Environment + Energy - The Conversation - Climate change, environmental health, biodiversity, extreme weather

Plastic containers of the Roundup weed killer sit on a store shelf.

Supreme Court bars states from protecting consumers if federal agencies won’t

Sarah J. Morath, Wake Forest University

Silhouettes of people watching a fireworks show, with several bursts in the sky above

Fireworks, heat and drought put this July 4th at high risk for wildfires

Lauren Lowman, Wake Forest University

A person uses a fan as they wait in line to purchase Broadway tickets in Times Square, during a heat advisory in New York, May 19, 2026.

As a major heat wave grips the eastern US, here’s how to stay safe – and the heat stroke warning signs to watch for

Brian Bossak, College of Charleston

You’ve never heard of these glaciers, but they’re becoming critical climate havens as America’s iconic mountain glaciers and their water fade

Dan McGrath, Colorado State University; Ashlesha Khatiwada, Colorado State University, and Scott Hotaling, Utah State University

An image of the Teton Mountains and a large rock glacier.

Data center fights pit social values, democracy and capitalism against each other

Lauren Mullenbach, University of Michigan

A view of open grassland with a barn and a sign reading 'No data center.'

Research about global fishing shows value of detailed environmental data, which the Trump administration seeks to limit

Mark Axelrod, Michigan State University

People stand in a parking lot, while behind them a large pile of metal and junk looms.

Venezuela’s deadly earthquakes happened on a fault similar to the San Andreas, and the risks aren’t over yet – a geophysicist explains

Sylvain Barbot, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

A woman holds a boy as they stand in front of a collapsed building

A man using an underwater vacuum stands knee-deep in the Reflecting Pool with the Washington Monument in the background.

When your local reflecting pool or pond turns green with algae, don’t reach for chemicals – nature has better solutions

Eric Palkovacs, University of California, Santa Cruz

War-induced fertilizer shortage may be reducing US soil and water pollution

Kimberly Van Meter, Penn State and Nandita Basu, University of Waterloo

A large green vehicle with tracks instead of wheels pulls additional equipment, including sprayers and tanks, across an open, level dirt area.

Heat waves can leave homes dangerously hot – even for young, healthy adults

Zoltan Nagy, Eindhoven University of Technology

A family sits outside in the shade on a hot day

A person pours the contents of a large bag into several plastic bins mounted on wheels.

How everyone pays the cost for patents on seeds, and private companies get rich from keeping them secret

Julie Dawson, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Kiki Hubbard, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Paulina Jenney, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Longtime Exxon CEO Lee Raymond’s legacy of climate denial and misinformation lives on – a psychologist offers ways to counter it

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

Scientists find antidepressant in the brains of sharks off the coast of Rio de Janeiro

Mariana Batha Alonso, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and Leonardo Vazquez, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)

We designed the turf for soccer’s biggest World Cup ever – here’s how we created the same playing experience across 3 countries

John N. Trey Rogers, Michigan State University; Jackie Lyn A. Guevara, Michigan State University; John Sorochan, University of Tennessee, and Ryan Bearss, Michigan State University

France's goalkeeper Hugo Lloris dives but cannot stop a goal on a free kick by Switzerland's Blerim Dzemaili during a World Cup soccer match between Switzerland and France in 2014.

How local communities are challenging Big Tech data centers’ noise, pollution and rising electricity bills

Rachel Mural, Harvard Kennedy School

A man stands at a lectern, speaking and gesturing, while a group of people stand and sit nearby, watching and listening.

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War in the Middle East

A Mexican ranch worker, on a horse, drives cattle into a corral for inspection for New World screwworm in Chiapas, Mexico, in July 2025.

Soaring US beef prices likely to rise further thanks to trade tensions and disease outbreaks

Andrew Muhammad, University of Tennessee and Charles Martinez, University of Tennessee

Suspending federal gas tax wouldn’t save drivers as much as they might hope – here’s what goes into the price of a gallon of gas

Robert I. Harris, Georgia Institute of Technology

A gas station sign displays a price of $5.53 per gallon of regular gas.

When oil prices spike, where does the money go?

Matthew E. Oliver, Georgia Institute of Technology and Tibor Besedeš, Georgia Institute of Technology

A shadow of an oil pump jack over a spread of hundred-dollar bills.

Why the Persian Gulf has more oil and gas than anywhere else on Earth

Scott L. Montgomery, University of Washington

Hormuz closure threatens the global food supply – why grocery price hikes are coming

Aya S. Chacar, Florida International University

A tractor spreads fertilizer on a field.

Extreme weather + disasters

Heat waves increase wildfire risk – a new study explains how much, and it’s not a small number

Dmitri Kalashnikov, University of California, Merced; Cong Yin, University of California, Merced; Madhulika Gurazada, University of California, Merced, and Mukesh Kumar, University of California, Merced

El Niño is back, and ocean temperatures are already near record highs – that can spell disaster for fish and corals

Dillon Amaya, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The US is seeing stronger storms, so why are droughts getting worse?

David Boutt, UMass Amherst

Two women carrying umbrellas laugh as they run through ankle-deep puddles in a city street.

