The cost of electricity is rising across the country, forcing Americans to pay more on their monthly bills and squeezing manufacturers and small businesses that rely on cheap power. And some of President Trump’s policies risk making things worse, despite his promises to slash energy prices, companies and researchers say. This week, the Senate is … Read more
Look down from a plane at farms in the Great Plains and the West and you’ll see green circles dotting the countryside, a kind of agricultural pointillism. They’re from center-pivot irrigation systems. But some farmers are finding older versions, many built 10, 15 or even 20 years ago, aren’t keeping up with today’s hotter reality, … Read more
Wildlife managers in Africa tend to take a big-stick approach to combating poaching. Vast sums have been poured into militarized ranger patrols, advanced surveillance technologies, sniffer dogs and helicopters. Many of those efforts are aimed at protecting rhinos, whose horns are still in demand in China and Vietnam. For all the resources invested in rhinos, … Read more
The Trump administration on Friday greenlighted the expansion of a scandal-hit underground coal mine in Montana, one of the nation’s largest, cutting short a federal environmental review and putting into action a key element of President Trump’s plan to revive America’s coal industry. In the past, the mine has been embroiled in allegations involving bribery, … Read more
After the Blob dissipated, researchers learned that the effects of a severe marine heat wave could endure long after the event itself has passed. Ted Cheeseman, a Ph.D. candidate at Southern Cross University, had co-founded Happywhale, a database of tens of thousands of marine mammals built on photos submitted by researchers and whale watchers around … Read more
Did some of the biggest investors in the world buy up shares in coal companies to force them to produce less coal? An unusual lawsuit in Texas claims that investment firms including BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street did just that, illegally colluding with one another to reduce coal production as part of a conspiracy to … Read more
For decades, a little-known nonprofit organization has played a central role in keeping the lights on for 65 million people in the Eastern United States. Even some governors and lawmakers acknowledge that they were not fully aware of how much influence the organization, PJM, has on the cost and reliability of energy in 13 states. … Read more
Over the past two decades, more than 5 million U.S. households from California to Georgia to Maine have put solar panels on their roofs, drawing energy from the sun and reducing their electric bills. But that could soon come to a crashing halt. The big domestic policy bill passed by House Republicans last month would, … Read more
U.S. oil prices continued to sink Wednesday morning, falling to about $56 a barrel as China said it would match President Trump’s tariffs blow for blow. Ga6789 The slide in crude prices signals deteriorating confidence in the strength of the economy. And while lower oil prices benefit consumers by, ultimately, reducing prices at the pump, … Read more
Hard hats are back. So is “beautiful, clean” coal. President Trump signed four executive orders on Tuesday to try to bolster the country’s declining coal industry, including the lifting of restrictions on mining and burning of the dirtiest fossil fuel. In addition to waiving air pollution limits and other regulations on coal imposed by the … Read more