The Iran War is Forcing Energy-Importing Countries to Turn Inward

9 June 2026 at 16:06

The Iran war is pushing countries to prioritize domestic energy in order to protect themselves from volatile oil and natural gas markets.

The president of Solaric, a rooftop-solar installer based near Manila, said people were now seeing the technology as “a way to survive this new age.”

ANWR Oil Draws Few Bids, Despite Trump’s Push for ‘Liquid Gold’

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Lisa Friedman

5 June 2026 at 23:52

An auction to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ended with just 10 percent of the available land claimed for oil development.

Caribou on the tundra of the 1002 area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Trump Announces $700 Million in Funds Meant to Boost Coal Industry

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Maxine Joselow and Brad Plumer

4 June 2026 at 21:56

The president announced a total of $700 million in federal money to reinvigorate the domestic coal industry, which has been in decline for decades.

Of the roughly $700 million in total funding, $425 million would be used to upgrade and extend the life of 13 coal plants that otherwise might have closed in the coming years.

How One Company Plans to Mine the Bottom of the Sea

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Harry Stevens

4 June 2026 at 21:30

A look at the quest to mine the bottom of the ocean for valuable minerals, the connection between light pollution and allergies and more climate news.

Urban Light Pollution Might Be Worsening Allergies

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Marta Zaraska

4 June 2026 at 21:12

Light pollution prompts plants to shed pollen longer and stronger, according to new research.

A study found that trees in cities with brighter lights start producing pollen earlier in the spring and finish later in the fall, adding up to 130 days per year to the allergy season.

Arizona, Nevada Agree to Trade for Desalinated Pacific Ocean Water

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Scott Dance

3 June 2026 at 23:52

A decade-old treatment plant in San Diego County, Calif., could leave more water in the Colorado River for states facing severe shortages.

From left, Dan Denham of the San Diego County Water Authority; Scott Cameron of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; Tom Buschatzke of the Arizona Department of Water Resources; and Colby Pellegrino of the Southern Nevada Water Authority toasted the agreement at the Carlsbad Desalination Plant in California on Wednesday.

E.U. Steps Up Ocean Monitoring as Trump Administration Backs Away

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Chico Harlan

3 June 2026 at 23:01

Days after the U.S. said it would kill a network of ocean monitors, European officials pledged to invest more in their version, calling it a “necessity.”

The European plan to invest roughly $107 million comes as the U.S. has said it would dismantle a sprawling network of sensors.

Unusual Greenpeace Lawsuit May Proceed, Dutch Court Says

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Karen Zraick

3 June 2026 at 20:34

Greenpeace International is arguing under Dutch law that an American pipeline company, Energy Transfer, sought to silence it with a costly lawsuit in North Dakota.

Demonstrators against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota in 2016. The lawsuits are centered on Greenpeace’s involvement in the protests.

Democrats Pledge to Fight Trump’s Termination of Ocean Monitoring Observatories

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Lisa Friedman

2 June 2026 at 21:53

The Trump administration is dismantling a $368 million deep-ocean observation system that monitors marine ecosystems and the effects of climate change.

Recovering a surface buoy — part of a network of moorings, buoys and gliders making observations of the ocean — from the Irminger Sea off Greenland’s coast, in 2021.

Trump Administration to Dismantle the Ocean Observatories Initiative

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Eric Niiler

2 June 2026 at 15:32

The $368 million network of instruments collecting data in both the Atlantic and Pacific has been critical to climate and ocean research.

A mooring that was used in the Ocean Observatories Initiative was recovered after operating for a year in the Gulf of Alaska.

I.R.A. Rebates for Appliance Swaps Could Be Phased Out

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Maxine Joselow and Brad Plumer

1 June 2026 at 22:33

New guidance from the Energy Department would prevent people from receiving rebates after making such swaps.

The new guidance would also end rebates for the replacement of gas-powered dryers, heat pumps and water heaters.

Oil Prices Jump as Middle East Tensions Build

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Rebecca F. Elliott and Joe Rennison

1 June 2026 at 20:37

Some analysts said the main international oil price, which was up 6 percent on Monday, could climb much higher in the coming weeks if the Strait of Hormuz doesn’t reopen.

An oil refinery in Carson, Calif. The possibility of continued fighting has raised concerns about how long the world’s stockpiles of oil and fuels will last if the Strait of Hormuz does not reopen.

2025 Wildfires Were the Costliest Ever, Researchers Say

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Rebecca Dzombak

1 June 2026 at 19:28

Severe, hard-to-control blazes in densely populated areas like Los Angeles drove the year’s record losses.

Pacific Palisades, Calif., on Jan. 7, 2025. Fires in the Los Angeles area last year burned at least 90 square miles, killing at least 31 people and displacing more than 150,000.

S.E.C. Proposes to Kill Climate Change Disclosure Rule

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Maxine Joselow

31 May 2026 at 17:10

The regulation would have required all publicly traded companies to disclose whether they faced significant risks from climate change and its effects.

An oil drilling site in Wyoming. The S.E.C. rule would have required companies to disclose their contributions to climate change and the risks they faced from a warming planet.

How NextEra Energy Wielded Political Power in Florida

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Ivan Penn

29 May 2026 at 21:29

NextEra, which is seeking to buy Dominion Energy, has often butted heads with consumer groups, residents and journalists in its home state.

A Dominion Energy power plant near Davis, W.Va. NextEra Energy’s political activities are expected to be scrutinized as it seeks approval of its purchase of Dominion.

A Clean Energy PAC Helped Beat Chip Roy, and Now It Has New Targets

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Lisa Friedman

29 May 2026 at 20:47

A PAC representing wind and solar energy interests spent $1.1 million to boost the Republican primary opponent of Chip Roy, an opponent of renewables. Now they are trying to save a Republican ally in Iowa.

A group of renewable energy investors paid for this projection on the side of the Energy Department building in Washington gloating over Representative Chip Roy’s defeat in a Republican primary for Texas attorney general.

Greenpeace’s Long War With a Pipeline Titan Enters a Strange New Phase

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Karen Zraick

29 May 2026 at 02:09

This month, a North Dakota court barred Greenpeace from saying what it wanted in a European court, an unusual move. The environmental group says it is forging ahead.

A court building in Amsterdam. The North Dakota Supreme Court this month barred Greenpeace International from making claims against Energy Transfer in a Dutch countersuit.

Can New Technology Help Save North Atlantic Right Whales?

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Catrin Einhorn

28 May 2026 at 10:02

Innovative systems to keep ships from hitting North Atlantic right whales are coming into use. The Trump administration is weighing whether they can replace a bedrock protection.

E.P.A. to Repeal Some Limits on ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Drinking Water

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Lisa Friedman

26 May 2026 at 21:32

The rules were established by the Biden administration after research linked the compounds to a range of serious health problems.

Lee Zeldin, the E.P.A. administrator, has argued that the agency made a procedural error when it established the drinking water standards in 2024.

U.S. Aims to Give Cold War Plutonium to Start-Ups for Nuclear Fuel

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Brad Plumer

26 May 2026 at 20:10

Companies say it’s a better way to dispose of the Cold War-era material — and fix a shortage of nuclear fuel. But the plan has also faced criticism from nonproliferation experts.

Reading view