"On the whooshing Watauga River, excavators claw at the remains of Shulls Mill Dam, pulling concrete apart piece by piece and gradually opening a waterway kept in check for nearly two centuries."

"Fracking wastewater, injected underground for permanent disposal, traveled 12 miles through geological faults before bursting to the surface through a previously plugged West Texas oil well in 2022, according to a new study from Southern Methodist University."

"Less than half of stunned or injured birds survive a collision with a window, research has found, pushing up estimates that more than 1 billion birds may die each year from flying into buildings in the US."

"A first-of-its-kind project brings down a dam with an eye toward a vulnerable salamander"

"Scientists believe artificial light may be affecting natural ecology of plant life by creating extended photosynthesis"

"The Department of Energy on Tuesday announced $2.2 billion in funding for eight projects across 18 states to strengthen the electrical grid against increasing extreme weather, advance the transition to cleaner electricity and meet a growing demand for power."

"Summers in New York City are difficult for Anthony Gay and his family. A small, portable air conditioner in his bedroom is the only relief they have from soaring temperatures in their Brooklyn rental."

"Debby, now a tropical storm, roared ashore Monday along the Big Bend coast of Florida, killing at least four people, flooding streets, and causing widespread power outages as the storm roared toward Georgia and South Carolina, where it's expected to bring catastrophic flooding this week."

"Driven by prolonged drought and inconsistent public water delivery, many Mexico City residents are turning to rainwater. Pioneering company Isla Urbana, which does both nonprofit and for-profit work, has installed more than 40,000 rain catchment systems across Mexico since the company was founded 15 years ago. And Mexico City’s government has invested in the installation of 70,000 systems since 2019, still a drop in the bucket for the sprawling metropolis of around 9 million."

"Brian Harrington entered the Illinois Department of Corrections system in 2007 at age 14, sentenced to 25 years in prison. ... He remembers the toilet water being brown—and sometimes the drinking water, too. He recalls the tap water’s sewer smell and the black specks swirling, then settling, in his cup."