Newsletters

Icons show batteries with different levels of charge.

Why predicting battery performance is like forecasting traffic − and how researchers are making progress

Emmanuel Olugbade, Missouri University of Science and Technology

A Marin County firefighter uses a drip torch during a controlled burn training on June 21, 2024, in San Rafael, California

Controlled burns reduce wildfire risk, but they require trained staff and funding − this could be a rough year

Laura Dee, University of Colorado Boulder

Tensions over Kashmir and a warming planet have placed the Indus Waters Treaty on life support

Fazlul Haq, The Ohio State University

Mountains flank a blue river
Alaska, rich in petroleum, faces an energy shortage

Brett Watson, University of Alaska Anchorage

A large metal pipe stretches from mountains in the distance under a road in the foreground.
Trump administration pauses new mine safety regulation − here’s how those rules benefit companies as well as workers

Jeremy M. Gernand, Penn State

People wearing protective clothing, including hard hats, crouch and kneel in a confined space.
Deep-sea mining threatens sea life in a way no one is thinking about − Trump’s order could clear the way for mining operations soon

Alexus Cazares-Nuesser, University of Hawaii

An aquatic invertebrate that looks like a floating star or an underwater sunflower floats above nodules on the seabed.
Trump is stripping protections from marine protected areas – why that’s a problem for fishing’s future, and for whales, corals and other ocean life

David Shiffman, Arizona State University

A colorful reef with many types of fish feeding on it.
Removing federal protection for clean water harms just about everyone, especially already vulnerable communities

Jeremy Orr, Michigan State University

A man dips water out of a river for testing.
How single-stream recycling works − your choices can make it better

Alex Jordan, University of Wisconsin-Stout

a truck dumps its contents of recyclable items on the tipping floor at the Town of Brookhaven Material Recycling Facility in Yaphank, N.Y., on Aug. 30, 2023.
Federal laws don’t ban rollbacks of environmental protection, but they don’t make it easy

Stan Meiburg, Wake Forest University

A man in a suit stands at a lectern; behind him are a U.S. flag and the flag of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Three ways Pope Francis influenced the global climate movement

Celia Deane-Drummond, University of Oxford

Indigenous people with Pope Francis in gardens
Lawsuits seeking to address climate change have promise but face uncertain future

Hannah Wiseman, Penn State

A woman holds a microphone and gestures to a crowd.
Appliance efficiency standards save consumers billions, reduce pollution and fight climate change

David J. Vogel, University of California, Berkeley

People stand in an aisle lined with refrigerators.
Volcanic ash is a silent killer, more so than lava: What Alaska needs to know with Mount Spurr likely to erupt

David Kitchen, University of Richmond

A volcano and the crater where Mount Spurr has erupted in the past.
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Extreme weather + disasters

Rescuers with an inflated boat walk in waist-deep water toward older brick houses.

Two key ingredients cause extreme storms with destructive flooding – why these downpours are happening more often

Shuang-Ye Wu, University of Dayton

US earthquake safety relies on federal employees’ expertise

Jonathan P. Stewart, University of California, Los Angeles and Lucy Arendt, St. Norbert College

Building leaning toward viewers that collapsed into its garage and crushed a car.
If FEMA didn’t exist, could states handle the disaster response on their own?

Ming Xie, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

A flag stands in front of rubble and parts of buildings.
NOAA’s vast public weather data powers the local forecasts on your phone and TV – a private company alone couldn’t match it

Christine Wiedinmyer, University of Colorado Boulder and Kari Bowen, University of Colorado Boulder

A man sits in front of a bank of computer screens showing hurricane storm surge warnings, a map and the hurricane radar image.
What causes the powerful winds that fuel dust storms, wildfires and blizzards? A weather scientist explains

Chris Nowotarski, Texas A&M University

A big dust storm spreads over suburban streets in this aerial photo.
Read more about extreme weather

Biodiversity + environment

A wide expanse of wetlands with tall grasses.

25 years of Everglades restoration has improved drinking water for millions in Florida, but a new risk is rising

John Kominoski, Florida International University

Wide variety of old-growth ecosystems across the US makes their conservation a complex challenge

Reed Frederick Noss, University of Florida

A view of a landscape with grass, low shrubs and tall pine trees.
As federal environmental priorities shift, sovereign Native American nations have their own plans

Alyssa Kreikemeier, University of Idaho

Two men stand in front of a river holding an enlargement of an old photograph.
Peru’s ancient irrigation systems succeeded in turning deserts into farms because of the culture − without it, the systems failed

Ari Caramanica, Vanderbilt University

A dry canal through green fields with mountains in the distance
Coastal economies rely on NOAA, from Maine to Florida, Texas and Alaska – even if they don’t realize it

Christine Keiner, Rochester Institute of Technology

Fishing boats at the Fishermens Terminal, the Homeport to the North Pacific Fishing Fleet, in Seattle in 2022.
Read more about environmental issues

Energy + infrastructure

A large wind turbine behind a coal facility and coal pile.

