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

The tail of a diving whale rises from the water with a large ship in the background

New maps show high-risk zones for whale-ship collisions − vessel speed limits and rerouting can reduce the toll

Anna Nisi, University of Washington

Young people walk past a large Zara store.

Fast fashion may seem cheap, but it’s taking a costly toll on the planet − and on millions of young customers

Paula M. Carbone, University of Southern California

When an atmospheric river meets a bomb cyclone, it’s like a fire hose flailing out of control along the West Coast

Chad Hecht, University of California, San Diego

A swirl forms off the coast with a long tail of water vapor pouring into it in this satellite image.

Companies are still committing to net-zero emissions, even if it’s a bumpy road – here’s what the data show

L. Beril Toktay, Georgia Institute of Technology; Abhinav Shubham, Georgia Institute of Technology; Donghyun (Daniel) Choi, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Manpreet S. Hora, Georgia Institute of Technology

Solar panels cover the rooftop of office towers. Cars are parked below.

Americans face an insurability crisis as climate change worsens disasters – a look at how insurance companies set rates and coverage

Andrew J. Hoffman, University of Michigan

A house built on stilts is still damaged from high winds.

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

After a delay, New York City is moving ahead with congestion pricing to improve traffic, air quality and public transit

John Rennie Short, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Cars drive under four cameras mounted on a large metal arm over the street

Saltwater flooding is a serious fire threat for EVs and other devices with lithium-ion batteries

Xinyu Huang, University of South Carolina

Cars parked outdoors at an apartment complex, submerged up to their bumpers

Countries spend huge sums on fossil fuel subsidies – why they’re so hard to eliminate

Bruce Huber, University of Notre Dame

Cars outside a gas station showing $4.19 per gallon.

Read our latest Environment + Energy stories

Subscribe to our science newsletter

In your inbox every week

Extreme weather

A pair of clasped hands reaching out between cell bars

Jails and prisons often fail to protect incarcerated people during natural disasters

Benika Dixon, Texas A&M University; J. Carlee Purdum, University of Houston, and Tara Goddard, Texas A&M University

Why wildfires started by humans, cars and power lines can be more destructive and harder to contain

Virginia Iglesias, University of Colorado Boulder

Four people push a vintage car with a canvas top away from a burning one-story house that is engulfed in flames. Palm trees are silhouetted in the yard.

Disaster survivors want to rebuild safer, more sustainable homes, but cost misperceptions often stand in the way

Susan Ostermann, University of Notre Dame and Abbie B. Liel, University of Colorado Boulder

Two construction workers work on the roof of a home. It has a curve design to stand up to wind.

Atmospheric rivers are shifting poleward, reshaping global weather patterns

Zhe Li, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

A satellite image shows large filaments of atmospheric rivers reaching out from the tropics both north and south.

Colonialism’s legacy has left Caribbean nations much more vulnerable to hurricanes

Farah Nibbs, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Two women struggle through a street flooding with muddy water in Haiti. One carries a basket

Biodiversity + environment

A rectangular shaft decorated with an artwork projects from a snowy hillside

Svalbard Global Seed Vault evokes epic imagery and controversy because of the symbolic value of seeds

Adriana Craciun, Boston University

Why does everything look flat even though the Earth is round?

Kelly R. MacGregor, Macalester College

Satellite view of a spiraling tropical storm

Could fungi actually cause a zombie apocalypse?

Matt Kasson, West Virginia University

The back end of a cicada, with a sandy matter spilling from it

Aquaculture could harm animal welfare or protect it, depending on what species the farms raise

Becca Franks, New York University and Chiawen Chiang, New York University

From Confederate general to Cherokee heritage: Why returning the name Kuwohi to the Great Smoky Mountains matters

Seth T. Kannarr, University of Tennessee and Derek H. Alderman, University of Tennessee

Fall foliage covers the mountains that appear above the clouds.

Climate change

Pikes Peak seen from a distance across a field

Evidence from Snowball Earth found in ancient rocks on Colorado’s Pikes Peak – it’s a missing link

Liam Courtney-Davies, University of Colorado Boulder; Christine Siddoway, Colorado College, and Rebecca Flowers, University of Colorado Boulder

Companies are buying up cheap carbon offsets − data suggest it’s more about greenwashing than helping the climate

Sehoon Kim, University of Florida

A painting of a forests with tall trees in green and washed look.

What Trump can do to reverse US climate policy − and what he probably can’t change

Gautam Jain, Columbia University

Donald Trump stands with men in suits while a woman in a hard hat points out something in the distance. construction is underway behind them.

Time to freak out? How the existential terror of hurricanes can fuel climate change denial

Jamie Goldenberg, University of South Florida; Emily P. Courtney, University of South Florida, and Joshua Hart, Union College

People carrying coffee drinks walk by a sign scrawled on plywood-covered windows reading "Go home Milton!"

Climate engineering carries serious national security risks − countries facing extreme heat may try it anyway, and the world needs to be prepared

Ben Kravitz, Indiana University and Tyler Felgenhauer, Duke University

Energy + infrastructure

Three workers install a battery under a vehicle being built.

No, America’s battery plant boom isn’t going bust – construction is on track for the biggest factories, with thousands of jobs planned

James Morton Turner, Wellesley College; Joshua Busby, The University of Texas at Austin, and Nathan Jensen, The University of Texas at Austin

Why do we use gasoline for small vehicles and diesel fuel for big vehicles?

Michael Leamy, Georgia Institute of Technology

A fuel pump with diesel and gasoline options

Charging, not range, is becoming a top concern for electric car drivers

Alan Jenn, University of California, Davis

An EV plugged in at a row of outdoor chargers

Trump and Harris have clashing records on clean energy, but the clean power shift is too broad for any president to control

Daniel Cohan, Rice University

Large arrays of solar panels on desert land

Rising electricity demand could bring Three Mile Island and other prematurely shuttered nuclear plants back to life

Todd Allen, University of Michigan

Four large cooling towers at an industrial site, two releasing steam

Environmental health

Microplastics promote cloud formation, with likely effects on weather and climate

Miriam Freedman, Penn State and Heidi Busse, Penn State

Vief of the sky filled with towering puffy clouds

Godzilla at 70: The monster’s warning to humanity is still urgent

Amanda Kennell, University of Notre Dame and Jessica McManus Warnell, University of Notre Dame

A monster bristling with spikes stalks through flying debris

Millions of people across the US use well water, but very few test it often enough to make sure it’s safe

Gabriel Lade, Macalester College

A person's hands washing asparagus in a kitchen sink

Toxic chemicals from Ohio train derailment lingered in buildings for months – here’s what our investigation found in East Palestine

Andrew J. Whelton, Purdue University

A huge plume of black smoke goes into a clear blue sky, with houses in the foreground and firefighter walking down the street.

Regulation + lawsuits

San Francisco is suing the EPA over how specific water pollution permits should be

Robin Kundis Craig, University of Kansas

Aerial photo of beachgoers with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background

US has its first national strategy to reduce plastic pollution − here are 3 strong points and a key issue to watch

Sarah J. Morath, Wake Forest University

Plastic bottles and other waste lines a shallow channel

What’s next after Supreme Court curbs regulatory power: More focus on laws’ wording, less on their goals

Robin Kundis Craig, University of Kansas

Gloved hands sort through a tray of Atlantic herring

New EPA regulations target air, water, land and climate pollution from power plants, especially those that burn coal

Patrick Parenteau, Vermont Law & Graduate School

heaps of coal in front of a power plant with three tall smokestacks