The Energy Crunch, in Six Paragraphs
Governments and companies have built the global energy system around natural gas almost without a second thought. Now it’s costing them.
Aubrey Trinnaman
Deforestation Is a Crime
A new bipartisan bill would treat it that way.
Elite Firefighters Have a Secret Skill
One of rookie smoke jumpers’ first lessons—after leaping from a plane and packing a parachute—is learning how to sew.
In One Place, for One Fish, Climate Change May Be a Boon
While many salmon fisheries are collapsing, Bristol Bay, Alaska, is booming—for now.
Rivian Wants to Be the Apple of Electric Pickup Trucks
Or maybe the Patagonia
Big Business Is Bankrolling an Effort to Kill the Democratic Climate Bill
The trade group that represents Apple, Walmart, Nike, and dozens of other companies is trying to kneecap the U.S.’s final chance to meet its 2025 climate goals.
Electric Cars Have Hit an Inflection Point
One sign EVs are no longer the auto industry’s neglected stepchild? Norway could sell its last gas-powered car as soon as next year.
Arctic Horror Is Having a Comeback
Today’s fictional North is defined by nostalgia for an icier time.
Democrats May Be on the Verge of Climate Disaster
The party’s climate measures suddenly face a tough battle in Congress.
Why I’m Thinking About Alcohol Taxes
And what they have to do with climate change.
When the Climate Crisis Becomes Unignorable
This summer’s weather has forced a kind of continuous awareness of climate change.
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The Battle of High Hill
When two megafires converged on a small town in Oregon, the community faced a choice. People could flee, leaving the town to its fate. Or they could stay and fight.
The Unbearable Summer
Disastrous environmental events are converging like never before.
How the U.S. Could Slash Climate Pollution by 2030
Democrats will soon reveal how the Biden administration’s plans could cut U.S. climate pollution in half this decade. Is that goal even possible?
All These Simultaneous Disasters Are Messing With Our Brains
The earthquakes and wildfires and wars keep piling up. When does our empathy run out?
‘What Is This Doing to Their Lungs?’
Wildfire smoke is taking a toll on cows in the West, potentially even diminishing how much milk they produce.
The Bill That Could Truly, Actually Bring Back U.S. Manufacturing
And help the climate, too
The Well Fixer’s Warning
The lesson that California never learns
When Your Yard Can Kill You
My mom wanted to be prepared for wildfire season. But I knew she was concerned about the cost.
It’s Grim
The latest UN report is clear: Climate change is here, it’s a crisis, and it’s caused by fossil fuels.
If the Hardiest Species Are Boiled Alive, What Happens to Humans?
The June heat wave caused billions of deaths.
Unfortunately, I Care About Power Lines Now
If America wants to fight climate change—or enjoy the benefits of a modern economy—it must get much better at building electricity transmission. Yikes.
Are Wind Turbines a Danger to Wildlife? Ask the Dogs.
Humans are terrible at finding bats and birds killed by wind turbines. Dogs are great at it.
Carbon Tax, Beloved Policy to Fix Climate Change, Is Dead at 47
It reshaped how the world thought about climate change. But its prized trait—bloodless economic efficiency—won it few friends on the right or left.
The Green New Deal Does Not, Strictly Speaking, Exist
The idea has reshaped global climate policy, but is far less concrete than its supporters have been led to believe.
The Greenest Way to Grill
The type of fuel you choose isn’t as important as how sustainably it’s sourced, and what you’re grilling matters more.
Maine Has a Dangerous, Small, and Very Itchy Problem
Climate change is keeping temperatures higher in the fall, setting up browntail-moth caterpillars to boom in summer.
The Energy Revolution Is Tweaking OPEC Out
Oil-producing countries are starting to prepare for a peak in oil demand. That isn’t necessarily good news for the planet.
What I’m Teaching My Daughter About Living in Extreme Heat
I learned how to tolerate the heat in Arizona. I just never thought I’d have to put those lessons to use in Portland.
Nowhere Is Ready for This Heat
The Pacific Northwest is melting now, but all across America the infrastructure we have was built for the wrong century.
