logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2023
14m 37s

SUPERBLOOM: An Upside To The California ...

NPR
About this episode
California's wet winter has devastated many local communities. It has also benefited some of the state's endangered ecosystems. Those benefits are on full display in California's largest remaining grassland. Wetlands, long severed from the rivers and streams that nourished them, are being flooded with freshwater. Biologists are seeing baby salmon, fattened by new food sources in flood plains, make their way to sea. Endangered birds and waterfowl are nesting next to flooded fields. Today, NPR climate correspondent Nate Rott takes us on a tour through California's booming natural beauty.

To see one of the superblooms and other ecological benefits, check out Nate's story — filled with photos by NPR's ace photographer Claire Harbage: https://n.pr/428xWOB.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Up next
Yesterday
Meet the Third Ever (!!) Interstellar Comet
A rare visitor from another star system has been spotted: the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS! It was detected July 1 by the NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS. Most known comets orbit the Sun and are bound by the gravity of the solar system ... but t ... Show More
8m 43s
Jul 9
Evolution Went On Trial 100 Years Ago. Where Are We Now?
This week marks the 100th anniversary of the Scopes "Monkey Trial" — where a teacher was charged with the crime of teaching Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. At the time, it was illegal in Tennessee to "teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creatio ... Show More
12m 37s
Jul 8
Itchy? Air Pollution May Be Making It Worse
Short Wave producer Hannah Chinn has adult-onset eczema. They're not the only one. Up to ten percent of people in the United States have it, according to the National Eczema Association — and its prevalence is increasing. Despite its ubiquity, a lot about this skin condition rema ... Show More
13m 11s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2023
The California Floods
For weeks, a string of major storms have hit California, causing extreme flooding. While it might seem as if rain should have a silver lining for a state stuck in a historic drought, the reality is far more complicated.Today, how California’s water management in the past has made ... Show More
26m 49s
Jul 2023
A Closer Look At Why Salmon Season Is Closed This Year
This year, there's no fresh, locally caught salmon. The season was closed. So few adult fish are now in the ocean off the California coast, fisheries managers decided they all were needed to return to their natal streams and spawn.Guest: Danielle Venton, KQED Science Reporter Muc ... Show More
10m 34s
May 2022
Let's blame someone for California's drought
It’s barely spring in 2022 and California has already broken record heat and drought levels never before seen in 1,200 years. Major reservoirs across the American West are at record lows. Groundwater is drying up. It’s projected to get even worse in the upcoming summer months. Co ... Show More
23m 2s
Sep 2023
Arizona’s Pipe Dream
A Times investigation revealed that in much of the United States, communities and farms are pumping out groundwater at alarming rates. Aquifers are shrinking nationwide, threatening supplies of drinking water and the country’s status as a food superpower.Christopher Flavelle, who ... Show More
39m 3s
Apr 2024
Two California National Parks Rank As Most Polluted In The Country
National parks have been called “America’s best idea.” But a recent study says these parks are increasingly threatened by human-caused air pollution. The parks with the biggest risk are all here in California.Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR Shuttered Madera Community Hospital has c ... Show More
10m 33s
Jul 2022
Utah’s ‘Environmental Nuclear Bomb’
The Great Salt Lake is drying up.Soaring demand for water, exacerbated by drought and higher temperatures in the region, are shrinking the waters, which play such a crucial role in the landscape, ecology and weather of Salt Lake City and Utah.Can the lake be saved?Guest: Christop ... Show More
32m 41s
Apr 2024
Snow Survey Reveals Good News for Californians
State water officials say the last snow survey of the season on Tuesday revealed good news for the millions of Californians and farms who rely on snowmelt.Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED LA County authorities have a new strategy to help curb gun violence.Reporter: Jackie Fortie ... Show More
10m 35s
May 2023
Behind the historic deal to save the Colorado River
In the western US a landmark deal to protect one of the country's most important waterways has finally been reached. The Colorado River serves more than 40 million Americans across multiple states, but it’s drying up at an alarming rate. Drought, overuse, and climate change are l ... Show More
54m 57s
Mar 2022
The amazing helicopter flood mission on the Northern Rivers
This is an amazing story of Australians rallying together …when the authorities don’t offer the support they should.   Michael Barnes is a helicopter pilot and co-owner of Rotorwing, a chopper business based in Lismore.  Despite the fact his house was almost completely submerged ... Show More
21m 56s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami