Renewable energy sources, such as solar power and battery storage, have helped keep power on in New England, even during peak demand on the hottest day of summer. Based on Acadia Center’s findings, as much as 22% of power usage in New England on June 24, 2025 came from behind-the-meter solar.
Today, Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay is home to the highest concentration of bald eagles in the contiguous United States (but not the entirety of the U.S. — that honor belongs to Alaska, which hosts nearly half of the world’s 70,000 bald eagles). According to regional experts, this momentous milestone has been a long time coming.
Reacting to growing concerns that spending too much time online can be harmful, recent research has revealed children are taking control of their own social media and smartphone use rather than relying on parents to enforce limits. The number of 12- to 15-year-olds who take breaks from smartphones, computers and iPads rose by 18% to 40% since 2022.
In a creative use of big data, a survey has found that of the 3,119 US counties, 1,836 experienced growth and expansion of tree cover, including metro areas. This means that in the last two decades, tree cover has expanded in 60% of American counties, and the US has seen net forest growth.
The New Colossus is the universal message and hope for freedom for immigrants coming to America and people seeking freedom around the world. The principle of The New Colossus still stands today in the democratic republic of the United States of America.
When you outlaw or discourage the sale of plastic bags, fewer of them end up as litter on beaches. That’s the intuitive finding of a paper published Thursday in the journal Science, which involved an analysis of policies to restrict plastic bag use across the United States.
A group of scientists from the SETI Institute and the University of California at Davis have determined humpback whales create bubble rings to get our attention. But what are they trying to tell us?
A cure for HIV could be a step closer after researchers found a new way to force the virus out of hiding inside human cells. Now researchers from the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, have demonstrated a way to make the virus visible, paving the way to fully clear it from the body.
Less than 60 years ago, interracial marriage was illegal in parts of the U.S. The landmark Loving v. Virginia case on June 12, 1967, set the precedent for interracial couples to be together without repercussions. NPR readers share their stories here of love and adversity in honor of Loving Day.
Let’s listen to each other. Let’s compromise where we can in good conscience. But let’s also demand a halt to all that is cruel and unlawful. There is encouragement to be found in the links here if you will take the time to be fully open to each one to savor its gift.
From the West African nation of Benin comes the ultimate story in intercultural exchange, whereby a young man inspired by Jackie Chan films took up kung fu and persisted to run the largest Chinese martial arts club in his country.
After just three days of intentional silence, the brain begins to physically and functionally rewire itself. A growing body of neuroscience shows that silence can spark changes in the brain comparable to months of meditation, cognitive training, or rigorous exercise.
Antarctica's ice sheet has grown for the first time in decades with an astonishing rebound. Four major glaciers have reversed their previous pattern of accelerated mass loss from 2011 to 2020 and instead showed significant mass gain during the 2021 to 2023 period.
Objecting to elderspeak need not become adversarial. Residents and patients — and people who encounter elderspeak elsewhere, because it’s hardly limited to health care settings — can politely explain how they prefer to be spoken to and what they want to be called.
In a first-ever call, members of Indigenous peoples and coastal communities pushed for a seat at the table of the high seas biodiversity treaty (Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction - BBNJ) as they convened at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues held in April, 2025 in New York City.
For seven years now, Pennsylvania Grade 9 English teacher Kristina Ulmer has been running a "$20 Kindness Challenge" with her class, giving each student $20, and asking them to do something kind with it. And every year, the teens in her class bring her to tears with their creativity, empathy and generosity.
On Tuesday, May 6, 2025 at 2 p.m., Quaker activists Bill Holcombe and Lewis Randa will be arraigned at Natick Framingham District Court for “disturbing the peace” after participating in peaceful, nonviolent civil disobedience on Inauguration Day, which coincided with the Martin Luther King Day of Service.
A man living with hand tremors for 30 years received an ultrasonic beam treatment at Delray Medical center in Florida, and is cured with what Dr. Lloyd Zucker calls his “magic trick." There are 79 centers in the country where this procedure is done and fully covered by Medicare.
To effectively engage in resistance within the U.S. political system, it is essential to address all three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. Each branch offers unique opportunities to express opposition, foster change, and strengthen democracy.
New research published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis reveals how the most colorful, anthocyanin-rich fruits and vegetables could help defend your body against toxic microplastic exposure, especially offering protection to the reproductive system from microplastic damage.
Indore, a lesser known city of India ranks the cleanest for 8 years in a row following an all-hands-on-deck approach to improve and maintain hygiene standards. One corporate executive remarked, ”It feels as though you aren’t in India.”
The West Ada School District made national headlines recently when administrators ordered a school teacher to remove signs containing welcoming messages from her classroom. Community members quickly responded, ensuring the signs’ messages would be seen far beyond a single classroom.
Schools and workplaces are more collaborative and responsive when people with disabilities are included at all levels of the organization. Disability inclusion isn’t about charity; it’s about making organizations work better.
Ireland announced on Wednesday a donation of 15 million euros ($16.3 million) to Brazil's Amazon Fund, which aims to stop deforestation and preserve the world's largest tropical rainforest. The donation is Ireland's first to the fund, raising the list of donors to eight countries.
Cambridge, Massachusetts has joined a growing list of cities that have banned gas-powered leaf blowers. The city’s ban went into effect over the weekend, and officials noted this move was in the interest of public health and reducing emissions for the environment.
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