A Major New Index Fund Should Unnerve Climate-Skeptical CEOs
The hedge fund that staged a revolt at Exxon last month is now recruiting an army of mom-and-pop investors for future battles.
How the U.S. Made Progress on Climate Change Without Ever Passing a Bill
A “green vortex” is saving America’s climate future.
Why America Doesn’t Really Make Solar Panels Anymore
America invented silicon solar cells in the 1950s. It spent more on solar R&D than any other country in the 1980s. It lost its technological advantage anyway.
The West Can End the Water Wars Now
Far-right radicals in Southern Oregon are threatening to bust open an irrigation canal. Instead, the region could be a model for managing watersheds in a warmer world.
The Gods Were Right
They punished Prometheus for stealing their fire. Now look what humans have done with it.
Wall Street’s Skirmish With Exxon Is ‘Monumental’
Why a hedge fund’s successful assault on ExxonMobil matters
Stop Worrying and Love the F-150 Lightning
Here are seven ways Ford’s first electric pickup truck signals that decarbonization has entered a new era.
Why Ford’s New Electric Car Is So Important
I spent a weekend in the Mustang Mach-E, Ford’s biggest bet so far on a zero-carbon future.
Why Dead Trees Are ‘the Hottest Commodity on the Planet’
Blame climate change, wildfires, hungry beetles … and Millennial home buyers.
The Weekly Planet: An Outdated Idea Is Still Shaping Climate Policy
Biden’s team is split on how to think about climate change.
The Dark Side of the Houseplant Boom
American culture is becoming more and more preoccupied with nature. What if all the celebrations of the wild world are actually manifestations of grief?
The True Costs and Benefits of Fracking
New York is getting more out of the domestic oil boom than North Dakota ever will.
The Weekly Planet: The 1 Thing to Understand About Biden’s Infrastructure Plan
This is the only climate bill coming. Also: Why methane levels surged last year.
Your Diet Is Cooking the Planet
But two simple changes can help.
The Weekly Planet: 3 Ways That Biden Could Green the Financial System
“If it actually looks seriously like the world is gonna cut carbon emissions in half by 2030, you could, overnight, see fire sales of fossil-fuel assets.”
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The Weekly Planet: Why Celebrities Are Agog Over This Tiny Climate Think Tank
A one-of-a-kind Washington nonprofit has become a hit with musicians selling crypto-art.
The Weekly Planet: Why a Climate-Denial Coalition May Be Cracking Apart
And the world’s largest polluter plans its next five years.
The Weekly Planet: Biden’s Stimulus Is a Big Deal for Public Transit
Why the rescue bill is (sort of) a climate bill
The Weekly Planet: Why a Political Philosopher Is Thinking About Carbon Removal
Rich countries should mop up their climate pollution, the Georgetown professor Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò argues.
You’re Thinking About Home Heating Wrong
Getting a heat pump is one of the easiest ways for homeowners to fight climate change.
The Weekly Planet: The Great Climate Bill of 2021 Is Being Shaped Now
The game before the game has started.
Texas Failed Because It Did Not Plan
What went wrong? The Lone Star State made three fundamental errors.
The Weekly Planet: The Big Idea From Bill Gates’s New Climate Book
Call it the “Gates Rule.”
An Ever-Moving, Unloved Fish Is Stirring Chaos in the North Atlantic
When mackerel started showing up in Iceland, it started a decade-long fight over how to divide the ocean’s riches.
The Weekly Planet: Hail! It’s America’s Most Underrated Climate Risk
It’s smashing, in the bad way.
A Super Bowl Ad That the Biden Presidency Made Possible
GM has cast its electric vehicles as normal American cars, in a normal Super Bowl ad. Here are seven ways to think about that.
Ultra-fast Fashion Is Eating the World
Even a pandemic can’t stop people from buying clothes they don’t need.
The Terrifying Warning Lurking in the Earth’s Ancient Rock Record
Our climate models could be missing something big.
Inevitable Planetary Doom Has Been Exaggerated
Hope for the future is a reasonable and necessary prerequisite for action.
How Useful Is Recycling, Really?
Among all possible climate actions, recycling ranks pretty low in its impact.