Nathan Rott
Nathan Rott is a correspondent on NPR's National Desk, where he focuses on environment issues and the American West.
Based at NPR West in Culver City, California, Rott spends a lot of his time on the road, covering everything from breaking news stories like California's wildfires to in-depth issues like the management of endangered species and many points between.
Rott owes his start at NPR to two extraordinary young men he never met. As the first recipient of the Stone and Holt Weeks Fellowship in 2010, he aims to honor the memory of the two brothers by carrying on their legacy of making the world a better place.
A graduate of the University of Montana, Rott prefers to be outside at just about every hour of the day. Prior to working at NPR, he worked a variety of jobs including wildland firefighting, commercial fishing, children's theater teaching, and professional snow-shoveling for the United States Antarctic Program. Odds are, he's shoveled more snow than you.
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The governors of California and New York have sounded the alarm that hospitals may be overwhelmed this winter if COVID-19 infection rates continue to rise.
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Efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus are being hampered because many people don't believe it's real. "It's absolute garbage," said Craig Mann of Flathead County in northwest Montana. -
Doctors and public health officials in states like Montana, Idaho and the Dakotas say they're being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients, many of whom believe the pandemic isn't a big deal.
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Scientists know that tiny particles from smoke can be inhaled deep into a person's lungs and even enter the bloodstream. But the long-term health effects of this are not fully understood. -
Wildfires have led to Oregon having the world's worst air quality, and the smoke is now moving east. Researchers say there's evidence that prolonged exposure to it can have a long-term health impact.
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Intense fires in California and Colorado are blanketing a large part of the West with smoke. As fire season gets longer, researchers are studying the health impact.
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California now has the most COVID-19 cases in the country, surpassing New York. But the number of deaths is far lower, in part because more than half of the new cases are young people.
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Scientists say accelerating deforestation and development may increase the risk of pandemic diseases, and the current coronavirus pandemic may actually make the trend worse.
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Scientists say accelerating deforestation and development may increase the risk of pandemic diseases. The current economic crisis may also make that trend worse if more people cut down trees for fuel. -
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state would start a partial reopening at the end of the week — joining a growing list of states that are trying to restart their economies.
