A new Trump administration’s climate agenda will be much the same as the old one. Project 2025, the 920-page instruction manual for an incoming Republican administration from the conservative Heritage Foundation, calls for eliminating the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy E … | Continue reading
Current conditions: A searing heatwave in Thailand means even nighttime temperatures won’t go below 86 degrees Fahrenheit for all of April • The streets of New Orleans flooded yesterday • Severe weather in Georgia delayed the start of The Masters golf tournament. THE TOP FIVE 1. … | Continue reading
When I was an analyst at the U.S. Treasury, my team’s work centered around promising private investors that we would make it easier for them to invest in renewable energy projects across the Global South. I kept hearing that our job was ultimately to make these projects “bankable … | Continue reading
Current conditions: More than 100,000 people have been evacuated in Kazakhstan and Russia due to the worst flooding in decades • The U.K. is expecting a “mini heatwave” • Multiple tornado warnings have been issued in southern Louisiana. THE TOP FIVE 1. EPA will require utilities … | Continue reading
Current conditions: More than 100,000 people have been evacuated in Kazakhstan and Russia due to the worst flooding in decades • The U.K. is expecting a “mini heatwave” • Multiple tornado warnings have been issued in southern Louisiana. THE TOP FIVE 1. EPA will require utilities … | Continue reading
Can capitalism solve climate change? Wrong question, argues the author and journalist Akshat Rathi: In fact, you can’t solve climate change without capitalism. Look around the world, as Rathi does in his new book Climate Capitalism, and he says you’ll find companies and leaders w … | Continue reading
Money seems to be pouring into the field of carbon removal from every direction. Every other week there’s an announcement about a new project. Multimillion dollar carbon removal procurement deals are on the rise. The Department of Energy is rolling out grants as part of its $3.5 … | Continue reading
Kathleen Pryer did not watch March Madness this year. That isn’t unusual in and of itself — Pryer describes herself as “not a basketball person,” though that might still raise a few eyebrows this time of year at Duke University, her place of employment. But the professor of biolo … | Continue reading
Thinking is physical. Thankfully, one of the many wonderful things about the human brain is that we don’t have to confront this unsettling fact very much — that the environment around us shapes our perceptions and reactions, that all human experience is the result of secreted hor … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Hundreds of flood warnings are in effect for the U.K. • Schools in Cape Town will reopen after the passage of a severe storm • The weather will be “relatively quiet” across most of the U.S. for the next couple of days. THE TOP FIVE 1. March sets another alarmi … | Continue reading
In 1881, King David Kalakaua of Hawaii and his entourage paid a late evening visit to Thomas Edison in New York. The king was unsure about electricity — he didn’t think the technology was reliable enough to light up Honolulu’s streets just yet — but after marveling at a chandelie … | Continue reading
In 1881, King David Kalakaua of Hawaii and his entourage paid a late evening visit to Thomas Edison in New York. The king was unsure about electricity — he didn’t think the technology was reliable enough to light up Honolulu’s streets just yet — but after marveling at a chandelie … | Continue reading
Early April is typically a kind of goldilocks moment for solar power. Days are getting longer but the weather is still mild, meaning that higher solar power generation isn’t entirely eaten up by increased demand due to air conditioning. But that all depends on the sun actually sh … | Continue reading
Early April is typically a kind of goldilocks moment for solar power. Days are getting longer but the weather is still mild, meaning that higher solar power generation isn’t entirely eaten up by increased demand due to air conditioning. But that all depends on the sun actually sh … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Wildfire season has started one month early in Greece • A Russian oil refinery in Orsk paused operations after torrential rains caused a dam to burst • It will be about 70 degrees Fahrenheit and partly cloudy in Glendale, Arizona, for the men's NCAA basketball … | Continue reading
We may never get a super affordable Tesla. The electric-car maker has canceled its longstanding plan to build a $25,000 vehicle, usually called the Model 2, Reuters reported on Friday, killing a product that was — until today — thought to be central to the company’s growth. Heatm … | Continue reading
