fossil fuel offshore drilling
Credit: U.S. Coast Guard/EPI2oh/Flickr

Oil companies pursue offshore drilling, touting lower emissions

Offshore drilling companies like Shell are increasing deepwater oil and gas extraction in the Gulf of Mexico, claiming it is a cleaner alternative than onshore operations due to reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Ivan Penn reports for The New York Times.


In short:

  • Oil companies argue that deepwater drilling is crucial for global energy needs and has a lower carbon footprint than onshore drilling.
  • The Gulf of Mexico has experienced rising oil production, reversing the decline after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill.
  • Environmentalists are concerned about the industry's pivot back to fossil fuels, urging a faster shift to renewable energy.

Key quote:

“We’re not talking about stopping oil production today. But no matter how you look at it, there’s a really dire need to accelerate this shift to clean energy.”

— Brettny Hardy, a senior lawyer in the Oceans Program at Earthjustice

Why this matters:

As critical planetary tipping points loom large, a continued focus on fossil fuel extraction threatens progress toward climate goals. Read more: We don’t have time for another fossil fuel bridge.

Two scientists in lab coats look at a computer screen displaying a colorful image from a molecular microscope.
Credit: NIH Image Gallery/Flickr

Federal health data removals leave scientists scrambling

Researchers are racing to preserve critical federal health data as the Trump administration removes online access to key government databases, raising fears about future disruptions.

Margaret Manto reports for Notus.

Keep reading...Show less
Senator Whitehouse & climate change

Senator Whitehouse puts climate change on budget committee’s agenda

For more than a decade, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse gave daily warnings about the mounting threat of climate change. Now he has a powerful new perch.
A group of young, diverse scientists work in a laboratory.
Credit: NIH Image Gallery/Flickr

Trump’s funding cuts threaten the backbone of U.S. research

Trump’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding cut targets “indirect costs,” the behind-the-scenes expenses that keep labs running, sparking a fierce backlash from universities and scientists who say it will cripple American innovation.

Carolyn Y. Johnson, Susan Svrluga, and Joel Achenbach report for The Washington Post.

Keep reading...Show less
Fire department personnel wearing protective gear walk along a street with the burned rubble of former homes.
Credit: CAL FIRE_Official/Flickr

Climate disasters are pushing society’s most vulnerable to the brink

The Los Angeles fires claimed 29 lives, most of them elderly, highlighting the deadly risks climate-intensified disasters pose to older adults.

Sarah Kaplan and Emily Wax-Thibodeaux report for The Washington Post.

Keep reading...Show less
Looking down on a city in the desert with mountains in the background.

Arizona’s developers fight water limits in a dark-money showdown

A dark-money-backed lawsuit is challenging Arizona’s groundbreaking limits on development in areas with rapidly disappearing groundwater, a move that could reshape water policy across the Southwest.

Katya Schwenk reports for The Lever.

Keep reading...Show less
A man in t-shirt and shorts digs in the sand next to a sign that says "sea turtle nest."

Major U.S. nature report in jeopardy due to Trump administration shutdown

Scientists were blindsided when the Trump administration killed a first-of-its-kind U.S. nature assessment, but key experts say they’ll finish it without government support.

Catrin Einhorn reports for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
aerial photography of grass field with blue solar panels and a road.

Clean energy growth shattered records in 2024, but political uncertainty looms

Clean energy installations in the U.S. surged 47% last year, driven by tax credits and falling costs, but future growth faces challenges from the Trump administration’s policies.

Akielly Hu reports for Canary Media.

Keep reading...Show less
Donald Trump smiling at a campaign event

Trump defies court orders, continues to block climate funding

President Donald Trump has halted billions in Biden-era climate and infrastructure funds, despite court rulings ordering their release.

Jake Bittle reports for Grist.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

People  sitting in an outdoors table working on a big sign.

Op-ed: Why funding for the environmental justice movement must be anti-racist

We must prioritize minority-serving institutions, BIPOC-led organizations and researchers to lead environmental justice efforts.

joe biden

Biden finalizes long-awaited hydrogen tax credits ahead of Trump presidency

Responses to the new rules have been mixed, and environmental advocates worry that Trump could undermine them.

Op-ed: Toxic prisons teach us that environmental justice needs abolition

Op-ed: Toxic prisons teach us that environmental justice needs abolition

Prisons, jails and detention centers are placed in locations where environmental hazards such as toxic landfills, floods and extreme heat are the norm.

Agents of Change in Environmental Justice logo

LISTEN: Reflections on the first five years of the Agents of Change program

The leadership team talks about what they’ve learned — and what lies ahead.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.