Environment

Google, Microsoft and Meta have all pledged to reach at least net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. Amazon set their net-zero deadline for 2040. To understand how these four tech companies could possibly meet their climate goals amid an artificial intelligence renaissance, Short Wave co-host Emily Kwong discusses the green AI movement. Speaking with scientists, CEOs and tech insiders, she explores three possible pathways: nuclear energy, small language models (SLMs) and back-to-the-future ways of keeping data centers cool. Listen to Part 1 of Short Wave's reporting on the environmental cost of AI here. Have a question about AI and the environment? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear from you! Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

By 2028, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory forecasts that U.S. data centers could use as much as 12% of the nation's electricity. The reason: generative AI. Since 2022, AI innovation by four leading tech companies — Google, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon — has led to annual increases in both energy and water consumption. So, in this episode, Short Wave co-host Emily Kwong probes huge water footprint of AI. We begin with the rise of data centers, then look at how computers came to need so much water and, finally, what tech companies are doing to try to turn the ship around. P.S. Part 2 talks about the leading solutions in the green AI movement. So don't miss our Friday episode! Curious about tech and the environment? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear from you! Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

From starfish and sea slugs to jellyfish and sponges, the ocean's invertebrates are some of the most ancient and diverse critters on Earth. And so are their superpowers, as marine biologist Drew Harvell calls their unique abilities. In her new book, The Ocean's Menagerie, she chronicles the amazing abilities of some of these spineless creatures and showcases how they've inspired our science and medicine. Listen to our past episode on nudibranchs — the potent slugs of the sea — HERE. Want to hear more stories about underwater marvels? Email us and let us know at shortwave@npr.org. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

A fish walks into a pharmacy ... well, not exactly. Fish aren't being prescribed anti-anxiety drugs. But they are experiencing the effects. Researchers have found more than 900 different pharmaceutical ingredients in rivers and streams around the world, though they're not yet sure how this could change the behavior of fish and other aquatic animals in the wild. "We can't, you know, dump a bunch of pharmaceuticals into the river," says Jack Brand, biologist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Instead, Jack's team did the next best thing – with some surprising results. This episode was reported by NPR science correspondent Jon Lambert. Check out more of his reporting. Want to hear more stories about animal behavior? Email us and let us know at shortwave@npr.org. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Welcome!! This is the first episode of Nature Quest, a monthly Short Wave segment that answers listener questions about your local environment. This month, we hear from a listener in California who's concerned that the flowers in his neighborhood are blooming way, way earlier. Is that normal? And is climate change the culprit? Short Wavers Emily Kwong and Hannah Chinn investigate. Got a question about changes in your local environment? Send a voice memo to shortwave@npr.org with your name, where you live and your question. We might make it into our next Nature Quest episode! Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

After being hunted to near extinction, wolves have made a population comeback in recent decades with the help of conservation efforts. Now, the country with the most wolves in Europe is Italy. Our correspondent in Rome set's out for the Italian forest with an organization that takes small groups to try to see wolves in the wild. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Plants are blooming right now – and so are people's allergies. And if it feels like those pesky symptoms are getting worse ... you're probably right. Wednesday, a review published in the journal The Laryngoscope looked at the link between climate change and increasing rates of allergic rhinitis, or hay fever. So today, we turn back to a classic Short Wave episode from Brit Hanson and Maddie Sofia, who spoke to allergy expert Dr. Juanita Mora about some quick tips for managing seasonal allergies. Want more of the science behind your health questions? Send us an email at shortwave@npr.org. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Each year, the United States has about 1,200 tornadoes. Many of them happen in tornado alley, a very broad swath of the U.S. that shifts seasonally. This area gets at least ten times more tornadoes than the rest of the world. Science writer Sushmita Pathak says that huge difference can be chalked up to one word: geography. But there's a slice of South America with similar geographical features that gets comparatively fewer tornadoes, so what gives? Sushmita wades into the research weeds with guest host Berly McCoy, one of Short Wave's producers. Read Sushmita's full article on tornadoes that she wrote for the publication Eos. Have other science weather stories you think we should cover on the show? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org! Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Move over, TikTokers. It's time to shine a spotlight on some of the earliest influencers around: dinosaurs. When these ecosystem engineers were in their heyday, forest canopies were open and seeds were small. But around the time most dinosaurs were wiped out, paleontologists noticed an interesting shift in the fossil record: Seeds got bigger — much bigger. There was a fruit boom. Did the death of these dinosaurs have something to do with it? And who are the modern day equivalent of dinosaur influencers? To find out, host Emily Kwong talks to Chris Doughty, an ecologist at Northern Arizona University. Tell us what other tales of dino past you want us to regale you with by emailing us at shortwave@npr.org! Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Tourists to Antarctica are fueling research on some of the tiniest, most influential organisms on Earth: phytoplankton. These itty bitty critters make their own food and are the base of the food web in most of the ocean, but tracking how well they're doing is historically tricky. So, researchers with the program FjordPhyto are using samples collected by these tourists to understand how the balance of power in the Antarctic food web could be shifting — could ripple across the food web of the entire ocean. Want to hear more community science at work or about polar ecosystems? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org! We're also always open to other story ideas you have. <3 Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Archeologists know early humans used stone to make tools long before the time of Homo sapiens. But a new discovery out this week in Nature suggests early humans in eastern Africa were also using animal bones – one million years earlier than researchers previously thought. The finding suggests that these early humans were intentionally shaping animal materials – like elephant and hippopotamus bones – to make tools and that it could indicate advancements in early human cognition. Want more on early human history? Email us at shortwave@npr.org. Listen to Short Wave on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

