Environment

Environment Follow Follow In one swoop, Trump kills US greenhouse gas regulations Justine Calma Feb 12 How an ‘icepocalypse’ raises more questions about Meta’s biggest data center project Justine Calma Feb 11 J External Link Justine Calma Feb 6 Link EVs have improved air quality. EV adoption was tied to a decrease in smog-forming nitrogen dioxide pollution in California, the biggest market for electric cars in the US, a recent study confirms. EVs are already making your air cleaner, research shows [ Fast Company ] J External Link Justine Calma Feb 2 Link Offshore wind projects are back on again. The Trump administration ordered five major offshore wind projects to pause construction in December , suddenly citing national security risks even though developers had previously secured approvals to start building. After the companies filed suit , federal courts have now allowed all five projects to start construction again. US judge allows last of five offshore wind projects halted by Trump to proceed [ the Guardian ] J External Link Justine Calma Jan 30 Link So much for nuclear safety rules. The Trump administration is quietly weakening regulations meant to protect groundwater and limit radiation exposure to workers at new nuclear reactors, NPR reports . Trump has worked to speed up the deployment of new nuclear reactor designs to power AI data centers . The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules [ NPR ] It’s a new heyday for gas thanks to data centers Justine Calma Jan 29 The winter storm tested power grids straining to accommodate AI data centers Justine Calma Jan 27 J External Link Justine Calma Jan 26 Link Nvidia debuted new AI weather models. Forecasters are increasingly turning to new AI tools, using them alongside conventional physics-based models to improve predictions. Nvidia and Google , for example, each claim that their AI weather models have outperformed traditional forecasting methods. Nvidia Launches AI Technologies to Aid Weather Forecasting [ Bloomberg ] J External Link Justine Calma Jan 23 Link Layoffs are on pause at FEMA as the US braces for a massive winter storm. President Trump has talked about dismantling FEMA as his administration slashes staff from federal agencies. But now, FEMA will “cease offboarding” workers, CNN reports . A major winter storm threatens to wreck power grids and make travel treacherous across much of the US over the weekend and into next week. FEMA halts terminations of disaster workers as agency prepares for massive winter storm | CNN Politics [ CNN ] Why this winter storm will likely be a wild one Justine Calma Jan 23 Trump is steamrolling global calls for a moratorium on deep-sea mining Justine Calma Jan 21 J Justine Calma Jan 20 Link These landers will scour the deep sea for signs of ‘dark oxygen.’ Scientists announced a new expedition to study the potential origin of ‘dark oxygen’ rising from the abyss, a recent discovery that’s been contested by some other researchers and mining companies seeking to exploit new sources of battery minerals along the seafloor. New deep-sea landers were designed to withstand 1,200 times the pressure on earth’s surface. Photo courtesy of the Nippon Foundation funding the new research initiative. Trump and Mid-Atlantic governors want tech companies to pay for new power plants Justine Calma Jan 16 How to fireproof a city Fighting fires before they ever start, developers and homeowners in California are on the offense. Justine Calma Jan 16 J External Link Justine Calma Jan 15 Link US greenhouse gas emissions are growing again. Planet-heating carbon and methane pollution had actually fallen by around 20 percent over the past decade, but ticked back up again in 2025 as the Trump administration slashed environmental regulations. The US Environmental Protection Agency also announced this week that it plans to stop calculating the economic benefits of improved health from cleaning up air pollution. US carbon pollution rose in 2025 in reversal of previous years’ reductions [ the Guardian ] RFK Jr.’s new food pyramid could be a disaster for the environment New US dietary guidelines promote more protein and beef tallow, potentially moving Americans further away from a low-carbon diet. Justine Calma Jan 13 Microsoft scrambles to quell fury around its new AI data centers Justine Calma Jan 13 J External Link Justine Calma Jan 12 Link Data center projects are dropping like flies. At least 25 were canceled last year in the US, according to an analysis by Heatmap Pro . It’s a significant increase from 2024 as local opposition to energy and water-intensive data centers grows across the nation. Scoop: Local Opposition to Data Centers Is Surging. So Are Canceled Projects. [ Heatmap News ] J External Link Justine Calma Jan 8 Link The National Weather Service took down an AI-generated forecast map showing fake towns. It made up the towns of “Whata Bod” and “Orangeotild,” for example. Researchers are figuring out how to use AI to issue forecasts faster. And the National Weather Service has had to find ways to do more with less as DOGE-led staffing cuts took their toll on the agency. ‘Whata Bod’: An AI-generated NWS map invented fake towns in Idaho [ The Washington Post ] America’s new era of energy imperialism is about more than oil Trump wants Venezuela’s