You Can’t End the War on Coal Without Starting a War on Public Health
Steve Helber/AP This story was originally published by New Republic and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Of all the scenes of devastation in Puerto Rico caused by Hurricane Maria, one video has stood out. Shot from a balcony or rooftop, it depicts six seconds of horror: the city of Guayama, on the island’s southern coast, engulfed…
Science’s Top Foe in Congress Is Retiring
Jay Mallin/ Zuma It’s been a tough year for scientists, but a number of climate scientists found reason to celebrate on Thursday. The Texas Tribune broke the news that Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), one of the most ardent skeptics of climate change in Congress, will be retiring next year. Smith has become one of the most polarizing figures on…
Controversial Agriculture Nominee Withdraws Amid Russia Scandal
Sam Clovis in Sioux City, Iowa, March 24, 2014.Jerry Mennenga/via ZUMA Wire President Donald Trump’s controversial pick for a key Department of Agriculture post withdrew from consideration Thursday, just days after the emergence of explosive details about his involvement in the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russia. Sam Clovis, a former Trump campaign aide who the…
Tesla Wants to Put Puerto Rico Back on the Grid
Milos-Muller/Getty This story was originally published by Grist and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. It was a transaction concocted on Twitter—and in a few short weeks, declared official: Tesla is helping to bring power back to Puerto Rico. Early this month, Elon Musk touted his company’s work building solar-plus-battery systems for small islands like Kauai in Hawaii and Ta’u…
We Found Cool Dinosaur Fossils in Utah and Now Trump Might Ruin Them
This story was originally published by HuffPost and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Environmentalists and scientists were rattled last week following a report that President Donald Trump plans to scale back two of southern Utah’s national monuments. Not only would the project endanger sacred Native American sites and breathtaking Western vistas open to the public…
The Bond Market Doesn’t Care About Climate Change
But there’s another element that helps cement the bargain: investors’ confidence that coastal towns will pay back the money they borrow. Homebuyers are irrational. Politicians are self-interested. But lenders—and the ratings agencies that help direct their investments—ought to have a more clinical view. Evaluating long-term risk is exactly their business model. If they thought environmental…