Lauren Sommer
Lauren Sommer is a correspondent for NPR's climate desk, where she covers scientists on the frontlines of documenting the warming climate and how that science is — and isn't — being used by communities to prepare for increasing disasters.
Since joining NPR, she's looked at how a lack of building codes is putting people at risk of wildfires, how cities are failing to plan for stronger storms and how communities are allowing development in flood-prone areas. Sommer also scaled ice sheets to explore how melting polar ice is having mysterious impacts around the planet. That project won gold in the 2023 Kavli Science Journalism Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Prior to joining NPR, she spent more than a decade covering climate and environment for KQED Public Radio in San Francisco, where she delved into the impacts of California's historic drought and record-breaking wildfires. On the lighter side, she's run from charging elephant seals and searched for frogs in Sierra Nevada lakes.
Sommer 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. She has received a national Edward R. Murrow, as well as awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Society of Environmental Journalists.
She can be reached via encrypted message at sommer.55 on Signal.
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The largest conservation areas in the U.S. are in the Pacific Ocean, where tiny islands are epicenters of biodiversity. The Trump administration is now opening their waters to commercial fishing, sparking a battle over some of the country's most pristine ecosystems. -
The changing climate is driving whales into San Francisco Bay, where ship strikes have been deadly. A new camera system could help ships and ferries steer clear. -
A group of emergency experts wants the Trump administration to raise the bar for federal help after disasters, and also make it easier for survivors to get money quickly. -
Many of the nation's overgrown forests are at high risk of burning. Under the Trump administration, work to reduce flammable vegetation fell by more than a million acres compared to previous years. -
States say disaster funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency has slowed to a trickle under the Trump administration. That's delaying projects to protect communities from wildfires and hurricanes. -
With growing interest in mining critical metals from the seafloor, countries are now negotiating international rules. The Trump administration is forging ahead on its own, speeding up environmental review for mining the fragile ecosystem. -
A potentially strong El Niño weather pattern will likely emerge this summer and persist through the rest of the year. The hottest years on record generally occur in years when El Niño is active. -
Oceans are rising as the climate changes, threatening coastal cities. A new study shows that much more of the world's population is vulnerable than earlier predictions had estimated. -
The Trump administration is proposing massive changes to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. We asked disaster experts to weigh in. -
California is writing rules to limit plants around buildings to protect them from wildfires, after the Los Angeles fires a year ago. Some homeowners are pushing back over losing their greenery.