On their second job ever, Collette Yee and her partner were assigned a difficult job: locate transient whale poop in the ocean before it sinks. Luckily, Collette was partnered with Jack, a blue heeler mix trained to sniff out cryptic odors from things that conservation biologists have trouble collecting on their own. Producer Berly McCoy reports on Jack and the growing field of dog detection conservation that helps science by sniffing out everything from invasive crabs to diseased plants to endangered species. Interested in more biotech stories? Let us know by dropping a line to shortwave@npr.org. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Batteries are everywhere. They're in our phones, our remote controls, smart-watches, electric cars and so much more. They could also be the solution to a problem that renewable energy companies have faced for years: How to store the mass amounts of energy they produce for later use. Some companies are using batteries to make renewable energy accessible 24/7. Today, we dig into how the technology is rapidly progressing with Cooper Katz McKim, a producer from fellow NPR podcast The Indicator from Planet Money. Listen to The Indicator's three-part battery series. Have questions about the future of technology? Contact us at shortwave@npr.org. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

President Trump's calls for the U.S. to take over Greenland have sparked alarm and outrage. Denmark, which is responsible for Greenland's security, recently announced that it would further boost its defense spending. And a recent poll found 85 percent of Greenlanders are opposed to being part of the United States. Parliamentary candidate Naaja Nathanielsen is one of them. It isn't clear whether Trump's ambitions for Greenland will take. But some politicians in the territory are taking his calls for acquisition more seriously than ever before. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

What happens when a team of scientists and local Awajún guides go on a 38-day trip into the Alto Mayo region of Peru? Over 2000 species are identified, of course! Tucked in this lush landscape where the Amazon basin meets the Andes mountains, were 27 species of animals previously unknown to science. It makes us wonder, what else is out there that the scientific community hasn't seen? And who already knows about it? Check out photos of all the critters we mentioned — and more! Other ecosystems or critters you think would make a good episode? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org! Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Giving a bouquet of flowers to your beloved is a classic Valentine's Day gesture of love. But as we hear from our correspondent in Colombia, growing those flowers comes at a steep environmental cost. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Panama has been looking for solutions to a long-term problem. Every time a ship passes through the Panama Canal, more than 50 million gallons of fresh water from Lake Gatun pour out into the ocean. Nobody ever thought Panama could run out of water. It is one of the rainiest countries in the world. But a couple years ago, a drought got so bad that the canal had to reduce traffic by more than a third - which had a huge impact on global shipping. The Panama Canal needs more water. Authorities have decided to get it by building a dam in a spot that would displace more than 2,000 people along the Rio Indio. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org Email us at considerthis@npr.org Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

As evacuation orders are lifted, people in Los Angeles are returning to their homes--if their homes survived. But the disaster doesn't end when the fire stops. A single block and a half separates the Altadena home of Jennifer and Ed Barguiarena from complete destruction. Just down the street lies charred, flattened debris. But for families like the Barguiarenas — the seemingly lucky ones, whose houses survived — an altogether different ordeal is just beginning. The water still isn't safe to drink, cook or wash with. There are fine layers of ash and dust in people's homes and yards. And families like the Barguiarenas are also worried about what they can't see – the possibility that toxins like lead and asbestos might have drifted into their homes. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org Email us at considerthis@npr.org Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Will Rogers State Historic Park is a vast stretch of natural space in the Santa Monica Mountains. It's a treasure to Angelenos. People get married there, picnic there, and have kids' birthday parties on the great lawn. The park's namesake, Will Rogers, was a vaudeville performer, radio and movie star, and was known as America's "cowboy philosopher." His nearly century-old ranch house is the park's centerpiece. It's survived a near miss with wildfire before. Last week, as firestorm engulfed large parts of Los Angeles, this piece of American history was reduced to rubble. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org Email us at considerthis@npr.org Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Over 29,000 acres in the greater Los Angeles area are on fire right now. The fires emerged after the Santa Ana winds swept into the Los Angeles area Tuesday. The largest is the Palisades fire, which is quickly burning through the Pacific Palisades and Malibu communities. It's one of four ongoing critical fires — only one of which is partially contained. Ahead of the windy week, a Red Flag Warning was issued for an increased fire risk due to the strong winds, low humidity and higher temperature. Today, we dig into the Santa Ana winds: What they are and how they combined with other factors to create conditions for the most destructive fire in Los Angeles' history. Questions, story ideas or want us to dig more into the science underpinning natural disasters? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear from you! Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy