Richard Harris

How To Clean Up Fish Farms And Raise More Seafood At The Same Time

Richard Harris — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 19:04:00 +0000

Last month, we told you about companies that are growing salmon on dry land. That's an effective — but expensive — way to reduce water pollution caused by fish farms.

Gizmo Uses Lung Cells To Sniff Out Health Hazards In Urban Air

Richard Harris — Fri, 31 May 2013 17:18:00 +0000

Cities like Houston are dotted with air-sniffing monitors that measure levels of benzene and other potentially unhealthy air pollutants. But those monitors can't answer the question we care about most: Is the air safe?

That's because there's no simple relationship between toxic air pollutants and health risks. Researchers at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill are trying to get a leg up on that problem.

Houston's Petrochemical Industry, Source Of Jobs And Smog

Richard Harris — Fri, 31 May 2013 10:58:00 +0000

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Houston, Texas provides a dramatic example that it's possible to make great strides in reducing air pollution. Our story yesterday talked about how that came about, but Houston still does not quite meet the federal smog standard. So, the question for the nation's fourth largest city is what's next. NPR's Richard Harris explores that question as part of our series Poisoned Places.

RICHARD HARRIS, BYLINE: Houston embraces the massive petrochemical industry that lines the city's ship channel. It's an engine of the economy.

Breathing Easier: How Houston Is Working To Clean Up Its Air

Richard Harris — Thu, 30 May 2013 07:01:00 +0000

The Houston area produces about a quarter of the nation's gasoline, and about a third of the plastics that are in our cars, cupboards and just about everywhere else. So it is no surprise that this heavily industrial area has a problem with air pollution.

Not Your Grandpa's RV: This Roving Lab Tracks Air Pollution

Richard Harris — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:13:00 +0000

If you're driving down the road someday and you come across a camper with a 50-foot periscope sticking up into the sky, you just might have crossed paths with Ira Leifer. His quirky vehicle is on a serious mission. It's sniffing the air for methane, a gas that contributes to global warming.

Leifer is an atmospheric scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara.