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Environment

Black bears are threatened by climate change. How can we help?

By Caroline Eggers

June 1, 2026

Black bear encounters are on the rise in Tennessee, and climate change is often a hidden culprit, tampering with ecosystems in unexpected ways.

Filed Under: Environment, WPLN News Tagged With: Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, black bear, climate change, conservation, Signal Species, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

As Elon Musk’s xAI supercomputer rankles Memphis, Nashville looks to regulate data centers

By Cynthia Abrams

May 28, 2026

The city’s Metro Council will be considering legislation next week that would regulate and restrict some types of data centers in Nashville.

Filed Under: Environment, Metro, WPLN News Tagged With: data center, Freddie O'Connell, memphis, Nashville Metro Council, Rollin Horton, xAi

Threatened orchids were returning to southern Kentucky, then the 2025 tornado hit

By Lily Burris, WKMS

May 25, 2026

The Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves has been working to restore native wetlands on the Cumberland Plateau and the white fringeless orchids, a federally threatened plant.

Researchers have spent two decades restoring native wetlands in southern Kentucky, and with them the white fringeless orchid. But those efforts were disrupted when an EF4 tornado swept through the area in May 2025, carving visible lines in the landscape.

Filed Under: Environment, WPLN News Tagged With: Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, conservation, Cumberland Plateau, tornadoes

Tennessee ranks worst in the nation for solar and wind. Why?

By Caroline Eggers

May 21, 2026

Tennessee ranks last in the nation for solar, wind and geothermal energy.  The state produced the equivalent of 1% of the electricity it uses from solar last year, according to a new report from advocacy group Environment America. 

Filed Under: Environment, WPLN News Tagged With: clean energy, climate change, fossil fuels, renewable energy, solar, Tennessee Valley Authority, wind energy

Nashville leaders request moratorium on NES tree trimming policy

By Caroline Eggers

May 20, 2026

Nashville’s Metro Council is asking the Nashville Electric Service for a temporary moratorium on its new tree trimming policy — though it’s unclear it will make an immediate difference.

Filed Under: Environment, WPLN News Tagged With: Brenda Gadd, Burkley Allen, conservation, Cumberland River Compact, Nashville Electric Service, Nashville Metro Council, Tom Cash, trees, urban trees, Winter Storm Fern

Nashville sewer violations lead to federal Clean Water Act convictions

By Tony Gonzalez

May 19, 2026

Two supervisors at a facility that illegally dumped sewage into Nashville’s wastewater system have pleaded guilty to federal charges.

Filed Under: Environment, WPLN News Tagged With: Clean Water Act, federal indictment, Metro Water, Onsite Environmental, water

After cataclysmic tree loss, Nashville residents fear damage from new NES tree trimming policy

By Caroline Eggers

May 15, 2026

The Nashville Electric Service is cutting down more trees and limbs across town under a new policy. 

Filed Under: Environment, WPLN News Tagged With: conservation, ice storm, Nashville Electric Service, Nashville Tree Conservation Corps, trees, Winter Storm Fern

Tennessee’s biggest coal ash site is polluting water. TVA plans to make it permanent

By Caroline Eggers

May 14, 2026

Tennessee’s largest coal ash site could become a permanent source of pollution near the Cumberland River.

Filed Under: Environment, WPLN News Tagged With: climate change, coal, Cumberland River, fossil fuels, pollution, Tennessee Valley Authority

Ice storm FEMA aid deadline approaching for Tennesseans

By Tony Gonzalez

May 13, 2026

The window is closing soon for Tennesseans impacted by the January ice storm to apply for FEMA aid. The deadline is June 10th.

Filed Under: Environment, WPLN News Tagged With: FEMA, ice storm, Winter Storm Fern

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