Federal flood insurance carries 2 moral hazards – which you face depends largely on how wealthy you are

Ivis García, Texas A&M University

Waterfront mansions on Miami Beach, Florida.

Blackout risks are rising – why neighboring power grids can’t just send extra electricity where it’s needed

Sufan Jiang, University of Tennessee; Nanyang Technological University and Fangxing Fran Li, University of Tennessee

The silhouettes of a series of large transmission towers loom in the photo with the glow of the setting sun behind them.

Energy + infrastructure

A hand holds an electric plug as its wire forms the shape of a rising-trend graph.

Energy costs are high and unaffordable – what utilities, governments, communities and you can do to help save consumers money

Sanya Carley, University of Pennsylvania; Alexandra Klass, University of Michigan; Alison L. Knasin, University of Pennsylvania; David Konisky, Indiana University, and Shelley Welton, University of Pennsylvania

How Wall Street is shifting electric utilities toward consolidation and profit

Conor Harrison, University of South Carolina

Two wires come in from opposite sides of the frame and are twisted into a single wire.

How window-mounted heat pumps can give tenants efficient heating and cooling

Moncef Krarti, University of Colorado Boulder

A view of a large brick building with windows, air conditioners and heating vents visible.

How the development of solar and wind farms on the Tibetan Plateau is affecting local communities

Sanggay Tashi, University of Colorado Boulder

People walk on a dirt road between many rows of metal posts supporting large metal panels, with livestock and grassland visible in the distance.

Even with $700 million in funding and Trump’s support, coal power remains expensive – and dangerous

Hannah Wiseman, Penn State and Seth Blumsack, Penn State

A man in a suit shakes hands with a group of people wearing hard hats.

AI's energy demand

Large commercial or industrial buildings sit in rows near homes that line residential roads.

5 ways data centers endanger their local communities and the country as a whole

Neha Gour, George Mason University; Ed Maibach, George Mason University, and Luis Ortiz, George Mason University

Using diesel generators to power the AI revolution would kill hundreds of Americans a year

Peter Adams, Carnegie Mellon University

A group of large metal boxes are lined up next to a concrete building.

Data centers don’t have to be a burden on local communities – and can even support them by generating power and repurposing waste heat

Gregor Henze, University of Colorado Boulder and Sean Shaheen, University of Colorado Boulder

An aerial view shows a large building in the foreground with homes and businesses nearby, and skyscrapers in the distance.

Despite its steep environmental costs, AI might also help save the planet

Nir Kshetri, University of North Carolina – Greensboro

Airplanes leave trails in a bright blue sky.

Data centers told to pitch in as storms and cold weather boost power demand

Nikki Luke, University of Tennessee and Conor Harrison, University of South Carolina

A downed tree blocks a snowy road and touches power lines.

Biodiversity + environment

The world agreed to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030 – but marine protection can’t be judged by area alone

Kirsten Grorud-Colvert, Oregon State University and Ana K. Spalding, Smithsonian Institution

Life after death: From burned trees to bleached corals, how dead organisms live on as the building blocks of new life

Kai Kopecky, University of Colorado Boulder and John Kominoski, Florida International University

A new seedling grows at base of a burned tree.

Bison restoration efforts and grazing rights hinge on one question: Are bison wildlife?

Madison Stevens, Montana State University and Elizabeth (Libby) Lunstrum, Boise State University

A group of large hairy animals with horns stand in a grassy area with snow-covered mountains in the background.

What to do if a bat gets in your house: Here’s how to remove it safely

Tara Hohoff, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

A bat on cloth, its wings out partially.

California’s salmon fishery is reopening after a population crash led to a 3-year closure, but that doesn’t mean all is well

Eric Palkovacs, University of California, Santa Cruz and Steven T. Lindley, University of California, Santa Cruz

Two fish jump high above the water near a wall.

Climate change

An aerial view of the landslide area and glacier

A huge landslide tsunami in Alaska sent a wave 1,580 feet up the fjord walls – and left clues for building a warning system

Michael E. West, University of Alaska Fairbanks and Ezgi Karasözen, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Efforts to combat climate change often exclude Indigenous people – and they may not have any recourse

Buket Altınçelep, UMass Boston

Two people pick through debris left from the destruction of a home.

Formula 1 racing shows the hard part of reaching net-zero carbon emissions isn’t the engineering

Caitlin Grady, George Washington University and Sachi Nandurkar, George Washington University

Several open-wheel race cars jostle for position, emitting a cloud including smoke from tires and exhaust from their engines.

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.

The US Constitution and laws do not protect oil companies from being sued over the harm they cause to the climate

Alejandro E. Camacho, University of California, Los Angeles and Robert Glicksman, George Washington University

Demonstrators hold signs including one saying 'Make polluters pay.'

Laws + regulations

Paving paradise: Dismantling the US Roadless Rule threatens to disrupt wildlife, water and peace in the last quiet places in America

Mariah Meek, Michigan State University and Travis Belote, Montana State University

Why states are walking back their own climate and energy laws, and what they might do instead

Andres Clarens, University of Virginia

Three wind turbines on a grassy ridge overlooking the ocean on a clear-sky day.

