Lauren Sommer
Lauren Sommer covers climate change for NPR's Science Desk, from the scientists on the front lines of documenting the warming climate to the way those changes are reshaping communities and ecosystems around the world.
Prior to joining NPR, Sommer spent more than a decade covering climate and environment for KQED Public Radio in San Francisco. During her time there, she delved into the impacts of California's historic drought during dry years and reported on destructive floods during wet years, and covered how communities responded to record-breaking wildfires.
Sommer has also examined California's ambitious effort to cut carbon emissions across its economy and investigated the legacy of its oil industry. On the lighter side, she ran from charging elephant seals and searched for frogs in Sierra Nevada lakes.
She was also host of KQED's macrophotography nature series Deep Look, which searched for universal truths in tiny organisms like black-widow spiders and parasites. Sommer has received a national Edward R. Murrow for use of sound, as well as awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Society of Environmental Journalists.
Based at NPR's San Francisco bureau, Sommer grew up in the West, minus a stint on the East Coast to attend Cornell University.
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Ocean temperatures have been unusually hot, which turns the corals a ghostly white. Coral bleaching is expected to get worse as the climate keeps getting hotter. Scientists aim to help corals survive.
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Climate change is heating oceans faster than the world's coral reefs can handle. So scientists are breeding corals that can withstand hotter temperatures – but only to a point. -
Coral reefs face a dire future as oceans get hotter. Scientists are breeding corals that can handle heat better, in the hope they can survive long enough for humans to rein in climate change. -
French bulldogs have soared in popularity, but they and other short-nosed dogs often have serious health problems. New Hampshire could be the first state to put health restrictions on breeders. -
As burned properties come up for sale in Lahaina, many worry outside developers will scoop them up. Some are turning to a tool that's helped other towns after a disaster: a community land trust. -
From lack of snow to wildfires, a record-warm winter had impacts across the country. Scientists say winters are warming faster than any other season in the U.S. -
After being hunted for decades, humpback whales returned to the Pacific Ocean in big numbers. Now, new technology is revealing that underwater heat waves are taking a toll on that recovery. -
Humpback whales have come back from the brink of extinction. But scientists are finding that their recovery is being impacted by climate change.
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Extreme wildfires have destroyed about one-fifth of all giant sequoia trees. To safeguard their future, the National Park Service is planting seedlings that could better survive a hotter climate. -
Global temperatures soared past previous records in 2023, according to new data from the European Union. Nations must slash fossil fuel emissions to avoid even higher temperatures, scientists warn.
