California’s FAIR Plan Gets $1 Billion Bailout After L.A. Fires

11 February 2025 at 20:56

The move will likely lead to higher costs for households across the state, and may push more insurers to leave, intensifying a home insurance crisis.

Destruction left behind by the Eaton fire in Altadena, Calif., last month.

Trump Killed a Major Report on Nature. They’re Trying to Publish It Anyway.

NYT > Climate and Environment

By:Catrin Einhorn

10 February 2025 at 14:37

The first full draft of the assessment, on the state of America’s land, water and wildlife, was weeks from completion. The project leader called the study “too important to die.”

Most of the 12 chapters in the report were written by teams of a dozen or so specialists.

Trump Is Freezing Money for Clean Energy. Republican States Have the Most to Lose.

NYT > Climate and Environment

By:Lisa Friedman · Brad Plumer and Harry Stevens

11 February 2025 at 10:49

About 80 percent of manufacturing investments spurred by a Biden-era climate law have flowed to Republican districts. Efforts to stop federal payments are already causing pain.

As Trump Targets Research, Scientists Share Grief and Resolve to Fight

NYT > Climate and Environment

By:Raymond Zhong

16 February 2025 at 09:57

At a conference in Boston, the nation’s scientists commiserated and strategized as funding cuts and federal layoffs throw their world into turmoil.

Sudip Parikh, who leads the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in Washington in 2023.

On a Mission to Heal Gila Monsters

NYT > Climate and Environment

By:Emily Anthes and Emily Elconin

16 February 2025 at 04:00

After years in Big Pharma, a chemist pivoted to help save the species that made Ozempic possible.

Forest Service Layoffs and Frozen Funds Increase the Risk From Wildfires

NYT > Climate and Environment

By:Christopher Flavelle and Austyn Gaffney

15 February 2025 at 04:03

The Trump administration’s decision to fire 3,400 workers and pause funds used for wildfire prevention comes as wildfires are growing more dangerous and frequent.

David Needham, a U.S. Forest Service ranger, monitored a prescribed burn, which is intended to clear out vegetation that could feed a wildfire, in Colorado in 2022.

Will There Be Enough Power to Remove Carbon From the Sky?

NYT > Climate and Environment

By:Allison Prang

14 February 2025 at 13:34

The direct air capture industry has ambitious plans to pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but it’s vying for limited renewable power resources.

Texas County Declares an Emergency Over Toxic Fertilizer

NYT > Climate and Environment

By:Hiroko Tabuchi

14 February 2025 at 11:25

Johnson County is seeking federal assistance, saying its farmland has become dangerously contaminated with “forever chemicals” from the use of fertilizer made from sewage sludge.

Johnson County, south of Fort Worth, has been roiled since investigators found high levels of PFAS at two cattle ranches that came from contaminated fertilizer.

Trump’s Funding Freeze Raises a New Question: Is the Government’s Word Good?

NYT > Climate and Environment

By:Brad Plumer and Nicholas Nehamas

14 February 2025 at 08:48

Companies that get federal grants or loans usually sign a legally binding agreement and depend on getting reimbursed. The new administration has upended that expectation.

Energy Department officials have ordered an internal review of potentially billions of dollars worth of climate and infrastructure spending that was awarded by the Biden administration after the Nov. 5 election.

FEMA Quietly Eases Rules Meant to Protect Buildings in Flood Zones

NYT > Climate and Environment

By:Christopher Flavelle

14 February 2025 at 15:20

The agency issued an internal memo saying it would “pause” a regulation directing that schools, libraries and other public facilities damaged by disasters be rebuilt safely.

Trump Nominates Oil and Gas Advocate to Run Bureau of Land Management

NYT > Climate and Environment

By:Coral Davenport

12 February 2025 at 12:48

The nominee, Kathleen Sgamma, has worked for nearly two decades on behalf of oil and gas companies in Western states.

Kathleen Sgamma is president of the Denver-based Western Energy Alliance, which has worked to strip away government protections and rules on extracting fossil fuels on public lands.

Environmentalists Gear Up to Fight Trump in Court

NYT > Climate and Environment

By:Karen Zraick

12 February 2025 at 12:29

As Trump pledges regulatory rollbacks, environmental groups say the administration’s aggressive cost-cutting tactics could make it easier for them to win some long-term battles.

Lee Zeldin, the E.P.A. administrator, right, visiting fire-ravaged Altadena, Calif., earlier this month.

Chevron to Lay Off Up to 20% of Staff

NYT > Climate and Environment

By:Rebecca F. Elliott

12 February 2025 at 14:12

The second-largest U.S. oil company may cut as many as 9,000 workers worldwide in an effort to cut costs.

Natural Gas Could Get Priority Over Renewable Energy in Largest U.S. Grid

NYT > Climate and Environment

By:Minho Kim

12 February 2025 at 11:42

Federal regulators approved a proposal from the nation’s largest grid operator that will give primacy to 50 new power plants, a decision to help meet the country’s growing electricity demand.