A Uranium-Mining Boom Is Sweeping Through Texas
Michaelsen thought he had won. But when the TCEQ commissioners took up the question several months later, again they rejected all of the judge’s findings. In a 19-page order issued …
climate desk
The $60 Billion Potential Hiding in Your Discarded Gadgets
Recycling is important, yes. But it is also utterly insufficient to meet our needs. We tend to think of it as the best alternative to using virgin materials. In fact, …
How Trump Could Actually Increase Fossil Fuel Production
This story originally appeared on Vox and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. During his campaign, president-elect Donald Trump had a pointed tagline for his energy policy: “Drill, baby, …
What Lee Zeldin’s Nomination Means for the EPA
Zeldin, a 44-year-old attorney and former Army lieutenant, does not have a background in environmental policy. He made his foray into politics through the New York State Senate in 2011, …
Invasive Species Are Threatening the Quality of New York’s Tap Water
“You can see an ecosystem change overnight—specifically with hydrilla. You’ll see a normal pond, and then at the end of the growing season, it’s completely full of hydrilla,” said Nicole …
California Is Flooding School Cafeterias With Vegan Meals—and Kids Like It
Student nutrition directors like Primer say the foundation that allows schools to experiment with new recipes is California’s universal free lunch program. She notes that, when school lunch is free, …
Taiwan Makes the Majority of the World’s Computer Chips. Now It’s Running Out of Electricity
It is not just a case of building more capacity. Taiwan’s energy dilemma is a combination of national security, climate, and political challenges. The island depends on imported fossil fuel …
A Lawsuit From Backers of a ‘Startup City’ Could Bankrupt Honduras
The flurry of private contracts became part of a “kleptocratic” regime, according to one 2017 report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Nearly all of the ISDS claims have …
California Can Slake the Thirst of Its Farms by Storing Water Underground
For example, two winters’ worth of snow followed by intense heat created a flood risk in 2023. State officials decided to release water from Lake Oroville and other reservoirs across …
AI Has Helped Shein Become Fast Fashion’s Biggest Polluter
This story originally appeared in Grist and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. In 2023, the fast-fashion giant Shein was everywhere. Crisscrossing the globe, airplanes ferried small packages of …