A 4.8 magnitude earthquake in New Jersey shook the ground and blew up my group chats this morning. It’s somewhat unusual, but not unheard of, to experience earthquakes in this part of the country, and some may be wondering, is this yet another extreme event that will become more … | Continue reading
The legal battle over the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new rule on climate-related disclosure has begun. On Thursday, the Commission issued a pause on the rule, which sets standards for publicly-owned companies to report their exposure to climate-related risks like extrem … | Continue reading
East Coast residents from Philadelphia to Boston all just looked up and went, “Did you just feel that?” Yes, they did: A 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck about 1 kilometer below Central New Jersey Friday morning — not strong enough to cause severe damage in most cases, and smaller … | Continue reading
East Coast residents from Philadelphia to Boston all just looked up and went, “Did you just feel that?” Yes, they did: A 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck about 1 kilometer below Central New Jersey Friday morning — not strong enough to cause severe damage in most cases, and smaller … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Nearly 4,000 schools in the Philippines have suspended in-person classes due to extreme heat • Large parts of the central and southern High Plains are under red flag fire warnings • It will be 57 degrees Fahrenheit and rainy in Baltimore today for President Bi … | Continue reading
Getting fossil fuels out of your home is really hard. You have to find a contractor, ideally one who supports electrification and doesn’t ask why you won’t just stick with natural gas. You have to coordinate between multiple trades — electricians, plumbers, HVAC professionals — a … | Continue reading
Americans might remain tepid on electric vehicles. But they are snapping up conventional hybrids. More than half of the Ford Maverick compact pickup trucks sold last quarter had conventional hybrid engines, the automaker said on Wednesday, a sign of how rapidly hybrids and plug-i … | Continue reading
If you survey Americans who are considering an electric vehicle, some of their opinions are perfectly predictable. New polling released last week by the car publication Edmunds found that U.S. car shoppers want more range, they want more affordable options, and they want lots of … | Continue reading
Current conditions: In Chile, Santiago’s 11-day heatwave has ended • Storm Kathleen could bring gale-force winds to the UK • New York City is littered with downed trees after a strong storm. THE TOP FIVE 1. Biden administration unleashes $20 billion for green banks Vice President … | Continue reading
Vice President Kamala Harris and EPA administrator Michael Regan are in Charlotte, North Carolina this morning to announce the award of … wait for it … $20 billion dollars for climate mitigation and adaptation projects. This is the official launch of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction … | Continue reading
Will the rise of machine learning and artificial intelligence break the climate system? In recent months, utilities and tech companies have argued that soaring use of AI will overwhelm electricity markets. Is that true — or is it a sales pitch meant to build more gas plants? And … | Continue reading
Last week, the Department of Energy announced $6 billion in awards to help clean up some of the most greenhouse gas-intensive industries in the U.S., including $1.5 billion to transform iron and steel manufacturing. U.S. Steel, one of the biggest American steelmakers, was not amo … | Continue reading
Current conditions: India is expecting unusually high temperatures from now through June • A late-season blizzard warning is in place for parts of Michigan • A drought disaster has been declared in Zimbabwe. THE TOP FIVE 1. Tesla’s disappointing quarter rattles investors Global E … | Continue reading
On December 14, 2020, at a little past 1 p.m., meteorologist Matthew Cappucci sat down in the middle of a random field near the Chilean-Argentinian border and cried because it was cloudy. “To say I was devastated would be an understatement,” he told me. Cappucci had traveled from … | Continue reading
The electric vehicle market is anyone’s game. That’s the takeaway from this year’s first tranche of EV sales data, which saw the two global market leaders — Tesla and BYD — turn in dismal sales for the first three months of the year. Those were in contrast to other automakers inc … | Continue reading
Current conditions: The Ohio and Tennessee Valleys could experience long-track tornadoes today • Gale-force winds killed at least four people in China’s Jiangxi Province • A winter storm watch is in effect across New England. THE TOP FIVE 1. It’s a big week for EV sales numbers M … | Continue reading
