❌

Reading view

While the World Scrambles for Oil, China Sits on Full Tanks

The possible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz may not prompt China to return quickly to prewar levels of oil purchases from the Persian Gulf.

Β© Hector Retamal/Agence France-Presse β€” Getty Images

An oil refinery in Nanjing, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province, last month. Chinese companies kept their refineries running throughout the war.
  •  

Is Climate Change Supercharging El NiΓ±o?

As a new, potentially record-breaking El NiΓ±o begins, researchers are vigorously debating whether climate change is driving the phenomenon’s intensity.

Β© Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images

Fighting a wildfire in South Sumatra, Indonesia, during an El NiΓ±o-exacerbated dry season in 2023.
  •  

Is Climate Change Supercharging El NiΓ±o?

As a new, potentially record-breaking El NiΓ±o begins, researchers are vigorously debating whether climate change is driving the phenomenon’s intensity.

Β© Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images

Fighting a wildfire in South Sumatra, Indonesia, during an El NiΓ±o-exacerbated dry season in 2023.
  •  

Have You Bought a Tesla Recently? We Want to Hear From You.

Tesla sales are rebounding in Europe even though many people have negative feelings about Elon Musk, the company’s chief executive. We want to know why.

Β© Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Tesla’s car sales took a big hit in Europe last year, in part because many people were turned off by the political views of the company’s chief executive, Elon Musk.
  •  

Average U.S. Gas Price Falls Below $4 After U.S.-Iran Agreement

Drivers are enjoying some relief at the pump after the United States and Iran signed an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Β© Vincent Alban/The New York Times

Gasoline prices rose sharply after the start of U.S.-led war with Iran.
  •  

U.S. Will Waive Oil Sanctions That Have Long Crimped Iran

The preliminary U.S.-Iran deal temporarily waives restrictions that have limited the country’s oil sales and how much money it has been able to make from those exports.

Β© Atta Kenare/Agence France-Presse β€” Getty Images

An oil facility on Kharg Island, Iran, in 2017.
  •  

Trump Administration to Pay $765 Million to Cancel 4 More Wind Projects

It’s the third such deal the Interior Department has struck to pay firms to abandon plans for offshore turbines, spending roughly $2.5 billion to get companies to abandon their wind projects.

Β© Joshua A. Bickel/Associated Press

The Trump administration has now struck deals energy developers totaling more than $2.5 billion to cancel offshore wind leases.
  •  

Trump’s FEMA Nominee Calls Staff Cuts a β€˜Challenge’ for Disaster Agency

Cameron Hamilton, who briefly led the agency on an acting basis last year but was fired for contradicting the president, also said he would get money out to states faster.

Β© Mariam Zuhaib/Associated Press

Cameron Hamilton, President Trump’s FEMA nominee, testifying before the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday.
  •  

D.O.J. Seeks to Halt Pollution Lawsuit Against Elon Musk’s Data Center

The department cited national security concerns, saying Elon Musk’s company had played a crucial role in the Iran war. It also argued it has the authority to stop environmental lawsuits brought by citizens.

Β© Brad J. Vest for The New York Times

Construction at xAI’s power plant in Southaven, Miss., in February. The NAACP has sued the company over air pollution from generators there.
  •  

New Coral Study Identifies Areas Where Reefs Are Hanging On

New research has identified areas around the world where cooler currents and other favorable conditions are helping to protect coral from the worst effects of global warming.
  •  

Gas Prices May Remain High Despite US-Iran Deal

The preliminary agreement may not have an immediate effect on prices at the pump. Damaged infrastructure and risky transport could keep costs up.

Β© Jenny Kane/Associated Press

Gas prices have soared since the start of the war with Iran.
  •  

Tensions Are Rising Among States That Rely on the Colorado River

A prolonged drought means the nation’s largest reservoirs are dwindling, and litigation over access to water could lie ahead.

Β© Nina Riggio for The New York Times

The Upper Colorado River on the Grand Canyon last month. About 40 million people and 5.5 million acres of cropland depend on the Colorado for drinking water and irrigation.
  •  

Renewable Groups Ask Courts to End Pentagon’s β€˜Total Halt’ of Wind Power

More than 100 planned wind farms in 21 states are now stalled indefinitely as the Pentagon delays military reviews once seen as routine.

Β© Brandon Thibodeaux for The New York Times

The freeze affects 41 wind projects in Texas, which produces more wind power than any other state in the U.S., as well as projects in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington.
  •  

Democrats Once Vowed to Stop Oil and Gas. Now They’re Not So Sure.

As the midterm elections approach, many leading Democrats are rethinking their approach to climate change.

Β© Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

A talk on rising energy costs on Capitol Hill hosted by Democrats, from left, Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, in March.
  •  
  •  

G.M. Plans to Develop Energy Storage Batteries as E.V. Sales Flag

The carmaker will follow Tesla in making components for large batteries used by electric utilities, data centers and other businesses to handle fluctuations in power supply and demand.

Β© Rebecca Cook/Reuters

The main active ingredient in the storage batteries that General Motors plans to produce is sodium, which is cheaper and easier to process than lithium.
  •  

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

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

Β© Jes Aznar for The New York Times

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

ANWR Oil Draws Few Bids, Despite Trump’s Push for β€˜Liquid Gold’

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

Β© Christopher Miller for The New York Times

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