oil, Greenland’s minerals, and above all — control. Justine Calma Jan 8 J External Link Justine Calma Jan 8 Link The US is abandoning global climate negotiations and 66 international organizations. That includes the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and other initiatives tackling environmental and human rights issues . “As the only country in the world not a part of the UNFCCC treaty, the Trump administration is throwing away decades of US climate change leadership and global collaboration,” Gina McCarthy, former White House National Climate Advisor, responded in a press release. US will exit dozens of international organizations as it further retreats from global cooperation [ ABC News ] E External Link Elissa Welle Jan 7 Link That’s a lot of money for just one data center job. In Virginia, environmental group Food & Water Watch found that one permanent data center job is created for every $13 million invested. It estimates that data centers account for 0.01 percent of US jobs, but 4.4 percent of electricity consumption, and is petitioning Congress to end all new data center construction . New Research Debunks Data Center Industry Job Claims [ Food & Water Watch ] J External Link Justine Calma Jan 5 Link The US is after oil in Venezuela, but it won’t be so easy to grab. Since his administration attacked Caracas and arrested President Nicolás Maduro, Trump’s been clear that he wants US companies to “ go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken [oil] infrastructure ” in Venezuela. That’s easier said than done with massive logistical challenges and political instability still weighing on the oil industry in the region. Trump Wants Venezuela’s Oil. Getting It Might Not Be So Simple [ WIRED ] J External Link Justine Calma Dec 31, 2025 Link Don’t believe all the hype about de-extinction. Scientists have had to contend with a spate of misinformation this year about efforts to purportedly resurrect long-lost species like the woolly mammoth . It’s far more impactful to help endangered species now — especially as the US rolls back protections and climate change makes the world a more inhospitable place for already threatened creatures. ‘They didn’t de-extinct anything’: can Colossal’s genetically engineered animals ever be the real thing? [ The Guardian ] Trump’s war on offshore wind faces another lawsuit Justine Calma Dec 26, 2025 Next-generation nuclear reactors could get a boost from the National Defense Authorization Act Justine Calma Dec 19, 2025 Don’t expect Trump Media’s nuclear fusion power plant to generate electricity soon The energy demands of AI are driving investment in futuristic fusion reactors from Big Tech and now Trump Media. Is it viable? Justine Calma Dec 19, 2025 Communities are rising up against data centers — and winning Justine Calma Dec 19, 2025 Democratic lawmakers are investigating data centers’ impact on electricity costs Justine Calma Dec 17, 2025 AI’s water and electricity use soars in 2025 Justine Calma Dec 17, 2025 The ‘mad rush’ to install solar panels before tax credits run out The solar industry is pivoting to survive Donald Trump’s attacks on clean energy. Justine Calma Dec 16, 2025 J External Link Justine Calma Dec 10, 2025 Link The US is hiding more information about climate change. The Trump administration has taken down content about the human causes of global warming — greenhouse gases from fossil fuels — from the Environmental Protection Agency website, part of a larger purge of science-backed information on federal websites . “It’s clearly a deliberate effort to misinform,” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain tells the Washington Pos t . The EPA is wiping mention of human-caused climate change from its website [ Washington Post ] The scramble to launch data centers into space is heating up Justine Calma Dec 10, 2025 Data center construction moratorium is gaining steam Justine Calma Dec 9, 2025 J External Link Justine Calma Dec 8, 2025 Link AI reasoning models are even more energy intensive. They used 30 times more electricity on average than other models according to research by the AI Energy Score project that included responses to 1,000 written prompts. “We should be smarter about the way that we use AI ... Choosing the right model for the right task is important,” Hugging Face research scientist Sasha Luccioni tells Bloomberg . The Rise of AI Reasoning Models Comes With a Big Energy Tradeoff [ Bloomberg ] Apple announces even more major executive turnover Jay Peters Dec 4, 2025 Satellites keep photobombing the Hubble telescope, and it’s getting worse Justine Calma Dec 3, 2025 Trump embraces gas guzzlers and air pollution by weakening fuel economy standards Justine Calma Dec 3, 2025 Data centers in Oregon might be helping to drive an increase in cancer and miscarriages Terrence O'Brien Nov 30, 2025 The US dodged a bullet this Atlantic hurricane season Justine Calma Nov 28, 2025 Most Popular Most Popular Apple’s doing something on March 4th Why are Epstein’s emails full of equals signs? OpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger is joining OpenAI The Pocket Taco is the best way to turn your phone into a Game Boy Anker’s USB-C cable that lets you charge two gadgets at once is 20 percent off Advertiser Content From This is the title for the native ad