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A new version of the popular board game Catan, which hits shelves this summer, introduces energy production and pollution into the gameplay. Catan GmbH hide caption

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Catan GmbH

How the new Catan board game can spark conversations on climate change

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Andrew Song and Luke Iseman of Make Sunsets ready for a launch. Julia Simon/NPR hide caption

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Julia Simon/NPR

Independence Hall in Philadelphia in 2021. The National Park Service plans to install gas-fired boilers at Independence National Historical Park, despite a 2007 law mandating new and remodeled federal buildings be 100% free of fossil fuels by 2030. Matt Rourke/AP hide caption

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Matt Rourke/AP

The Conemaugh Generating Station in New Florence, Pa., is among the nation's coal-fired power plants that face tough new regulations to limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. Gene J. Puskar/AP hide caption

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Gene J. Puskar/AP

Coal and new gas power plants will have to meet climate pollution targets

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Wildfire smoke from Canada caused dangerously unhealthy air quality in New York City and across much of the U.S. in 2023. While air quality has improved greatly in the U.S. in recent decades, wildfire smoke and other climate-influenced problems are endangering that progress. Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images

Damming waterways is what beavers do best, often to the chagrin of people who want the opposite. But those same damming skills are what make beavers important ecosystem engineers. Chase Dekker Wild-Life Images hide caption

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Chase Dekker Wild-Life Images

Beavers can help with climate change. So how do we get along?

NPR's Tom Dreisbach is back in the host chair for a day. This time, he reports on a story very close to home: The years-long battle his parents have been locked in with the local wild beaver population. Each night, the beavers would dam the culverts along the Dreisbachs' property, threatening to make their home inaccessible. Each morning, Tom's parents deconstructed those dams — until the annual winter freeze hit and left them all in a temporary stalemate.

Beavers can help with climate change. So how do we get along?

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People rest at a cooling station in Portland, Oregon during the deadly Northwest heat dome of 2021. Climate change has made heat risks more dangerous across the country. A new heat forecasting tool could help people stay safe. KATHRYN ELSESSER/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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KATHRYN ELSESSER/AFP via Getty Images

A new version of the popular board game Catan, which hits shelves this summer, introduces energy production and pollution into the gameplay. Catan GmbH hide caption

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Catan GmbH

How do you build without over polluting? That's the challenge of new Catan board game

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Andrew Song and Luke Iseman of Make Sunsets ready for a launch. Iseman says they hope to someday cool the earth on a larger scale. Julia Simon/NPR hide caption

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Julia Simon/NPR

Startups want to cool Earth by reflecting sunlight. There are few rules and big risks

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Nearly half of the major cities in China are sinking, a new study finds. Subsidence exacerbates flooding related to sea level rise from climate change. Parts of Shanghai have subsided up to 9 feet in the last century. Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

An empty room is pictured in a concrete house in Matam, Senegal. Many families don't have electricity nor the means to own a fan or air conditioning to help quell the intense heat at night, temperatures can stay around 35 degree Celsius throughout the night. John Wessels/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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John Wessels/AFP via Getty Images

The grass pea — Lathyrus sativus — is hardy and drought resistant. It tastes like a sugar snap pea, although if that's all you were to eat its natural toxin could make you sick. But breeders might be able to address that issue. Sadasiba Behera/Getty Images hide caption

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Sadasiba Behera/Getty Images

What are 'orphan crops'? And why is there a new campaign to get them adopted?

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Atypically heavy rains in the United Arab Emirates on Monday and Tuesday caused flooding, flight cancellations and school closures. Vehicles were abandoned on highways like this one in Dubai. Francois Nel/Getty Images hide caption

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Francois Nel/Getty Images

Wildfire smoke covered huge swaths of the U.S. in 2023, including places like New York City, where it has historically been uncommon. New research shows the health costs of breathing in wildfire smoke can be high. David Dee Delgado/Getty Images hide caption

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David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

A set of four tubes known as the "river outlet works," pictured on Nov. 2, 2022, could soon be the only way for water to make it through Glen Canyon Dam. Recently-discovered damage to those tubes has raised questions about their role going forward. Alex Hager/KUNC hide caption

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Alex Hager/KUNC

Damage at Glen Canyon Dam has Colorado River users concerned

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