Environmental science

France's Johanne Defay rides a wave during a training session at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 23, 2021, at Tsurigasaki beach in Ichinomiya, Japan. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Surfing science: Dependent on weather, defined by the ocean

By Sally Ho Jul. 24, 2021 05:31 AM EDT

Avian ecologist and Georgetown University Ph.D. student Emily Williams examines a robin's feet and claws, Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in Cheverly, Md. This spring and summer, her research project tracking the annual migration of American robins has gotten a boost from the enthusiasm of homeowners in the greater Washington area, who’ve let her and a research assistant set up makeshift research stations in their backyards before dawn — and sometimes contributed their own notes and observations. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

For love of birds: Backyard sleuths boost scientists' work

By Christina Larson Jun. 11, 2021 09:04 AM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2021, file photo, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a virtual roundtable with participants from Black Chambers of Commerce across the country to discuss the American Rescue Plan in Washington. Last year’s coronavirus-triggered market turmoil exposed vulnerable areas in the U.S. economy that need to be addressed by the nation's top-level financial supervisory group, Yellen said Wednesday, March 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Yellen says regulatory panel to look at 2020 market turmoil

By Martin Crutsinger Mar. 31, 2021 05:36 PM EDT

Vice President Kamala Harris, right, administers the ceremonial swearing-in of Michael Regan as EPA administrator in the Vice President's Ceremonial Office at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Wednesday, March 17, 2021. With EPA Administrator Regan are his wife Melvina Thomas Regan, son Matthew Silas, 7. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

AP Interview: EPA head removes Trump-era science advisers

By Matthew Daly Mar. 31, 2021 11:01 AM EDT

FILE - In this Jan.18, 2019 file photo, French President Emmanuel Macron meets pupils as he visits a school canteen in Saint-Sozy, southwestern France. By taking meat off the menu at school canteens, the Green Party mayor of Lyon has kicked up a storm of protest and debate in a country increasingly asking questions about the environmental costs of its meaty dietary habits. With a meatless four-course meal that Lyon City Hall says will be quicker and easier to serve to children who must be kept socially distanced while eating lunch to avoid coronavirus infections. (Ludovic Marin/Pool Photo via AP, FILE)

Food fight: Meat-free school meals spark furor in France

By John Leicester Feb. 23, 2021 01:18 PM EST

FILE - In this Nov. 12, 2020 file photo, people take selfies of the Pudong skyline as they stand on the Bund in Shanghai, China. A new study finds that cleaner air from the pandemic lockdown warmed the planet a bit in 2020, especially in places such as the eastern United States, Russia and China. Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021 study found the pandemic lockdown reduced soot and sulfate air pollution, but those particles also reflect the sun's heat and help cool areas briefly. (AP Photo)

Study: Pandemic's cleaner air added heat to warming planet

By Seth Borenstein Feb. 02, 2021 03:36 PM EST

President-elect Joe Biden's nominee to co-chair the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology Maria Zuber speaks during an event at The Queen theater, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021, in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Biden says his advisers will lead with 'science and truth'

By Bill Barrow And Seth Borenstein Jan. 16, 2021 04:49 PM EST

In this Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020, photo provided by Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health, registered nurse Starla Garcia prepares a coronavirus vaccine in Chinle, Ariz., for someone who enrolled in the COVID-19 vaccine trials on the Navajo Nation and initially received a placebo. (Nina Mayer Ritchie/Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health via AP)

Fast rollout of virus vaccine trials reveals tribal distrust

By Felicia Fonseca Jan. 02, 2021 11:11 AM EST

A researcher for Brazil's state-run Fiocruz Institute holds a bat captured in the Atlantic Forest, at Pedra Branca state park, near Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020. Researchers at the institute collect and study viruses present in wild animals — including bats, which many scientists believe were linked to the outbreak of COVID-19. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Scientists focus on bats for clues to prevent next pandemic

By Christina Larson, Aniruddha Ghosal And Marcelo Silva De Sousa Dec. 14, 2020 01:11 AM EST

