File photo of solar panels. (Credit: Sarah Swenty / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Listen (Runtime 1:01) Read Not everyone loves renewable energy development, but a new project in Washington […]Read More
The Naches River is the main source of drinking water for the City of Yakima. Credit: Cmh2315fl, Flickr Creative Commons.) Listen (Runtime 1:02) Read Thunderstorms high in the Cascades recently […]Read More
Just in time for the Fourth of July holiday, the west side of Washington is going to see some sunny, hot weather. The daytime highs of 80- and 90- plus degrees being predicted might still seem abnormal to those who call the Puget Sound basin home, but those temperatures are on trend with the hotter summers climatologists have been tracking.
Historically, Western Read More
The Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River. CREDIT: BPA Listen (Runtime 1:02) Read At a Congressional hearing in Richland, Wash., designed to defend the four Lower Snake River dams […]Read More
Washington faced unwelcome news this week that the state’s average price for a gallon of gas is the highest in the country.Read More
As the days get hotter and warmer, many Washingtonians are gearing up for the wildfires that will ignite across the region this year, causing smoky skies, evacuations and potentially devastating loss. Read More
Casie Davidson, a scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, points out how basalt rocks are layered on top of each other. The rocks formed millions of years ago after volcanic […]Read More
Washington Governor Jay Inslee visited Washington State University's Pullman campus on Thursday. He spoke with Northwest Public Broadcasting's Mary Ellen Pitney on climate-related issues including building more electric car charging stations, helping towns become fire resistant and recovery efforts in Malden, three years after that Labor Day fire.Read More
The Army Corps of Engineers began emergency repair work May 22 on a jetty that sits at the mouth of the Skagit River’s North Fork, near La Conner.
Crews will use cobble and sediment to essentially plug porous areas of the McGlinn Island Jetty. Those gaps have stranded, harmed or killed out-migrating juvenile salmon this spring, according to a press release from the Read More
Sunrise over Red Mountain vineyards in central Washington. (Credit: Andrea Johnson Photography/Washington State Wine Commission) Listen (Runtime 1:03) Read It’s been a slower start to spring in the Pacific Northwest, […]Read More
Blake Foraker grills gene-edited German-style sausages at Washington State University. Credit: Connor Henricksen Listen (Runtime 3:58) Read At a barbecue on campus last week, flames licked a set of sausage […]Read More
A view from the edge of the cliff where the Goldendale Energy Storage Project could be built. An underground tunnel would carry water from a upper reservoir to a reservoir […]Read More
For decades, the federal government declared all forest fires in the West a destructive force. Now, it is viewed as a fundamental part of the western ecosystem. Lauren Gallup and Mary Ellen Pitney explain.Read More
An illustration of a potential floating wind turbine under the water. Credit: University of Maine Listen (Runtime 1:00) Read With the climate rapidly changing, researchers are trying to find ways […]Read More
File photo of solar panels. Credit: Sarah Swenty, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Listen (Runtime 1:02) Read In the Pacific Northwest, conversations about renewable energy can get pretty heated. Residents […]Read More
Grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park. Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Listen (Runtime 1:03) Read Grizzly bears in Washington’s North Cascades could gain habitat as the climate warms, according […]Read More
You probably no longer bat an eye when an electric car passes by on the road. More novel battery-powered vehicles are soon joining the parade to help operators achieve their sustainability goals. Electric ferries are coming to Puget Sound and hybrid electric airplanes are being tested in Washington. Now, several Pacific Northwest fire departments have ordered their first Read More
Forested area in Washington. CREDIT: Connor Henricksen Listen (Runtime 1:07) Read In the eyes of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, one big thing is missing from the state’s […]Read More
Late afternoon light catches smoke from the Cold Springs Fire near a structure that appeared to be empty long before the fire, Monday, Sept. 7, 2020, near Omak, Washington. CREDIT: […]Read More
A combine harvests barley Friday, Aug. 24, 2007, near Moscow, Idaho. Credit: Ted S. Warren/AP READ When you think of heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions, you might picture industrial smoke stacks […]Read More
A view from the edge of the cliff where the Goldendale Energy Storage Project could be built. An underground tunnel would carry water from a upper reservoir to a reservoir […]Read More
Tree climber Phil Chi does one last safety check before he climbs to the top of a whitebark pine tree. Credit: Courtney Flatt Listen (Runtime 0:59) Read The West’s iconic […]Read More
LISTEN (Runtime: 4:12) READ Music poured out of the small sanctuary at Shalom United Church of Christ in Richland, Washington. Piano keys evoked dripping, melting glaciers. Drum beats became the […]Read More
