Carolyn Beeler is the co-host of The World.She joined the show in 2015 to cover the environment, and for eight years reported and edited stories about climate change across the globe.Beeler has reported from all seven continents and been recognized with some of journalism’s top awards.Before working at The World, Beeler reported for WHYY in Philadelphia, helping pilot the weekly health and science show, "The Pulse." She also reported from Berlin for a year as a Robert Bosch Foundation fellow.Beeler studied journalism at Northwestern University and learned how to make radio as a Kroc fellow at NPR.
Flooding from Ukraine’s ‘Hero River’ may be a silver lining of war
In order to prevent Russian troops from advancing toward Kyiv, Ukrainian forces destroyed a dam on the Irpin River early on in the war. The flooding, as it turned out, created new wetland areas. Some conservationists hope to see the wetlands stay. Even residents whose cellars remain flooded are glad the water came and the Russian troops did not.
Farmland off-limits in Ukraine due to mines
Ukraine is now considered the most heavily mined country in the world. Nearly 1,000 civilians have been killed or injured by landmines and unexploded ordnances since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. And about a third of the country needs to be cleared of these explosives. Much of that land is farmland.
A coalition of Ukrainians is documenting environmental crimes
The Ukrainian government is doing an unusually thorough job of documenting environmental damages being caused by Russian attacks. Their primary goal, according to the Ministry of the Environment, is to eventually win compensation for these damages.
The environmental cost of war in Ukraine
Nearly a year and a half into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, its impact has been felt most acutely in lost lives, flattened cities and destroyed infrastructure. But the environmental damage from combat has also contaminated Ukraine’s soil, water and air, at a cost the government is estimating to be $56 billion. This impact is likely to be one of the longest-lasting legacies of the war, persisting for decades after the fighting stops.