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Environment + Energy – Articles, Analysis, Opinion

Displaying 2051 - 2075 of 2435 articles

The EPA has issued rules to regulate methane emission from new oil and gas wells in the face of industry and political pushback. gas storage via www.shutterstock.com

Why utilities have little incentive to plug leaking natural gas

The Obama administration wants to regulate methane leaks from oil and gas operations. Here’s why we can’t count on market forces to make it work.
News about the sewage and pollution in Guanabara Bay in Rio have caused health concerns among Olympic athletes. Ricardo Moraes/Reuters

Brazil’s sewage woes reflect the growing global water quality crisis

Wastewater treatment systems around the world are hamstrung by outdated tests that don’t identify a growing array of pathogens or identify the sources of pollutants.
FEMA photograph by John Fleck taken in Mississippi. Wikimedia Commons

Build disaster-proof homes before storms strike, not afterward

In response to disasters like Superstorm Sandy, engineers are developing new building codes and tools to calculate the value of upgrades. National policy should encourage builders to use these tools.
Residents near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota and many others are concerned of the impact of mining in its headwaters. atbaker/flickr

Can nature advocates save threatened Boundary Waters wilderness – again?

Almost 100 years ago, the foundations to preserve the Boundary Waters in Minnesota for recreation were put in place. Now residents are debating whether to allow a mine in its headwaters.
A housing complex in Thailand with air conditioners. Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters

The global impact of air conditioning: big and getting bigger

Global temperatures are poised for another record-breaking year. As incomes rise around the world and global temperatures go up, the use of air conditioning is poised to increase dramatically.
Higher carbon dioxide levels will not result in faster-growing forests – just the opposite in many places, study finds. rosskevin756/flickr

More CO2 won’t help northern forests or stave off climate change

Study using tree ring data and climate projections shows that buildup of CO2 will not benefit most northern forests and that growth rates will actually fall.
Detail from a satellite photo of Lake Okeechobee’s algae bloom and the St. Lucie canal into which water was released. Rising water levels from heavy winter rains had water managers worried that water would breach the dike. NASA

Why toxic algae blooms like Florida’s are so dangerous to people and wildlife

Toxic algae blooms like the intense one now fouling Florida’s waterways harm wildlife and people in various ways. They’re also on the rise.
Indoor marijuana farms are becoming one of the most energy-intensive industries in the United States. www.shutterstock.com

Curbing the marijuana industry’s voracious energy appetite

As more states legalize marijuana, growing pot indoors is consuming massive quantities of energy. Rules for this new industry should include requirements to use clean power or pay carbon fees.
Harmful algal bloom caused by nutrient pollution, Assateague island National Seashore, MD. Eric Vance, U.S. EPA/Flickr

Reducing water pollution with microbes and wood chips

Excess nutrients from farm fields cause widespread water pollution across the U.S. Bioreactors – essentially, ditches filled with wood chips – are emerging as a way to reduce nutrient pollution.