becoming defunct. Spencer Michels reports on the scientists who are still trying to figure out why this is happening and what can be done to help the problem.

	July 28, 2011 NewsHour Connect: Heat Wave Imperils Midwest Agriculture Temperatures have been rising in the Midwest this summer -- and with them, food prices may also be heading upward.

	July 28, 2011 What's Behind the Problem of Disappearing Bees? Five years ago, bees in America and Canada were dying in large numbers and hives were becoming defunct. The problem was called Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD, and it threatened a handful of California's very profitable crops.

	July 25, 2011 Mongolian Herders See Changes as Temperatures Rise Since 1960, Mongolia's average temperature has increased 4.1 degrees -- a change faster than the global average. The uptick has had an impact on herders living close to the land.

	July 25, 2011 Changing the World: One Idea at a Time Meet the top winners in the "Technology 4 a Better World" campaign by Ashoka's Youth Venture, a global organization supporting youth social entrepreneurs, and electronic retailer, Best Buy.

	July 19, 2011 NRC Chief: U.S. Nuclear Plants Safe Despite Age, Needed Upgrades The earthquake and tsunami that devastated the Japanese coast and triggered a nuclear crisis raised major questions surrounding the safety of U.S. nuclear reactors. Gwen Ifill discusses new safety regulations issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission with its head, Gregory Jaczko.