The red pigments in some fall leaves have proven to be a puzzle for researchers who debate why leaves bother to go red.

(Image credit: Charlie Riedel)

California wildlife officials have been working to mitigate the impact of the state's rebounding wolf population on its ranchers. The Northern California wolves that were euthanized had become dependent on cattle for food.

A vineyard in Virginia has turned pest control into a pastime, arming visitors with electric fly swatters to protect its vines from lanternflies. Randi B. Hagi with member station WMRA reports on its fly swatting competition.

In Brazil's coffee-producing areas, more than 42,000 square miles of forest have disappeared over about two decades, says Coffee Watch. Deforestation leads to drought, which harms crop yields.

(Image credit: Evaristo Sa)

The Trump administration plans to offer parts of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska for oil and gas drilling. It's part of a larger effort to advance controversial projects in the state that were blocked by the Biden administration.

The Trump administration has finalized a plan to open the coastal plain of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling, renewing long-simmering debate over whether to drill in one of the nation's most sensitive wilderness areas.

(Image credit: Lindsey Wasson)

The remnant of Typhoon Halong slammed the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, an area in Western Alaska hundreds of miles from the U.S. road system. More than a thousand people are displaced.

(Image credit: Nat Herz)

It's the peak of the fall migration season. This is when bird deaths from window collisions tend to spike, even though simple solutions can prevent this.

(Image credit: Angel Ruszkiewicz)

Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.

How tech companies and government officials handle local impacts will shape the industry's future in the U.S.

(Image credit: Ulysse Bellier)

For the first time on record, renewable energy generated more electricity for the planet than coal, a new report says.

(Image credit: Andreas Rentz)

The Hopi Tribe received a multimillion-dollar federal grant to install solar panels and battery storage systems for hundreds of homes. But the Trump administration has canceled the funding.

(Image credit: Ryan Kellman)

A hundred years ago, Maryland's first state forester challenged residents to find the state's biggest tree. Now the contest is back. Scott Detrow speaks with Joli McCathran of the Big Tree Program.

Known as the mother of Colombian corals, at 70, marine biologist Elvira Alvarado is still diving — and pioneering "coral IVF" to help save endangered reefs.

(Image credit: John Otis)

National parks across the country face conflicting demands and uncertainty as a result of the ongoing federal funding dispute.

(Image credit: Robert F. Bukaty)

Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought said the funding was for projects in 16 states, all of which voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris.

(Image credit: Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP)

The past three summers have been the worst on record for Florida's coral reefs. To try to restore them, scientists are breeding corals that can handle heat better, using coral from other countries.

(Image credit: Lauren Sommer)

The National Hurricane Center said Tropical Storm Imelda could intensify as it approaches the East Coast. South Carolina's governor declared a state of emergency.

(Image credit: National Weather Service)

In Mexico, September means chiles en nogada season. But one key ingredient, a candied barrel cactus called biznaga, is now illegal because it's vanishing in the wild.

(Image credit: Rebecca Blackwell)

The National Hurricane Center said a tropical depression currently hovering over the Caribbean could intensify as it approaches the East Coast. South Carolina's governor declared a state of emergency.