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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Greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and the world is still on track for severe climate change impacts, a new U.N. report finds. Action this decade will be essential. -
Hawaii's native tree snails, known as the "jewels of the forest," are rapidly disappearing. Some of the most imperiled only live in human care now, safeguarded 24 hours a day. -
Over 4,500 square miles of ocean will be protected off the California coast. It will also be managed in partnership with the Indigenous groups that fought to create it. -
Coastal cities often bear the brunt of hurricanes. But as Hurricane Helene showed, extreme rainfall can be life-threatening hundreds of miles away. -
The wildfire in Lahaina, Maui, spread through extreme winds and intense heat. Still, a handful of houses were untouched thanks to the owners preparing the buildings and yards. -
Bold cabernet sauvignon wines made Napa Valley famous. Now, hotter temperatures are starting to damage the grapes, so some wineries are starting to experiment. -
To target the tiny prey they depend on, humpbacks have developed a way of trapping them with nets made out of bubbles. A new study shows exactly how they do it. -
After 102 people died in wildfires one year ago, Maui’s officials have committed to creating new evacuation routes. But even though the buildings are gone, remaking the map is a harder task. -
After extreme fires last year that claimed 102 lives, Maui is trying to tackle the invasive grasses that pose a big wildfire risk. That could mean restoring the land to what it once was. -
Lahaina’s extreme wildfire destroyed much of its historic waterfront. Residents are eager to rebuild, but officials are weighing whether they should, given the dangers of rising sea levels.
