Climate & Energy

Fifty billion seedlings: Can Ethiopia replant its ravaged forests?

A legacy of deforestation has left Ethiopia struggling with more intense flooding and drought. The country is trying to restore its native forests through one of the world’s most ambitious and well-funded tree-planting campaigns, but such projects in other nations have often fallen short.

How California is bracing for a winter of floods, fires and extreme storms all at once

The strongest El Niño recorded is expected to bring a cascade of hazards to a state still facing wildfire and heat risks, while budget cuts have weakened disaster response agencies • Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Before this year, the US National Weather Service had never issued a September coastal flood advisory for the San Francisco Bay Area. In the past month, it has had to issue two. As flood water swallowed intersections and eroded beaches up and down the California coast last week, scientists and emergency managers warned that this is just an early signal of a coming tumultuous winter as an already exceptional El Niño continues to strengthen. It’s been called everything from “super” to “Godzilla”, as forecasters hammer home the message that conditions brewing in the Pacific Ocean could soon climb off the charts, and fuel extreme weather around the world. Comebacks for wild tigers, tuna and sea turtles prove nature loss can be reversed, scientists say Revealed: the methane mega-leaks from UN climate summit host Turkey To cull or not to cull: Greenland debates fate of world’s slowest shark

Taiwan's Power Problem Is America's Opportunity

Why is it so hard to put out Indonesian fires shrouding the region in toxic smog?

We explain why Indonesia’s peatland fires are so difficult to battle and produce so much haze.

NextEra Energy: Extreme Quality That Is Rarely This Cheap

Wildfire smoke shuts schools in Amazon's biggest city

The largest city in the Brazilian Amazon, Manaus, closed public schools on Friday as smoke from hundreds of wildfires blanketed the metropolis amid an intensifying El Niño event.

Permian Resources: Good Management Is Always Cheap

Clean-energy super PAC names its target list for general elections

This analysis and news roundup come from the Canary Media Weekly newsletter. Sign up to get it every Friday. Midterm elections are less than a month away. For the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition, it’s the perfect time to double down on fighting clean energy opponents in races across the country. The Invest in…

After the strongest storm in a generation, Hawai’i residents take recovery into their own hands – in pictures

On Kaua‘i, neighbors repair each other’s roofs, teens deliver meals and locals use their own equipment to clear roads It was a few hours after the sun rose over the verdant valleys and clear waters of Hā‘ena on Kaua‘i’s North Shore. Michael Olanolan was already in his excavator, clearing the main highway where a wall of fallen trees had blocked access. Other neighbors joined him, moving debris so electric crews could reach utility poles downed by Hurricane Lowell. The 76-year-old father of nine and grandfather of 26 did this every day for weeks after Lowell hit the Hawaiian islands of Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau on 7 September. His generational home lost part of its roof to Lowell’s winds, but family and friends helped him repair it, freeing him up to also help his community. Clearing out roadways became his full-time job while residents were getting back on their feet.

China & EU Make Deal to Cut Flood of Hybrids into EU

Over the course of a few years, China became the absolute juggernaut of the world’s electric vehicle industry. That includes full electrics (BEVs) and plugin hybrids (PHEVs). Regarding the latter, Chinese companies added a lot more battery capacity and range to PHEVs while improving efficiency, technology, charging, etc. So, when ... [continued]

Look Again, It's Coal Outside Contributor

Unpacking the Environmental Issues in Susan Collins’ Tough Race in Maine

From our collaborating partner “Living on Earth,” public radio’s environmental news magazine, an interview by host Steve Curwood with veteran Maine journalist Kevin Miller. The closely watched race for U.S. Senate in Maine is pitting two environmentally concerned candidates against each other. Not only do they both have fairly similar green and climate views, they

Hurricane Isaias disrupts U.S. oil production in Gulf of Mexico, threatens refineries

The hurricane could tighten a fuel market that is already facing big disruptions from the wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Brazil Potash: Bull Case Is Starting To (Slowly) Bloom

How the permitting bill could collapse

Congress has its best chance in years to pass sweeping permitting legislation, but a series of political and policy obstacles could derail the bipartisan Senate plan. Why it matters: Cutting hurdles for energy projects is a top priority for fossil fuels and renewables sectors, and major business groups more broadly. Here are five risks to a lame-duck deal: 👱‍♂️ President Trump himself. The White House says it supports the bill, but Trump is mercurial, so nothing is final until it's final. His administration's willingness — or not — to loosen the screws on wind and solar projects it's restricting could also sway the lame-duck politics and complicate efforts to win Democratic support. Flashback: Co-author Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) last month cited "unresolved" questions about Trump officials returning to "regular order" for renewables, but credited their "very reasonable" proposal. 🗳️ A big blue wave. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), a senior House Democrat, has been arguing that Democrats will have more leverage next year. For now, there's little evidence that view is gaining traction among Democrats. The few definitive statements on the bill from lawmakers in both parties are supportive. But a strong Democratic showing in November could change that calculation. The big arguments against waiting: Dems won't have 60 votes even if they take the Senate, and Trump still needs to sign anything, limiting the prospects for a better deal next year. 🟩 Environmentalists. Groups with close ties to Dems — such as the Natural Resources Defense Council, League of Conservation Voters and Evergreen Action — are still weighing their positions on the bill. A coordinated push against it could make it harder for Democratic lawmakers to back the legislation. ⚡ Utilities. Regulated utilities would see new competition in transmission development and greater oversight of their planning and business. American Electric Power and Berkshire Hathaway Energy support the bill, but the sect

Pssst! Wanna See A Driverless Electric Truck?

In yet another sign that electric vehicles are here to stay, autonomous electric trucks are already operating along roads in Ohio and elsewhere around the US.