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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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. -
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. -
Leaders from nearly 200 countries agreed on the need to transition away from fossil fuels. But representatives of nations most vulnerable to climate impacts were not happy with the final deal. -
This year's United Nations climate summit is being held in the petroleum-dependent United Arab Emirates. Delegates began by approving a landmark fund to pay for climate losses. -
Climate science shows that beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming, impacts in the U.S. get substantially worse. The world is on track for almost double that level of warming by the end of the century.
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World leaders, climate experts and oil company executives converge on Dubai later this week to talk about climate change at the United Nations COP28 meeting. Here's what you need to know. -
Climate change costs tens of billions of dollars each year, hurts Americans' health and disrupts everyday life, including how we work, eat, play and mourn, according to a major new assessment. -
Towns across the U.S. want to stop building homes that are vulnerable to climate-driven disasters, like wildfires, floods and droughts. It's easier said than done.
