Business
Does Orange County, California Actually Need That $350 Million Desalination Plant?
Once again, California is in a drought. Much of Northern California and the Central Valley are experiencing “acute water supply shortfalls,” and the Sierra Nevada snowpack, a critical water source for Californians
The Oil and Gas Industry Is In Denial About Its Own Demise
In one of his first acts as president, Joe Biden paused new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters. Companies can still drill areas they had previously leased, and they
Philly Wants to Wean Off Gas. The City-Owned Gas Utility Is Refusing to Go Along.
In 2018, Philadelphia laid out an ambitious plan to cut citywide carbon pollution 80 percent by 2050. To hit that goal, the city would need to change the way it heated buildings
Issue 2: The Future of Natural Gas
Throughout the 20th century, coal supplied the bulk of America's electricity. It was coal, by and large, that kept our light bulbs, radios, laundry machines, dishwashers, TVs and computers humming along, and
This Is What the Future of Natural Gas Looks Like (PHOTOS)
Hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, Royal Dutch Shell saw its profits drop 71 percent between 2019 and 2020. Its recovery will likely be stymied by the rise of electric cars and
Pipeline Firms Are Abandoning Old Lines, Leaving Landowners With the Mess
Some years ago, David Howell got a call from a landowner in Central Texas who had 300 feet of an old oil pipeline buried under his property. It was clearly no longer
How Corporations Gave Republicans Permission to Deny Reality
At the 2018 UN climate conference in Poland, visitors could watch a virtual forest degrade on a set of screens – and donate, a display said, to help save it. The installation
Electric Cars Could Save California’s Power Grid
Climate change ramped up its attacks on California this year, serving up massive wildfires and blistering heat waves, which led to widespread power outages. To fight back, Governor Gavin Newsom took aim
EPA Weakens Methane Rule as Pollution Soars
This year, levels of methane, a powerful heat-trapping gas, hit an all-time high, driven in large part by pollution leaking from gas pipelines and drilling sites. Plugging these leaks is cheap, has enormous upsides for
The United States Could Achieve 90 Percent Clean Power by 2035 at No Extra Cost
Experts disagree about how fast the United States can replace coal and gas-fired power plants with zero-carbon electricity. Some say we can shift to 100 percent clean power by 2050 with little
Climate Change Is Sowing Chaos Up and Down the Mississippi River (VIDEO)
This story was produced in collaboration with PBS News Hour. Over the centuries the United States has deployed vast fortunes and an untold number of workers to divert, dam and contain the
Pipeline Projects Continue During the Pandemic
Pipeline giant Kinder Morgan is cutting a 400-mile line across the middle of Texas, digging up vast swaths of private land for its planned Permian Highway Pipeline. The project is ceaseless, continuing
How Oil Companies Are Trying to Win Back the Youth
This story is published as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. When he interned at Shell, José Gomez made $5,200 a month. That
The Fed Could Rescue Poorly Run Fossil Fuel Firms
In the normal course of business, healthy companies succeed and sickly companies fail. But the coronavirus has interrupted the normal course of business, putting even successful firms on life support as they
This Man Wants to Make You a Tower Climbing Grease Monkey
Thanks to the coronavirus, we are rapidly heading toward a recession. Lawmakers are scrambling for ways to keep the economy aloft — distributing relief payments, bolstering unemployment, bailing out out hard-hit industries. But these
Cool Designs to Guard Against Flooding (PHOTOS)
Architect Ruurd Gietema lives in The Netherlands, a country perennially trying to hold back the sea. He said his homeland has paid a price for the high dikes and tall dunes it
The Innovative Design of One of the World’s Largest Net-Zero Buildings
It is hard to build a net-zero building — one that produces more energy than it consumes — in the middle of a city. For one thing, nearby skyscrapers might block sunlight from reaching rooftop solar