Rebecca Hersher
Rebecca Hersher (she/her) is a reporter on NPR's Science Desk, where she reports on outbreaks, natural disasters, and environmental and health research. Since coming to NPR in 2011, she has covered the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, embedded with the Afghan army after the American combat mission ended, and reported on floods and hurricanes in the U.S. She's also reported on research about puppies. Before her work on the Science Desk, she was a producer for NPR's Weekend All Things Considered in Los Angeles.
Hersher was part of the NPR team that won a Peabody award for coverage of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, and produced a story from Liberia that won an Edward R. Murrow award for use of sound. She was a finalist for the 2017 Daniel Schorr prize; a 2017 Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting fellow, reporting on sanitation in Haiti; and a 2015 NPR Above the Fray fellow, investigating the causes of the suicide epidemic in Greenland.
Prior to working at NPR, Hersher reported on biomedical research and pharmaceutical news for Nature Medicine.
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The Atlantic hurricane season is now projected to have "above-normal level of activity" according to an updated forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. -
For decades, it was impossible to say that a specific weather event was caused, or even made worse, by climate change. But advanced research methods are changing that. -
Burning oil, coal and other fossil fuels releases plumes of tiny, dangerous particles. A new study estimates that eliminating that pollution would save about 50,000 lives in the U.S. each year. -
Some ecosystems have already been irreversibly altered, scientists say. And climate change is wreaking havoc on human health. -
The U.N. has released the most comprehensive global climate science report ever. It is unequivocal: Humans must stop burning fossil fuels or suffer catastrophic impacts. -
Texas allows companies to sell electricity at wholesale prices. When the price of electricity skyrocketed last week, that meant exorbitant bills for many residents who had been trying to save money. -
2020 and 2016 are virtually tied for the hottest year on record. That means more powerful hurricanes, more intense wildfires, less ice and longer heat waves. -
Hurricane Laura hit an area known for its refineries and chemical plants. They released millions of pounds of air pollution when they shut down, and many air monitors are not functioning. -
States including Virginia and Texas have set aside significant money to address flooding. Local officials hope it will help pay for flood prevention projects that the federal government won't fund. -
A United Nations report warns that greenhouse gas emissions from the world's largest economies must drop dramatically in the next decade to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change.
