All Environment
- These EV-savvy high schoolers could help California meet green tech goals
This border-town high school is revving up students for an EV workforce. It’s an effort well suited to California’s green technology goals.
- Is nuclear power attractive or risky? In Minnesota, it’s both.
In Minnesota legislature, climate change has revived Democrats’ interest in nuclear power. But a radioactive leak has rekindled public concerns about safety.
- First LookIs there a clear track to zero emissions? California tackles trains.
The California Air Resources Board passed a rule to cut down on greenhouse gas and smog emissions from diesel trains. Some champion the rule, but others say the requirements are too steep for an industry that already helps the state and nation emit less.
- Points of ProgressMeeting unique needs: From sign language TV to teen pregnancy prevention
Progress roundup: Meeting the needs of different sectors of society requires unique solutions, in Liberia, the UK, and a new U.S. national monument.
- First LookCalifornia runneth over: Winter storms restore 100% water supply
California officials announced that the state will provide full allocations to 29 water agencies supplying about 27 million customers and 750,000 acres of farmland for the first time since 2006. Big winter storms ended three years of drought in the state.
- Dolphins as casualties: The environmental costs of Ukraine war
Ukrainian prosecutors are preparing to take the Russian military to court on ecocide charges, based on a spike in Black Sea dolphin deaths
- The world sees invasive seaweed. This gardener sees housing bricks.
The seaweed invasion across the Caribbean sparked the imagination of a Mexican gardener who is turning piles of it into sustainable building blocks.
- Germany ditched nuclear power. Other nations show new interest.
Renewable energy is competitively priced. But many say nuclear power still has a role to play even as old plants shut down. A status report in charts.
- Is kicking out illegal miners enough to save Brazil’s Amazon?
Brazil’s president is doubling down on protecting the Amazon – crucial for combatting global warming.
- First LookGermany ends its nuclear power. But what will become of the waste?
Germany has switched off its three remaining nuclear power plants as part of a long-planned transition toward renewable energy. The question of what to do with 62 years worth of accumulated toxic waste remains unsolved.
- Points of ProgressKeeping it wild: Tokyo farms and Europe’s last undammed river
Progress roundup: There's balance in growing food among skyscrapers, keeping Europe's last wild river unbounded, and bringing back an endangered feline.
- Sticks plus carrots: How realistic is Biden’s electric-car target?
Electric vehicles account for only about 6% of current U.S. car sales. Still, a Biden target of about two-thirds by 2032 may not be out of reach.
- FocusColorado River water: Is fallowing farmland a fair way to conserve?
Calls to sacrifice a shared resource raise questions of justice. One California farm region facing the possibility of having to fallow land wonders whether that’s fair.
- First LookHow many US cars are electric? Biden EPA wants it to be 54%.
The Biden administration plans to propose a policy that would require more than half of new U.S. vehicles to be electric by 2030. Some American automakers argue that “regulatory mandates alone” cannot ensure the success of the switch to electric vehicles.
- First LookWill California bees show up to work? Almond growers hope for blooms.
America’s beekeepers have faced challenges during the unusually cold and wet winter in California’s farm country, and bees have been slow to emerge from their hives. But signs of ample wildflowers could mean a good year for honey.
- Points of ProgressDouble lives: From glass back to sand, and how solar panels can save water
Progress roundup: Tests show recycled glass aids Louisiana marshlands, floating PV panels slow evaporation, non-invasive imaging uncovers mysteries in Giza.
- The ExplainerRisk and recovery: Mississippi tornado signals twin challenges
Some research suggests tornado risks may be shifting modestly eastward, raising questions about preparedness in some of the poorest U.S. states.
- Cover StoryFor the love of nature: Outdoorspeople help lawmakers bridge divides
Climate action can be politically divisive. But a love for nature is bringing people together – even in Washington.
- Points of ProgressErasing stigmas: Women workers’ unique right, and an inclusive census
Progress roundup: Spain passes Europe’s first menstrual leave law, Chile’s fishers sacrifice catch for marine refuges, Singapore makes a High Line.
- First LookCalifornia’s ‘wet winter’ eases restrictions but does not end drought
After a series of winter storms replenished California’s water sources, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the state will no longer ask people to cut their water use by 15%. He was careful, however, not to say the drought is over.