Porpoises On The Brink Of Extinction Face Daunting Odds For Survival

NPR’S WEEKEND EDITION

Efforts to save the few surviving vaquita porpoises in the Gulf of California are being hampered by illegal fishing nets, poaching and drug cartels.

“Build the wall” across the San Pedro River? Many say “no.”

PRI’S THE WORLD

Disparate groups agree that walling off Arizona's last free-flowing river with a new 30-foot-high border wall is a bad idea.

Drones That Launch Flaming Balls Are Being Tested To Help Fight Wildfires

NPR'S MORNING EDITION

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's drone lab is testing new technology designed to keep firefighters safer, by keeping them out of the line of fire.

New Nebraska Plan Could Be A Model For Cleaning Up Groundwater Pollution

HARVEST PUBLIC MEDIA

Decades of intensive farming have contaminated the groundwater across many parts of Nebraska. A new plan may help farmers in the northeastern part of the state address the problem.

In Nebraska, Replacing Coal With…. Hydrogen Powered Electricity?

INSIDE ENERGY

More than half of Nebraska’s electricity comes from coal-fired power plants. Now, a partnership between a Silicon Valley startup and Nebraska’s largest utility aims to replace at least some of that coal with a new fuel source that will cut emissions while creating new jobs.

Midwest Farmers Invest In Hops To Supply Local Breweries

HERE AND NOW, WBUR

Hops are a key ingredient in beer and mostly grow in the Pacific Northwest. But the popularity of local craft beer has farmers looking at the potential of hops as a new cash crop.

Saving Colorado's State Fish

PLATTE BASIN TIMELAPSE/NET NEBRASKA

Colorado’s mountain streams are premier trout fishing destinations. But anglers aren’t likely to reel in a greenback cutthroat trout. That’s because until a few years ago, Colorado’s state fish hovered on the brink of extinction.

Public Art Projects Aim to Create Community on Main Street

NET NEBRASKA

A secret lies behind a downtown storefront in the small northeast Nebraska town of Lyons. It's one of four public art projects in rural communities in northeastern Nebraska, collectively called the Byway of Art.

Endangered Birds Depend on Heavy Industry for Survival

NET NEBRASKA/PLATTE BASIN TIMELAPSE

Managing lands for endangered species can lead to conflicts between environmentalists, businesses and landowners. But for the last 15 years, people from different camps have been quietly working together to help save two bird species in Nebraska.

Planting Prairie

NET NEBRASKA/PLATTE BASIN TIMELAPSE

Nebraska used to be a sea of grass. After two centuries of heavy human development, a mere fraction of original prairie along the central Platte Valley is left. The Nature Conservancy and others are working to restore native grasslands.