This successful Arctic fishing treaty has kept Russia, China, the US and others working together for 5 years – it could be a model for future diplomacy

David Balton, Harvard Kennedy School

Who is allowed to walk on the beach? It depends on where you live

Melissa Scanlan, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Will Matuska, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

A person in a sun hat walks along a sandy beach.

When you don’t have the facts, argue the law: How Trump’s EPA is limiting its own ability to protect public health far into the future

Janet McCabe, Indiana University

A tangle of highway interchanges filled with vehicles forms an X shape with curved lines in and around it.

Environmental health

People stand on a train platform in very smoky, orange air.

Wildfires are reversing America’s progress on ozone pollution, the main ingredient in smog

Weizhi Deng, University of Iowa; Jun Wang, University of Iowa, and Meng Zhou, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Firefighters face a higher risk of skin cancer – nano fabrics with tiny, rough fibers can help keep them safer

Sumit Mandal, Oklahoma State University

A firefighters works with a chainsaw to cut a partially burning tree.

PFAS in ski wax: Despite bans, these forever chemicals linger in wax rooms, study shows – so does their health risk

Kathryn Crawford, Middlebury College

A wax technician prepares skis for a competition in Cortina D'ampezzo, Italy, in March 2026.

A lot of ‘recycled’ plastic is being burned overseas – and causing widespread pollution linked to health problems

Ellen M. Considine, University of Colorado Boulder

Workers collect plastic from a huge pile of trash more than twice their height.

EPA is sidelining its independent chemical referee – and that endangers public health

H. Christopher Frey, North Carolina State University

Agriculture + water

Shutting down federal bee labs threatens bees, beekeepers and the US food system

Jennie L. Durant, University of California, Davis

Rice feeds billions of people – but its role in fueling climate change is growing

Hanqin Tian, Boston College; Jingting Zhang, Boston College; Pep Canadell, CSIRO, and Shufen (Susan) Pan, Boston College

A beautiful aerial photo of rice paddies along a river, with the clouds reflected in the water.

Why Corpus Christi faces a looming water shortage, and what might help

Michelle Hummel, University of Texas at Arlington

An aerial view of a grassy area with dock structures extending out into it.

How much is a bat worth? Protecting these tiny insect-eaters isn’t just good for farms – their deaths cost taxpayers and the wider economy

Dale Manning, University of Tennessee; Anya Nakhmurina, Yale University, and Eli Fenichel, Yale University

A bat with tiny ears and a little pink nose hangs from a cave.

Winter’s alarmingly low snowpack offers a glimpse of the changing rhythm of water in the western US

Imtiaz Rangwala, University of Colorado Boulder

A few across a mountain stream near Lake Tahoe and land covered in snow.

Lands of ice and snow

Lakes the color of turquoise gem stones stand out against the white glaciers that send meltwater into them.

Alaska’s glacial lakes are expanding, increasing the risk of destructive outburst floods

Dan McGrath, Colorado State University

A walk across Alaska’s Arctic sea ice brings to life the losses that appear in climate data

Alexandra Jahn, University of Colorado Boulder

A white landscape with blocky ridges extends under a blue sky.

US military has a long history in Greenland, from mining during WWII to a nuclear-powered Army base built into the ice

Paul Bierman, University of Vermont

A view of a mountain with dozens of rusted fuel drams left on the ground in the foreground.

West Antarctica’s history of rapid melting foretells sudden shifts in continent’s ‘catastrophic’ geology

Christine Siddoway, Colorado College; Anna Ruth (Ruthie) Halberstadt, The University of Texas at Austin, and Keiji Horikawa, University of Toyama

A graphic shows the outline of the modern area of the Antarctic continent, most of which is not covered by ice.

From record warming to rusting rivers, 2025 Arctic Report Card shows a region transforming faster than expected

Matthew L. Druckenmiller, University of Colorado Boulder; Rick Thoman, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Twila A. Moon, University of Colorado Boulder

Two people walk across snow and ice with areas of water evident and mountains in the background.

Critical minerals

The missing link in America’s critical minerals push isn’t mining – it’s processing expertise

Hélène Nguemgaing, University of Maryland and Alan Collins, West Virginia University

The race to mine critical minerals for AI and clean energy is creating ‘sacrifice zones’ that harm water and health of world’s poor

Abraham Nunbogu, United Nations University and Kaveh Madani, United Nations University

A man in a muddy tanktop holds a large chunk of greenish stone.

In its hunt for critical minerals, the US is misconstruing what is and is not America’s

Coalter G Lathrop, Duke University

A photo of a mechanical claw from a submersible and surrounding seafloor that appears almost paved in nodules.

Mining the ocean floor: 5 deep-sea sources of critical minerals essential to technology, and the fragile marine life at risk

Leonardo Macelloni, University of Mississippi

A mechanical claw holds a polymetallic nodule underwater

America’s next big critical minerals source could be coal mine pollution – if we can agree on who owns it