Reading view

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

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

© National Science Foundation Ocean Observatories Initiative

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 Signs Executive Order Seeking Oversight of A.I. Models

The order, which signaled a shift from the hands-off approach the White House had previously taken toward A.I., followed debates over how to gain control of A.I. models without disrupting innovation.
  •  

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

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

© Bing Guan for The New York Times

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

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

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

© Loren Elliott for The New York Times

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

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

© Ulysse Bellier/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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

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.

© Michael A. McCoy for The New York Times

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.
  •  
  •  

Can New Technology Help Save North Atlantic Right Whales?

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.
  •  

Can New Technology Help Save North Atlantic Right Whales?

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.

© Sophie Park for The New York Times

  •  

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

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

© Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

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

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.

© Science Source

Work with radioactive materials at a plutonium facility at the at Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1978.
  •  

Trump Eases Restrictions on Climate ‘Super Pollutants’

The administration is delaying a phaseout of hydrofluorocarbons, potent planet-warming chemicals used in air-conditioning and refrigeration.

© Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Replacing an air conditioning unit outside a home in western Pennsylvania during a heat wave last June.
  •  

The New ‘Gold Rush’ of Geothermal Energy

A new wave of start-ups are trying to harvest emissions-free energy from inside the Earth, but the industry still faces significant challenges.

© Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

Executives of Fervo and others celebrated the geothermal company’s I.P.O. on the Nasdaq on May 13.
  •  

Bipartisan Bill Would Impose New Annual Fee on Electric Vehicles

A House transportation bill introduced this week would require owners of electric cars to pay $130 to cover the cost of road repairs.

© Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times

Congress is considering imposing a new annual fee on electric vehicles to help pay for road repairs.
  •  

Rising Energy Costs and Data Centers at Heart of NextEra’s Dominion Bid

NextEra’s proposed acquisition of Dominion Energy comes as Americans are paying a lot more for electricity, and data centers are demanding a lot more power from utilities.

© Tristan Spinski for The New York Times

NextEra Energy’s acquisition of Dominion Energy would consolidate utility operations along much of the East Coast, which could shape electricity service for tens of millions of customers.
  •  

Scientists Tweaked the Global Warming Outlook. So Trump Weighed In.

Renewable energy has helped make the worst-case scenario a bit less bad. The president said, falsely, it shows that climate scientists were wrong all along.

© Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Solar panels and wind turbines in north-central China. Renewable is becoming more affordable in many countries.
  •  
❌