Rows of dead batteries stretch across some 30 acres of high desert, organized in piles and boxes that are covered to shield them from the western Nevada sun. This vast field is where Redwood Materials stores the batteries it harvests from electric vehicles, laptops, toothbrushes, and the litany of other...
Digging for minerals in the Pacific’s graveyard: The $20 trillion fight over who controls the seabed
Solomon Kahoʻohalahala steadied himself on the double-hulled voyaging canoe called Hōkūleʻa as a 15-foot swell rose and the vessel took off under the midday sun. He had been paddling since dawn along the south shore of Molokaʻi, and his arms were tired. As the canoe reached the notoriously gusty channel...
Chile’s lithium boom promises jobs and money — but threatens a critical water source
In the main square of Peine, a village of low houses and dirt streets in Chile’s northern Atacama Desert, there is barely any movement. It’s midday and the sun beats down from a cloudless sky. At this hour, the streets remain largely empty. Every now and then, a truck interrupts...
Beneath Greenland’s ice lies a climate solution — and a new geopolitical battleground
Greenland’s massive cap of ice, containing enough fresh water to raise sea levels by 23 feet, is in serious trouble. Between 2002 and 2023, Greenland lost 270 billion tons of frozen water each year as winter snowfall failed to compensate for ever-fiercer summer temperatures. That’s a significant contributor of sea level rise...
Renewables surged in 2024 — but so did fossil fuels
The world is grappling with an energy crisis — not one of scarcity, but one created by overwhelming demand. More energy-hungry data centers and AI algorithms are coming online. Developing countries are using more energy to support their people and industries. And as the world electrifies — replacing gas cars...
A guide to the 4 minerals shaping the world’s energy future
In the decade since the world pledged to combat climate change under the Paris Agreement, global energy systems have undergone a revolution. The United States experienced a sixfold increase in solar power, and wind power more than doubled. And there are now more than 40 million electric vehicles on roads...
The world’s biggest youth climate lawsuit lost in court, but it ‘changed the world’
Ten years ago, 21 young people filed a long shot lawsuit against the federal government, arguing that it wasn’t doing enough to protect them from climate change. Their campaign came to an end this week without a court victory, but having made a different kind of impact: They brought an...
The US and Canada have long managed the Great Lakes together. That era could be ending.
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between Grist, Interlochen Public Radio in Northern Michigan, and WBEZ, a public radio station serving the Chicago metropolitan region. Great Lakes Day is an annual summit where politicians and officials of all stripes gather in Washington, D.C., to demonstrate their commitment to...
Can cities ban natural gas in new buildings? A federal judge just said yes.
Cities looking to eliminate fossil fuels in buildings have notched a decisive court victory. Last week, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by plumbing and building trade groups against a New York City ban on natural gas in new buildings. The decision is the first to explicitly disagree with...
Farmers are reeling from Trump’s attacks on agricultural research
Jason Myers-Benner wants answers. Most of the time, the Virginia farmer feels “unsettled” by the lack of communication and clarity surrounding the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s funding freeze. During the quieter moments he’s spent staring at an empty inbox, awaiting word about his pending grant, he’s felt “disgusted” by how...