17 March 2018
Scott Pruitt, Trump’s rule-cutting E.P.A. chief, plots his political future
Mr. Pruitt may be using his position as an environmental deregulation czar to position himself to run for office in Oklahoma — or perhaps the presidency.
A wave of state bills pushed by fossil fuel interests aims to label methane gas as “clean” energy, undermining climate policies and misleading the public.
In short:
Key quote:
“It’s simply a grand effort at greenwashing a dirty energy source.”
— Gabe Filippelli, executive director of the Environmental Resilience Institute and professor of earth sciences at Indiana University
Why this matters:
It’s a rebrand worthy of Orwell. In places like Tennessee, where Nashville’s leaders aimed to ditch fossil fuels, these bills could force cities to pretend gas is green, sabotaging climate goals and public health protections in the name of "choice" and “energy freedom.”
Read more: “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you” — disabling environments in Cancer Alley and the Ohio River Valley
Wind turbines are critical for cutting carbon, but they can also kill birds — so scientists are racing to make them safer using paint, artificial intelligence, and better planning strategies.
In short:
Key quote:
“If you’re painting blades black or doing curtailment that means you know you have a problem.”
— Roel May, senior research scientist, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research
Why this matters:
Wind power is a key part of decarbonizing the grid. Safer turbines mean cleaner energy and fewer dead birds — especially those vital to fragile ecosystems and already under pressure from a warming planet. But there’s a catch: Innovations are still voluntary in most places, and until regulators step in, the smarter tech may stay on the sidelines.
Read more: Winged Warnings
In a historic move, the Yurok Tribe has reclaimed 17,000 acres of ancestral land along Northern California’s Klamath River, marking the state’s largest landback deal.
In short:
Key quote:
“The Klamath River is our highway. It is also our food source. And it takes care of us. And so it’s our job, our inherent right, to take care of the Klamath Basin and its river.”
— Joseph James, Chairman, Yurok Tribal Council
Why this matters:
Restoring Indigenous stewardship of land has direct benefits for public health and biodiversity — protecting forests that sequester carbon, watersheds that sustain salmon, and ecosystems that support clean air and water. It’s part climate fix, part cultural revival — a living example of what environmental justice looks like when it’s done with purpose and persistence.
Read more: Restoring our waters is restoring ourselves
It's official: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is moving to scrap pollution limits on greenhouse gases and toxic chemicals from power plants, reversing hard-won Biden-era rules that sought to protect public health and mitigate climate change.
In short:
Key quote:
“Pollutants like mercury and greenhouse gases are harmful, a settled scientific fact for decades, and the evidence has only gotten stronger.”
— Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island
Why this matters:
The EPA just lit a match under one of the few major climate safeguards left standing. The administration’s argument — grid reliability and economic savings — echoes common pro-fossil fuel talking points. Meanwhile, the health of communities living in the shadow of smokestacks hangs in the balance. And as the Trump administration eliminates rules meant to curb the worst effects of climate change, it is also doubling down on efforts to sideline renewable energy.
Read more:
A Senate panel pressed the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Jay Bhattacharya, to explain who is behind sweeping cuts to research funding, as confusion grows over the Trump administration’s influence on the agency’s operations.
In short:
Key quote:
“There’s a range of decisions, I think, that led to some of those pauses of grants.”
— Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health
Why this matters:
The National Institutes of Health has long been a global leader in funding biomedical research, underwriting much of the basic science that drives breakthroughs in medicine. Cuts of the magnitude now proposed — nearly 40% — threaten not just lab jobs and university projects, but the foundation of U.S. innovation in health. When politics overtake peer-reviewed science, fields like public health, climate-linked disease research, and reproductive health often take the first hit. The sidelining of diversity and equity studies under the label of “politicized science” could further erode efforts to understand and address health disparities. As federal support evaporates, researchers may turn to private industry, where the incentive to cure may compete with the incentive to profit. And for the public, it means longer waits for accurate, objective answers about diseases that affect millions.
Read more: NIH workers warn of illegal orders and suppressed science
A surge in toxic algal blooms driven by climate change and fertilizer runoff is devastating wildlife and reshaping ecosystems worldwide.
In short:
Key quote:
“We have a contradiction here: is our first objective to keep the planet’s freshwater systems, coastal zones, ecosystems and climate stable – or is it to feed humanity?”
— Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Why this matters:
It's been known for decades that runoff from fertilizer-heavy farms chokes rivers and lakes, but supercharged warming is taking the crisis global. These blooms can poison drinking water, close beaches, kill wildlife and sicken humans, and drive up food prices by crippling aquaculture and fishing economies. Behind the blooms are two drivers: the world's appetite for cheap, fast fertilizer, and its inability to rein in global warming.
Read more: Algal blooms target sea otter hearts
A record-setting May heatwave in Iceland and Greenland was made roughly 3°C hotter by human-caused climate change, according to new research.
In short:
Key quote:
“In recent years, my colleagues and I in the Climate Group at the Icelandic Meteorological Office have noticed unusual weather extremes, such as rainfall events that far exceed in rainfall duration and amount, anything expected based on prior data. In short the old statistics do not apply.”
— Dr Halldór Björnsson, group leader at the Icelandic Meteorological Office
Why this matters:
The Arctic is warming faster than any other region on Earth. This rapid heating — driven in part by vanishing sea ice that once reflected sunlight — threatens both the ecosystems and people who have lived there for generations. Inuit communities in Greenland depend on stable ice for travel and subsistence hunting. As that ice thins and disappears, their access to food and mobility shrinks. But the melting of the Greenland ice sheet isn’t just a local concern. It contributes to rising sea levels that put low-lying islands and coastal cities around the world at risk. Scientists warn that this melting could eventually disrupt major ocean currents like the AMOC, which plays a crucial role in regulating global climate. What happens in the Arctic ripples outward, affecting health, migration, weather, and food systems everywhere.
Learn more: Arctic heat surges to unprecedented levels
One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.
“They're terrorizing these scientists because they want to keep them silent.”
"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”
A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations
“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”
“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.