For decades, American politicians have been slow to take on climate change and curb carbon dioxide emissions, under the assumption that doing so might pass along costs to their voters. Ironically, their failure to rein in fossil fuel emissions has yielded the same result: Expenses for everyday Americans have soared...
What federal cuts to science funding could mean for the Great Lakes
Some groups that do research and collect data on the Great Lakes are facing existential threats as the annual budgeting process for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gets underway. A proposed budget request from President Donald Trump would zero out programs that scientists say are the foundation of weather...
This unfathomably huge fungal network keeps Earth cool and green
Even if you don’t like eating mushrooms, you’re in debt to fungi. One group of them, known as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, form vast subterranean networks of tubes called hyphae, hooking up with the roots of plants to exchange nutrients. Earth is so verdant in large part thanks to these partnerships,...
Nuclear in my backyard: A Nebraska utility is skirting the public backlash that plagues wind and solar
This story is made possible through a partnership between Grist and The Flatwater Free Press, Nebraska’s first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories. Applause echoed through the halls of the Gage County courthouse. The county board had just approved new, more stringent wind energy regulations, and the...
What is the best use for old railroad tracks? New Yorkers have opinions.
Travis Terry lives in Forest Hills, a neighborhood in Queens about 5 minutes from an abandoned rail line. He describes the tracks, last used in 1962, as a “blight” plagued by illegal dumping. “It’s been sitting there for 65 years now,” he said, “and those of us in the community,...
UN officials urge Russia to free Indigenous climate advocate
Ten U.N. officials are calling on Russia to immediately release Daria Egereva, an Indigenous international climate advocate, and her colleague Natalia Leongardt, both of whom have been jailed for six months on terrorism charges, ahead of a key court hearing this week. Egereva, who is Indigenous Selkup from Russia, is...
Louisiana lawmakers rush to support an industry they ‘do not know a lot about’
A bill aimed at increasing the number of wood pellet mills in Louisiana has sailed through the state’s Legislature — despite some lawmakers, including the bill’s sponsor, acknowledging they know little about the controversial industry. State Representative Chuck Owen, a Republican from Vernon Parish in west Louisiana, said he proposed...
For first time, Americans are getting more of their electricity from solar than coal
Solar energy just provided more electricity in the United States than coal for the first time on record — marking a milestone for the rise of renewables in America. While gas and nuclear plants still lead the country’s energy mix, solar contributed 12.8 percent of the nation’s electrons in May,...
The quiet push to shield pesticide makers from lawsuits
In April 2026, California farmer Terri McCall stood on the steps of the Supreme Court at a rally protesting pesticide use, telling the story of how her husband and dog both died of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a disease she believes was caused by pesticides. Her husband, Jack, had used Roundup for...
The World Cup is one wildfire away from an air quality disaster
Last month, nearly a dozen wildfires erupted across southern California, sending plumes of smoke and particulate matter into the air. Public health officials in Los Angeles issued a multiday air quality advisory for the county, warning of “potential direct smoke impact” and advising everyone who could see or smell smoke...