Environmental Studies

"In a letter sent Thursday morning, Elizabeth Warren and Josh Hawley press the Energy Information Agency to mandate annual electricity disclosure for data centers."

"Medicinal and aromatic plants in the Appalachian Mountains, which have stood for hundreds of millions of years and contributed to biodiversity across the region, are facing threats from poaching, climate change, and more. The multiple national parks dotting the region are often havens for these plants, though even the protections afforded by the parks cannot prevent all threats."

"U.S. President Donald Trump today unveiled a set of scientific advisers heavily skewed toward artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing, topics his administration has emphasized. The roster, unlike previous iterations of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), features some of the world’s wealthiest people and several of Trump’s biggest political supporters from high-tech industry—but only one academic scientist."

"On Friday, March 20, eight states set an all-time March heat record, and the U.S. national March heat record was set or tied for the third consecutive day"

"Oklahoma took on an ambitious project to catalog all of the state’s injection wells, which shoot toxic waste generated by oil drilling back into the ground. Despite records showing risk of drinking water pollution, the state chose not to act."

"As the Trump administration prepares to convene the Endangered Species Committee, also known as... the “God Squad,” conservation groups are expressing anger over what they call an “illegal end-run around” that doesn’t seem to be following clear procedures set forth in the law. The committee is planning to discuss exemptions for Gulf of Mexico oil and gas activities from the requirements of the Endangered Species Act."

"The U.S. Forest Service said it plans to approve South32’s Hermosa project in Patagonia, Arizona, despite the water problems the mine is already causing."

"When scientists recently analyzed hundreds of studies of ecosystems, they were surprised to see a marked slowing in the rate of species turnover. If new species don’t replace old ones, they say, ecosystems may have less flexibility to respond to habitat loss and climate change."

"A new report finds that of 154 specific claims about how AI will benefit the climate, just a quarter cited academic research. A third included no evidence at all."