Researchers from Brazil's state-run Fiocruz Institute shine a light on a bat they captured in the Atlantic Forest during a nighttime outing in Pedra Branca state park, near Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020. The outing was part of a project to collect and study viruses present in wild animals — including bats, which many scientists believe were linked to the outbreak of COVID-19. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Scientists focus on bats for clues to prevent next pandemic

By Christina Larson, Aniruddha Ghosal And Marcelo Silva De Sousa Dec. 14, 2020 01:09 AM EST

A man leaves his home during a mandatory fire evacuate as smoke from the Silverado Fire fills the air, Monday, Oct. 26, 2020, in Irvine, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

70,000 in Southern California to evacuate after blaze grows

By Christopher Weber And Olga R. Rodriguez Oct. 26, 2020 08:46 AM EDT

The sun is obscured by smoke along Highway 7 as several wildfires burn in the state Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, in Lyons, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado wildfires drag on later than normal, break records

By Patty Nieberg Oct. 22, 2020 02:34 PM EDT

Ray Lopez delivers supplies to Mountain Mike's Pizza in the Montclair district of Oakland, Calif., where power is turned off, on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020. Pacific Gas & Electric has cut power to portions of Northern California hoping to prevent wildfires during hot, windy weather throughout the region. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Trump changes course, approves California relief for 6 fires

By Don Thompson And John Antczak Oct. 16, 2020 12:32 PM EDT

Scientists return from Arctic with wealth of climate data

By Frank Jordans Oct. 12, 2020 03:03 AM EDT
BERLIN (AP) — An icebreaker carrying scientists on a year-long international effort to study the high Arctic has returned to its home port in Germany carrying...

FILE - In this Feb 25. 2010 file photo, Mexico's Nobel Chemistry Prize laureate Mario Molina gestures during a conference on global warming in Guadalajara, Mexico. Molina has died on Wednesday, October 7, 2020, his family informed. (AP Photo/Carlos Jasso, File)

Mario Molina, Mexico chemistry Nobel winner, dies at 77

Oct. 07, 2020 08:06 PM EDT

Pigeons fly behind an anti-smog gun kept at the Central Park in New Delhi, India, Monday, Oct.5, 2020. Authorities in New Delhi launched an anti-pollution campaign on Monday in an attempt to curb air pollution levels ahead of winter, when the capital is regularly covered in toxic haze, and warned that filthy air could make the coronavirus pandemic more dangerous. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Indian capital launches campaign to curb toxic air pollution

By Sheikh Saaliq And Aniruddha Ghosal Oct. 05, 2020 06:24 AM EDT

This 2016 photo provided by Tanisha Williams shows her in Cape Town, South Africa. Williams, a botanist at Bucknell University, knows exactly which plants she's looking for. But after being questioned by strangers in public parks, Williams, who is Black, has started carrying her field guides with her. “I've been quizzed by random strangers,” she said. “Now I bring my wildflower books and botanical field guides, trying to look like a scientist. It’s for other people. I wouldn’t otherwise lug these books.” (Beatrix D. Fields/Tanisha Williams via AP)

Black scientists call out racism in the field and counter it

By Christina Larson Sep. 13, 2020 09:03 AM EDT

A rower goes past Angel Island and the sun rising behind in smoke from wildfires Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020, in Sausalito, Calif. Thousands of people were under orders to evacuate in regions surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area Wednesday as nearly 40 wildfires blazed across the state amid a blistering heat wave now in its second week. Smoke blanketed the city of San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

California slammed by wildfires, heat, unhealthy smoky air

By Daisy Nguyen And Seth Borenstein Aug. 19, 2020 10:19 PM EDT

Cattle graze on a pasture while a wind turbine stands in the distance at the Reading Wind Facility in Reading, Kan., on Monday, April 27, 2020. Although the wind power project has experienced some delays in delivery of some foreign-sourced parts and had to implement social distancing measures, the project is on schedule to be completed in the next few weeks. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Solar, wind energy struggle as coronavirus takes toll

By Cathy Bussewitz, John Flesher And Patrick Whittle May. 02, 2020 10:38 AM EDT