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Winter storm season is here. Storms will be blowing in from the Pacific, bringing rainfall to lower elevations and snow to the mountains. This year, the eastern tropical Pacific is in an El Niño phase, meaning that its waters are warmer than normal. When the eastern Pacific is in an El Niño phase, the southwest [...]

Ever wonder why some trees have their trunks painted white?  Did you know that too much sun in the winter can damage young trees? According to the National Center for Appropriate Technology, sunscald can occur on cold winter days when the afternoon sun is high in the sky. Heat given off by the sun can [...]

A sure-fire sign of the holiday season is brilliant neighborhood light displays. Festive colored lights boost holiday spirit – and they boost energy bills, too. Americans use up to 40 percent more energy during the holiday season and much of that energy is attributed to decorative lights. Luckily, you don’t have to lose the lights [...]

Watersheds are areas of land in which all water drains into a common body of water. Because water does not obey political boundaries, watershed maps can cross county, state and even national lines. The size of a watershed can vary, but all bodies of water have one. You can think of watersheds like pieces of [...]

Fewer daylight hours often means that we spend more time inside during fall and winter.  While heating and cooling account for more energy use than other household activities, small appliances and lights still add to home energy costs. Last year, Nevada residents spent 203 dollars on energy for home lighting.
Viewer Tip: The Alliance to Save [...]

Fall is here and wild animals are prepping for the winter. Some species migrate to warmer places, and not just birds. Monarch butterflies, dragonflies and even some mammals migrate south in the fall. Other species grow thick winter coats to stay warm. In the case of the artic fox, snowshoe hare and short-tailed weasel, those [...]

October is Children’s Health Month. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), when food, water or air is polluted, children are more affected by that pollution than adults. Children eat, drink and breathe more per pound than adults. Also, their bodies are still developing and their behavior can expose them more to chemicals and organisms.
Viewer [...]

The change of seasons is an important influence on animal behavior. Whether it’s the hot season turning cold or the dry season turning wet, wildlife has to adapt to survive. One strategy is migration. Songbirds, waterfowl, raptors and hummingbirds travel north and south each year, some as far as the tropics! Caribou and pronghorn shift [...]

If the water we use is replenished by precipitation, why do we need to save it? The short answer is that while water can be purified and reused over and over thanks to the natural water cycle and wastewater treatment technology, it may not be available everywhere—or every time—it’s needed. When we all use water [...]

Did you know that at least 30 percent of the water you use at home is outdoors? In drier parts of the country, homeowners use as much as 70 percent of their water outdoors.
Viewer Tip: This autumn, look for ways to be more water-efficient and fall into good water habits.

Adjust your watering schedule each month [...]

According to EPA’s AIRNow Program, the summer of 2009 had better ozone air quality than years past. Many U.S. cities experienced at least 80 percent fewer days when ozone air pollution reached levels that were Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG) or higher on the Air Quality Index. This trend was especially apparent in the Midwest, [...]

September is National Preparedness Month! A 2009 national survey by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) found that just over half of respondents have set aside emergency supplies at home, but less than half of survey respondents have a household emergency plan.
Viewer Tip: Are you prepared? Make sure you have the supplies and information you [...]

On warm days, outdoor air pollution concentrations often rise to levels that can impact our health. But did you know that air pollution inside can be worse than air pollution outside? The air we breathe inside a sealed building can be 25 to 100 percent more polluted than the air outside. The U.S. Environmental Protection [...]

Have you noticed that encounters with aggressive yellow jackets increase at this time of year? Yellow jackets are a type of paper wasp found across the country. Depending on the species, they either nest above or below ground in colonies with workers and one queen that lays eggs. During the spring and early summer, workers [...]

The Centers for Disease Control estimate that more than half of all flood-related drownings occur when a vehicle is driven into flood waters; the next highest percentage of deaths is from walking into or near flood waters.  Many people falsely believe that cars, trucks and SUVs are heavy enough to maintain contact with the road [...]

Just like a recipe, the atmosphere needs all the right ingredients to make ground-level ozone – a harmful air pollutant that is common during the summer months.  When the temperature rises and the sun is shining, heat and sunlight mix with nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds that come from car exhaust, power plants, refineries, [...]

Those who are involved in outdoor sports and recreational activities between the months of May and September can be exposed to the dangers of lightning.  The majority of injuries related to lightning occur over the summer, with 80 percent of injuries occurring between 10 am and 7 pm. 
Viewer Tip:  If you spend time outdoors, have a [...]

Did you know that most humans would operate on a 25-hour cycle without exposure to sunlight? Instead, we operate on a 24-hour cycle, following the 24-hour cycle of the sun.  Humans are “diurnal” animals, sleeping during the night and being active during the day, as opposed to “nocturnal” animals which are active at night.  When [...]

The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) organizes volunteers in communities throughout the United States to collect and measure precipitation — rain, hail and snow — in their communities. Citizen volunteers are trained how to measure precipitation using a rain gauge and hail pad, record their data and report their measurements online. Data [...]

Did you know that it takes 500 to 1,000 years to build just one-inch of soil? Soils form slowly and continuously, thanks to a number of factors, including:

Climate: Temperature, wind and water “weather” or break down rocks and minerals that form soils.
Life: Burrowing animals, plant roots, tiny bacteria and fungi mix soils and chemically change [...]