Utilities choosing coal, solar, nuclear or other power sources have a lot to consider, beyond just cost

Erin Baker, UMass Amherst and Paola Pimentel Furlanetto, UMass Amherst

How and where is nuclear waste stored in the US?

Gerald Frankel, The Ohio State University

A man in a hard hat holds a piece of electronic equipment near a metal and concrete structure.
White House plans for Alaskan oil and gas face some hurdles – including from Trump and the petroleum industry

Scott L. Montgomery, University of Washington

A large pipe runs through a wooded area to a cleared space with tanks and metal towers.
Environmental protection laws still apply even under Trump’s national energy emergency − here’s why

Albert C. Lin, University of California, Davis

An underwater view of a large pipeline.
The US energy market has its troubles, though it may not be a ‘national emergency’

Seth Blumsack, Penn State

A large cluster of industrial buildings and towers.
Read more about energy

Climate change

Inuit village of Kulusuk in winter, Greenland

Greenland’s rapidly melting ice and landslide-prone fjords make the oil and minerals Trump covets dangerous to extract

Paul Bierman, University of Vermont

Companies will still face pressure to manage for climate change, even as government rolls back US climate policy

Ethan I. Thorpe, Vanderbilt University; Michael Vandenbergh, Vanderbilt University, and Zdravka Tzankova, Vanderbilt University

Rows of solar panels in a field.
The US military has cared about climate change since the dawn of the Cold War – for good reason

Paul Bierman, University of Vermont

Soldiers stand next to giant wheels on a supply train designed to cross the Greenland ice sheet. An Army “Sno-Train” at Camp Century during construction on the Greenland Ice Sheet in 1959. The tires, four feet wide and ten feet tall, were designed not to sink into soft snow. In the years that followed, the Camp Century ice core, vital to the Army’s mission to understand climate change, was carried off the ice sheet in wagons equipped with the same oversized tires.
How to find climate data and science the Trump administration removed from government websites

Eric Nost, University of Guelph and Alejandro Paz, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

A scientist in a T-shirt works on a computer
How the oil industry and growing political divides turned climate change into a partisan issue

Joe Árvai, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Trump sits at a meeting about wildfires, with an image of a helicopter dumping water on a wildfire in the background.
Read more about climate change

Laws + regulations

The EPA logo on a door with people reflected in the glass.

EPA must use the best available science − by law − but what does that mean?

H. Christopher Frey, North Carolina State University

Revoking EPA’s endangerment finding – the keystone of US climate policies – won’t be simple and could have unintended consequences

Patrick Parenteau, Vermont Law & Graduate School

A coal-fired power plant in West Virginia
America’s clean air rules boost health and economy − charts show what EPA’s deregulation plans ignore

Richard E. Peltier, UMass Amherst

A woman runs beside a river with a city in the background
3 ways Trump’s EPA could use the language of science to weaken pollution controls

Eric Nost, University of Guelph

A refinery with a large American flag on the side is lit up at night.
From Greenland to Fort Bragg, America is caught in a name game where place names become political tools

Seth T. Kannarr, University of Tennessee; Derek H. Alderman, University of Tennessee, and Jordan Brasher, Macalester College

A view of a mountain across a still lake, with a reflection in the water.
Read more about environmental regulation

Environmental health

Avian flu virus has been found in raw milk − a reminder of how pasteurization protects health

Kerry E. Kaylegian, Penn State

Black and white dairy cows stand and lie in a muddy pasture
Cycling can make seniors healthier and more independent − here’s how to design bikes and networks that meet their needs

Anne Lusk, Boston University

A man and woman ride past townhouses on a two-seat, three-wheeled cycle
Carbon offsets can help bring energy efficiency to low-income Americans − our Nashville data shows it could be a win for everyone

Zdravka Tzankova, Vanderbilt University; Carol Ziegler, Vanderbilt University, and James Muchira, Vanderbilt University

A man installs in a heat pump on an older house.
Should I worry about mold growing in my home?

Nicholas Money, Miami University

A wall with splatters of mold growth
Read more about environmental health

The roles of government agencies

Agriculture secretary oversees food production, rural life, and nutrition programs that help millions afford healthy diets

Kathleen Merrigan, Arizona State University

A harvester pipes corn into a truck in a field covered with corn stalks
From watts to warheads: Secretary of energy oversees big science research and the US nuclear arsenal

Valerie Thomas, Georgia Institute of Technology and Margaret E. Kosal, Georgia Institute of Technology

A long silver bomb on a truck bed
How the EPA administrator protects public health, air, water and the environment

Stan Meiburg, Wake Forest University

A worker sprays water on a pile of waste dredged from the adjoining canal
Interior secretary manages vast lands that all Americans share − and can sway the balance between conservation and development

Emily Wakild, Boise State University

A man and two children wearing day parks look across a rocky canyon