"A rapidly expanding certification scheme run by a UK nonprofit and used by major gas companies may be understating the actual methane emissions it purports to certify, a Guardian investigation has found."
"RJ Laverne’s childhood home in Detroit had a big elm out front. In fact, the whole neighborhood was lined with them: great, graceful trees whose branches spread across the street to create a shady canopy. Elms were so widely planted in cities and suburbs in the 19th and 20th centuries that they became known as the “Main Street tree.” Then, in the 1930s, Dutch elm disease began to ravage them, and by 1989, most of America’s 77 million mature elms were dead."
"Scientists say their work on fires and climate change could be lost as the agency moves its headquarters to Utah from Washington and shuts 57 research stations."
"Florida Power & Light’s profit margins consistently ranked among the highest in the nation over the past five years and topped other utilities’ in 2024 and 2025, with 27 cents of every dollar in revenue last year retained as profit, according to a new report." "Utility profit margins are one reason why electricity bills are rising, the report says. Advocates say low-income communities are hardest-hit by the costs."
"The Trump administration is speeding up environmental reviews of large infrastructure projects under a final rule set to be published by the US Department of Agriculture Friday."
"The U.S. Bureau of Land Management opened a seven-day public comment period on March 31 as part of its proposal to open 336,425 acres of public lands in the Greater Chaco Region in New Mexico to oil and gas drilling. If the proposal moves forward, new oil and gas leasing and development on federal lands will be allowed within 10 miles of Chaco Culture National Historical Park, even on lands directly bordering the park."
"A judge ruled on March 31 that construction on President Trump’s White House ballroom must halt until Congress authorizes the project. The lawsuit was brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation."
"President Donald Trump’s administration will move the U.S. Forest Service headquarters out of the nation’s capital to Salt Lake City as part of an organizational overhaul that involves shuttering research facilities in 31 states and concentrating resources in the West, the agency announced Tuesday."
Reporting on species who are gone forever can be disheartening, but don’t let that stop you. After more than two decades on the extinction beat, John R. Platt has learned this work can also be deeply rewarding. He explains why he’s stuck with it and why other journalists should consider joining him in telling the stories of vanishing animals and plants.