Scientists are studying old wildfires to find what forest treatments slowed the flames – and what treatments didn’t work so well. Researchers are looking closely at the Schneider Springs fire, the largest wildfire in Washington in 2021.Read More
Farmworker leader Edgar Franks during at COP27. Credit: Familias Unidas por la Justicia Listen (Runtime 1:09) Read Agricultural workers are pushing for climate justice in Washington and are now taking […]Read More
Part of the Box of Rain timber sale that the Washington State Department of Natural Resources approved to go to auction in December. Photo courtesy of the Center for Responsible […]Read More
Swarms of aphids pulse the air in Moscow, Idaho, during a late-October afternoon. CREDIT: Linda Weiford, WSU News Listen (Runtime 1:01) Read No, that’s not snowflakes you’re seeing on these […]Read More
This particular adventure begins with the search for a bird. However, like many discoveries that venture a bit off course, birder Chris Lindsey found something much more interesting: a Western blue pygmy butterfly. The smallest butterfly in North America.Read More
Miss Yakama Nation Ellia-Lee Jim and Jr Miss Yakama Nation-Tehya Listen Eleven years after the Condit Dam was removed from the White Salmon River, the fish (and the land) are […]Read More
This year’s fire season has been the mildest year for Washington in a decade. But, the season isn’t over yet.Read More
Breaching the Snake River dams is one major way to protect salmon, according to a final federal report announced Friday on salmon and steelhead recovery in the Columbia River Basin.Read More
Flickr Creative Commons:rudisillart Listen (Runtime 1:44) Read Both Washington and California have set aggressive goals to ban the sale of new gas powered vehicles over the next 10 to 15 […]Read More
The Washington wine grape harvest is underway. Pinot Noir grapes are being harvested near Vantage, WA. Listen (Runtime :56) Read This year’s wine grape harvest is about two or three […]Read More
A first-of-its-kind climate resiliency website will help communities understand climate-related risks, the Biden administration said. The new website, launched Thursday, provides real-time information and predictions for local communities that are more vulnerable to disasters, such as wildfires, heat waves and droughts.Read More
Heat waves are becoming more common in Western Washington. It's just one outcome of worsening climate change. With this, efforts to green-up urban areas may help keep people cool and safe. Read More
Farmworkers and environmental justice advocates want Washington Governor Jay Inslee to declare a climate emergency in the state.Read More
A much-awaited report said removing the four Lower Snake River dams shouldn't happen right now, but dam removal is the best way to protect Snake River salmon.Read More
Even with smoke, you can breathe easier. Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have practical tips to keep the air clean inside homes despite the smoke in Northwest skies.Read More
Professor William Ripple says the wetlands and streams created by beavers act as firebreaks that could slow wildfires, a big issue in the West. Listen Amid droughts, wildfires, and climate […]Read More
Checking every inch of a streambed for freshwater mussels requires a snorkel and a wetsuit. It’s a messy job, but it’s vitally important as these keystone species are declining throughout the West.Read More
To recover healthy salmon populations, one or more of the Snake River dams must be breached, in addition to other actions, according to a new draft report released Tuesday by federal officials.Read More
The Bell M. Shimada is designed to gather scientific information. But the collaborative effort of the crew and officers makes scientific endeavors at sea possible.Read More
One single-celled oceanic organism could provide big answers to questions about climate change.Read More
Phytoplankton make up an extremely important part of the ocean’s food chain, serving as food for organisms that feed young salmon and other fish in the ocean.Read More
WSU researchers and an eco-building startup in Tacoma are teaming up to create affordable and sustainable roofing for consumers across the world. They have a goal— to make roofing material that is sustainable, adaptable to different parts of the world, and affordable for people living on less than $5 a day. Read More
Rainier cherries in the Northwest bloomed after the snow, so the crop should be stronger. (Photo courtesy of the Washington State Fruit Commission) Listen Snow fell throughout the Northwest in […]Read More
Mason Douglass leans on one of his thirty seed bins at Tri-State Seed outside of Connell, WA Listen Anna King reports on a serious shortage of seeds for forage crops […]Read More
The decline of freshwater mussels could have a negative impact of waterways throughout the West CREDIT: Nathan Rott/NPR Listen Courtney Flatt reports on the decline of freshwater mussels in the […]Read More
The Sixteen year State Transportation package has passed through the Senate Transportation Committee and held a public hearing recently. An Eastern Washington Commissioner is raising alarming concerns regarding the bill. Are Gas powered vehicles going to be allowed? Read More
Gangs of wild elk are attacking farmers’ haystacks in Washington and Oregon. They’re hungry, after a long drought and record mountain snow this winter has driven animals down to the lowlands. Climate scientists say things may only get worse in the future.Read More
