Economics

12 September 2025. Judge allows Trump to cut more than $1bn in National Science Foundation grants –

Court declined preliminary injunction in case brought by scientists seeking to halt purge of more than 1,600 grants.

12 September 2025. Wright and Burgum urge Europe to rethink methane curbs –

A new EU rule will restrict imports that exceed strict limits on methane emissions. That could be a problem for American LNG exports.

12 September 2025. Carbon capture – the get-out-of-jail-free card that does not actually work –

Engineers have been trying to perfect the technology for years but the maximum effect it could manage is far short of what the planet needs.

12 September 2025. In the Pacific, unkept U.S. promises on climate cut deep –

Pacific island nations have seen American pledges and attention come and go with geopolitical winds. Recent U.S. pullbacks are met with disappointment but not surprise.

12 September 2025. Vanishing Bayous: On a boat at ground zero for sea level rise –

Folks on Louisiana's bayous, where Big Oil is really big, know firsthand the perils of sea level rise, and a group of North Carolinians recently visited there looking to start a conversation.

12 September 2025. Department of Energy allocates $134 million for fusion funding –

Most of the money will go to teams working to close the gap between the private nuclear industry and research labs and universities.

12 September 2025. Study finds Indigenous territories of Amazon rainforest can protect humans from disease –

A new study finds well-preserved areas of Amazon rainforest occupied and managed by Indigenous peoples show lower incidences of multiple diseases in the regions around them.

11 September 2025. Lithium mining leaves severe impacts in Chile, but new methods exist –

A new report on the impact of lithium mining in South America’s lithium triangle has found that methods used by companies in the rush to extract the mineral in Chile’s Salar de Atacama has led to an “irreversible” and “unrecoverable” loss of water.

11 September 2025. Reimagining agriculture to feed a growing population without fueling climate collapse –

As global demand for food surges, journalist Michael Grunwald examines whether new technologies and smarter land use can prevent agriculture from further accelerating climate change.

11 September 2025. Tiny forests: The overlooked benefits of these miniature urban woodlands –

Grown using the Miyawaki method, fast-growing miniature forests in the middle of cities can bring surprisingly big benefits for people and the environment.

11 September 2025. Trump EPA cancels $250 million solar grant to Texas –

Texas’ Solar for All program was intended to bring solar panels and batteries to low-income neighborhoods and create jobs by training workers to install the technology.

11 September 2025. Schools scramble to keep clean energy plans alive as federal tax credits disappear –

Thousands of schools nationwide are rushing to salvage solar, wind, and electric bus projects after the Trump administration’s new law phases out key clean energy tax credits.

11 September 2025. ‘We’ve done it before’: how not to lose hope in the fight against ecological disaster –

Some days it can feel as if climate catastrophe is inevitable. But history is full of cases – such as the banning of whaling and CFCs – that show humanity can come together to avert disaster.

11 September 2025. As farm flooding increases, federal climate support evaporates –

Federal staffing cuts, rescinded climate-focused conservation funds, and misaligned crop insurance are undermining farmers as extreme rainfall and flooding worsen across farm country. The shift is delaying on-the-ground help, sidelining resilience practices, and squeezing especially small, diversified operations.

11 September 2025. Study links heat waves to climate change and fossil fuel producers –

A new study has determined that 55 heat waves over the past quarter-century would not have happened without human-caused climate change.

11 September 2025. The Trump-aligned climate skeptics advising Britain’s Nigel Farage –

The U.K. boss of the Heartland Institute said she had been influencing Reform UK “at the highest level.”

11 September 2025. An Energy Department climate change report ‘completely ignored’ adaptation, Rutgers professor says –

Pamela McElwee joined a group of 85 climate scientists who refuted DOE’s faulty science last week. Trump’s climate denialism, she believes, is designed to sow confusion—and inaction.

11 September 2025. 'Bubble curtain' ready to protect cuttlefish as algal bloom persists in Southern Australia –

A "bubble curtain" is set for activation as part of South Australia's fight against the ongoing algal bloom, as the state government defends its handling of health advice.

10 September 2025. More than half of Northwest in severe, extreme drought, Oregon in historic dry period –

Nearly 80% of the Northwest is experiencing drought this summer, with Oregon recording its fourth driest spring-to-summer period since 1895, raising concerns for farms, rivers, and wildfire risk. State officials have declared multiple county emergencies as streamflows hit record lows.

10 September 2025. First came the wildfire. Then came the scams –

As extreme weather disasters grow more frequent, shady contractors are exploiting survivors with inflated bills, shoddy repairs, and legal threats — leaving many homeowners financially trapped just when they’re most vulnerable.

10 September 2025. Post-Blob, California’s kelp crisis isn’t going away –

A decade after a record marine heat wave and sea star die-off, Northern California has lost about 95% of its bull kelp, leaving vast urchin barrens that thwart natural recovery.

10 September 2025. US online disaster planning tool may go dark, agency website says –

A federal emergency management website used by states to coordinate disaster response may go offline this week as its contract funding lapses, raising concerns about preparedness in the middle of hurricane season.

10 September 2025. ‘A colossal train wreck’: U.S. energy chief slams odds of net zero by 2050 –

Net zero by 2050 is "a monstrous human impoverishment program and of course there is no way it is going to happen," U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.

10 September 2025. How a group of students in the Pacific Islands reshaped global climate law –

They watched climate change ravage their home countries as rich, polluting nations did nothing. Then they had an idea.

10 September 2025. Building toward disaster: Growth collides with rising seas in Charleston, S.C. –

A billion-dollar seawall may shield the city’s wealthy core — but not the vulnerable communities beyond it. Who will be forced to move?

10 September 2025. Budget shortfalls put mass transit at risk across US –

Major transportation systems are cutting bus and rail service in an effort to stay afloat.

10 September 2025. EU to slash food and fast fashion waste –

EU lawmakers have given a final green light to a law on slashing the mountains of food wasted in Europe each year, and curbing the environmental impact of fast fashion.

9 September 2025. The EPA ended her research into how climate change endangers children –

Jane Clougherty spent years studying how extreme weather affects kids’ health, but as climate threats continue to rise, the Trump administration cancelled her work.

9 September 2025. Republican attorneys general push back against state climate liability laws –

At an Alaska oil conference, attorneys general from five conservative states warned that new climate “superfund” laws in Democratic states threaten the fossil fuel industry and could expose companies to massive financial penalties.

9 September 2025. Report: Big businesses are doing carbon dioxide removal all wrong –

A new analysis shows that major companies are leaning on short-term, unreliable carbon removal strategies instead of cutting emissions, raising concerns that corporate climate pledges fall far short of what’s needed to limit global warming.