Melina Walling

Stay informed with Melina Walling’s coverage and analysis.

  • A black vulture, top right, flies Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)North America

    U.S. cattle faces a growing threat from a protected species of vulture spreading north amid climate change — ‘They just basically eat them alive’

    By Joshua A. Bickel, Melina Walling, and others
  • Farming cabbageHealth

    Scientists say eating a plant-based diet could save 15 million deaths and save the environment

    By Melina Walling and The Associated Press
  • Nicolle Ritchie peels corn facing away from the camera in the midst of a corn field.Environment

    ‘Like the corn’s never getting a break. It’s just hot all the time’: How America’s farmers conquered climate change for a ‘monster’ harvest

    By Melina Walling, Joshua A. Bickel, and others
  • FILE – Martin Larsen transfers corn from his combine to a delivery truck, Oct. 18, 2024, in Oronoco, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File)Finance

    Trump asks farmers and consumers to ‘bear with me’ as they brace for unpredictable tariff hit to their wallets

    By Josh Funk, Melina Walling, and others
  • A dreary photo of farmland in winterEnvironment

    Experts say extreme winter conditions are exerting pressure on agriculture ‘in ways we haven’t seen for a very, very long time’

    By Melina Walling and The Associated Press
  • Dustin Holmes, second from right, holds hands with his girlfriend, Hailey Morgan, while returning to their flooded home with her children Aria Skye Hall, 7, right, and Kyle Ross, 4, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.Environment

    Scientists confront conspiracy theorists, say it’s impossible to control hurricanes

    By Melina Walling, Seth Borenstein, and others
  • Storm clouds build above a corn field Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, near Platte City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)Environment

    Corn is getting sweatier. Experts blame the farming industry

    By Melina Walling and The Associated Press
  • A wind turbine behind a houseEnvironment

    Wind farms can create millions in cash for local services, but efforts to block wind projects are ‘widespread and growing’

    By Melina Walling and The Associated Press
  • Young female horticulturist in apron and gloves working with tomatoes seedlings in hothouseHealth

    A technology crucial for growing fruits and vegetables is suffocating the workers who pick them

    By Melina Walling and Dorany Pineda
  • Powerful storms the night before left a gas station heavily damaged on West Ten Mile Road, in Farmington Hills, Mich., June 6, 2024. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP)Environment

    Michigan tornado and Ohio and Maryland storms kill toddler and injure at least 13

    By Lea Skene, Melina Walling, and others
  • RiverEnvironment

    America has made almost no progress shrinking the Gulf of Mexico’s ‘dead zone’ despite 30 years of trying, EPA says

    By Melina Walling, Michael Phillis, and others
  • A brewer measures out a sample of wort while brewing a German-style PilsnerEnvironment

    Beer production is at risk from ‘terrors’ of climate change: ‘If we don’t act, we’re just going to lose things’

    By Melina Walling, Brooke Herbert, and others
  • FILE – People walk along the Seine River, Oct. 2, 2023, in Paris where temperatures rose. October was the fifth straight month that Earth set a record for the hottest month in recorded history. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)Environment

    Red-hot October virtually guarantees that 2023 will be the hottest year ever recorded

    By Melina Walling and The Associated Press
  • Alan MazzottiEnvironment

    ‘There’s no future after me’: Colorado pumpkin man says drought, labor, water issues will end his family business. ‘My boys won’t farm’

    By Melina Walling, Brittany Peterson, and others
  • Aaron FieldsFinance

    As indoor farming startups with hundreds of millions in funding head to bankruptcy, critic says: ‘Boy, this is a dumb idea’

    By Melina Walling, Kendria LaFleur, and others