Among the several controversial proposals emerging from the U.S. Senate this week as it considers the tax and spending bill that President Donald Trump has promoted as “One Big, Beautiful Bill” is one that would make parts of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in Washington state, the Buffalo Hills Wilderness Study...
With new Senate legislation, Congress is one step closer to gutting the Inflation Reduction Act
When the U.S. House of Representatives passed President Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” last month, gutting former President Biden’s landmark 2022 climate law almost in its entirety, all eyes turned to the Senate. The upper chamber of Congress must pass its own version of the bill to be reconciled with...
How America’s prairie was nearly destroyed — and why it should be restored
The American prairie was so vast, so alien, it shattered comprehension. Newcomers to the seemingly endless grasslands that once spanned approximately a quarter of North America often hit a psychic wall, descending into fits of mania. Prairie madness, as the phenomenon came to be known, was recorded by the journalist...
What warped the minds of serial killers? Lead pollution, a new book argues.
When Ted Bundy was a child in the 1950s, he hunted for frogs in the nearby swamps in Tacoma, Washington. The young Gary Ridgway, the future Green River Killer, grew up just a short drive north. Both men went on to become prolific serial killers, raping and mutilating dozens of...
Trump quietly shutters the only federal agency that investigates industrial chemical explosions
On a summer night in 2023, an explosion at one of Louisiana’s biggest petrochemical complexes sent a plume of fire into the sky. More explosions followed as poison gas spewed from damaged tanks at the Dow chemical plant, triggering a shelter-in-place order for anyone within a half mile of the...
From sea monkeys to Great Salt Lake gold
The shoreline of Utah’s Great Salt Lake frames an otherworldly body of water, from pastel pink to deep marine blue. In the fall, its surface transforms with slicks of gold—made from millions of brine-shrimp eggs called cysts. These tiny golden specks play a critical role in both the local ecosystem...
Alaska just hit a climate milestone — its first-ever heat advisory
In the high glare of a summer evening in Fairbanks, Alaska, Ciara Santiago watched the mercury climb. A meteorologist at the National Weather Service office, she had the dubious honor of issuing the state’s first ever official heat advisory as temperatures were expected to hit the mid-80s. It’s the kind...
Progress and frustration mark the UN’s third Ocean Conference
Delegates from around the world convened in Nice, France, last week to discuss a range of ocean priorities, including the implementation of a recently finalized “high seas treaty” to protect the two-thirds of the oceans that lie outside countries’ control. It was the third United Nations Ocean Conference, a high-level...
Norway is all in on electric cars. What can the U.S. learn?
In January, the Norwegian Road Federation released a statistic that turned heads inside transportation and climate circles: Almost 90 percent of new cars sold in Norway the previous year were fully electric. By the end of this year, the government expects sales of new gasoline and diesel cars to fall to zero and...
Texas finalizes $1.8B to build solar, battery, and gas-powered microgrids
The Texas Legislature ended its biennial session without passing a slew of bills that could have killed the state’s booming solar and battery sector, and by extension, the ability to keep the Texas grid running amid extreme weather and surging demand for electricity. It did pass a law that could strengthen the state’s electricity reliability by encouraging...