The closest I came to battery oblivion happened in Bryce Canyon City, Utah. Up above 7,600 feet, the December evening temperatures dipped to 10 below zero Fahrenheit as I pulled my Tesla Model 3 into Ruby’s Inn. Tesla’s website listed the hotel as a place with destination charger … | Continue reading
Current conditions: April is off to a stormy start across the U.S., with severe weather expected from Texas to Pennsylvania • “Red flag” fire warnings were issued throughout the Great Plains over the weekend • Extreme drought continues to destroy crops in southern Africa. THE TOP … | Continue reading
For those living near the Port of Baltimore, the transportation and storage of coal on its way from mines in the Appalachian Mountains to far-flung foreign kilns is “a mundane but ever-present imposition,” Chloe Ahmann, a Cornell University anthropologist, told me. Ahmann once wo … | Continue reading
The Biden administration continued its crackdown on carbon pollution from the transportation sector on Friday, finalizing tough new limits on tailpipe emissions from heavy-duty trucks and buses. The new rules, which the Environmental Protection Agency projects will keep a billion … | Continue reading
Dozens of cities and states have tried to sue the oil industry for damages related to climate change over the past several years, and so far, none of these cases has been successful. In fact, not one has even made it to trial. In the meantime, the price tag for climate-related im … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Cyclone Gamane killed at least 18 people in Madagascar • A Saharan dust storm is choking tourist hot spots in the Mediterranean • It’ll be wet and stormy across large parts of California for Easter weekend. THE TOP FIVE 1. Study: Methane from landfills is unde … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Cyclone Gamane killed at least 18 people in Madagascar • A Saharan dust storm is choking tourist hot spots in the Mediterranean • It’ll be wet and stormy across large parts of California for Easter weekend. THE TOP FIVE 1. Study: Methane from landfills is unde … | Continue reading
Why are relations between China and the United States deteriorating? Why does the global outlook feel like it’s darkening? A few weeks ago, Brian Deese, President Biden’s former top economic aide, offered a theory on Shift Key, the podcast I cohost with Princeton engineering prof … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Flood watches are in effect for the eastern half of North Carolina • Egg-sized hail smashed car windshields in eastern China • Europe is forecast to be unusually warm through April. THE TOP FIVE 1. New England to shutter last remaining coal plant New England w … | Continue reading
When politicians tell the CEO of Radiant Nuclear that they love small modular reactors, he groans inwardly and just keeps smiling. Doug Bernauer’s Radiant is not trying to make SMRs. His company — a VC-backed startup currently in the pre-application phase with the Nuclear Regulat … | Continue reading
Last week, the Biden administration announced its final car emission standards, aimed at pushing the auto industry to create more zero-emission vehicles. While there’s plenty in the 1,200-page document for policy wonks, politicians, environmental advocates, and automakers to hem … | Continue reading
The Department of Energy is giving the green light to Project Cypress, a cluster of facilities in southwest Louisiana that will filter carbon dioxide directly from the air and store it underground. The agency announced Wednesday that it will award the project $50 million for the … | Continue reading
The Department of Energy is giving the green light to Project Cypress, a cluster of facilities in southwest Louisiana that will filter carbon dioxide directly from the air and store it underground. The agency announced Wednesday that it will award the project $50 million for the … | Continue reading
I’ve been saying lately that a tipping point for EVs will be the electric family crossover that can compete on price with the emperors of suburbia, the ubiquitous Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, which both start around $30,000. Suddenly, there is one. Although I cannot in good faith … | Continue reading
Thinking too hard about time is a little like thinking too hard about blinking; it seems natural and intuitive until suddenly you’re sweating and it makes no sense at all. At least, that’s how I felt when I came across an incredible new study published in Nature this afternoon by … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Freeze warnings are in place across Missouri • Tourists heading to Spain’s Canary Islands over the Easter holiday have been told to brace for extreme weather • It is 82 degrees Fahrenheit in Gaza today, marking the region’s first heat wave of the season. THE T … | Continue reading