The first thing drivers probably check when they go to the gas station is the cost of gasoline — especially with prices surging. What they might not pay as much attention to is diesel. Perhaps they should. The price of that essential fuel has climbed even more quickly, and new...
New York City unveils its first rest stop for delivery workers
The day’s forecast called for high winds, but around midday in downtown Manhattan, it felt like a perfect spring day. The sun shone high in the sky last Tuesday as people gathered on the sidewalk around the corner from City Hall. Municipal employees mingled about, chatting excitedly. The cause for...
Many companies want clean energy. Georgia Power will soon let them build it.
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between Grist and WABE, Atlanta’s NPR station. Many corporations have pledged to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, but when it comes to energy generation, they have struggled to meet those goals because they have to get power from the grid. Utilities and...
Texas is giving data centers more than $1 billion in tax breaks each year
This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and supported by the Pulitzer Center. Texas will lose out on $3.2 billion in sales tax revenue over the next two years thanks to an exemption for the state’s booming data center industry, according to the comptroller’s office. That figure is likely...
Oil companies accused of massive accounting fraud in New Mexico
Oil companies ExxonMobil, Empire Petroleum, and their subsidiaries engaged in accounting fraud that could cost the state nearly $200 million, a lawsuit filed in New Mexico District Court alleges. If successful, plaintiffs say the case could change how old oil and gas assets are sold, leading to fewer orphan wells in the future....
The skylines of the future will be made of wood
Picture yourself in a wind-swept forest. Leaves are rustling and trunks are creaking as trees sway to and fro. This oscillation might seem precarious, but it’s actually an ancient adaptation: If pines and firs and all the others were perfectly stiff, a gust would snap them. So instead, they flex. ...
How the Trump administration’s climate math doesn’t add up
When President Donald Trump talks about climate change, he often recycles one well-known, shaky argument: that doing anything about it will be a financial disaster. After pulling out of the Paris climate agreement, he said it was costing the U.S. “trillions of dollars that other countries were not paying.” He’s...
There’s hope for the offshore wind industry — yes, really
After taking a beating for the first year of the Trump administration, the beleaguered wind energy industry may finally see a glimmer of hope. Trump and Interior Department chief Doug Burgum have spent months in an all-out assault against the technology, and in particular against offshore wind projects in federal...
What to expect when you’re expecting the end of the world
Jem Bendell had postponed his personal crisis long enough. For years, he’d been setting aside the worrying news about climate change he came across in a folder on his computer, waiting until he had the time (and emotional capacity) to look at it. In 2017, he took leave from his...
Georgia’s forestry industry is in crisis. One solution could be in your medicine cabinet.
Georgia is one of the leading states for forestry, ranking first in annual harvest volume and the export of forest products. The state’s forests that are managed for a commercial product offset about a third of Georgia’s greenhouse gas emissions. But a recent rash of paper mill closures coming on...