Science & Technology
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How Wall Street is shifting electric utilities toward consolidation and profit
A corporate merger that would form the largest electric utility in the United States is underway. It’s just one of many recent utility mergers and acquisitions as electric utilities enter a period of rapid growth.
On May 18, 2026, NextEra Energy announced it would buy Dominion Energy for US$66.8 billion.
What’s driving ...Read more
Microplastics are everywhere in Pennsylvania’s water – but the tide may be turning
Researchers have long known that plastic pollution reaches the ocean. But how much plastic is trapped, and where, before it reaches the ocean is far less understood.
As professors of environmental engineering, geography and environmental studies, and oceanography at Penn State, we recently led studies mapping how microplastics move ...Read more
Colorado firefly conservationists hope lab-raised insects can solve population declines
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — As the last of the sunset’s pink hues disappeared from the sky, the Fort Collins field came to life. One flash appeared. Then another. Suddenly, the entire nature preserve seemed to sparkle with the glow of fireflies.
“I grew up in Colorado, and I didn’t even know we had fireflies here until I started working at ...Read more
The world agreed to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030 – but marine protection can’t be judged by area alone
The ocean is home to some of the richest biodiversity on Earth. From coral reefs and mangrove forests to the deep sea, marine ecosystems sustain countless species, support coastal communities, regulate the climate and underpin global food security.
But these systems face growing pressure from overfishing, habitat loss, pollution and ...Read more
USDA steps up screwworm monitoring as cases expand in Texas
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is stepping up its surveillance of New World screwworm, seeking to work with the Department of Homeland Security to contain a growing outbreak threatening the nation’s cattle herd.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a Monday press conference that the two agencies were planning to enter into an ...Read more
Sharks along Cape Cod spotted stealing striped bass from fishermen: 'Sharks are throughout Massachusetts waters now'
If you’re fishing along Cape Cod these days, be on the lookout for a hungry apex predator.
Several white sharks have been chomping on striped bass that fishermen caught in Cape Cod Bay, according to shark researcher John Chisholm.
The striped bass shark depredations have also been occurring off Chatham’s Monomoy Island — a hotspot for ...Read more
Two humpback whales found dead on Monterey Bay beaches may have been killed by toxic algae blooms
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Two humpback whales that were found washed up dead on beaches along Monterey Bay earlier this month tested positive for domoic acid, a naturally occurring toxin produced by harmful algae blooms in the ocean.
Such algae blooms — which have been linked more commonly to deaths of sea lions, pelicans and other smaller animals...Read more
San Diego's South Bay region to see less air pollution, sewage from Tijuana River in near future, state and federal officials say
SAN DIEGO — Communities in San Diego's South Bay region are one step closer to relief from a major air pollution hotspot after the California Coastal Commission approved a county-initiated project Wednesday to extend culvert pipes at the Saturn Boulevard crossing of the Tijuana River, where cascading sewage and industrial waste have blanketed ...Read more
Google CEO brought optimism to Stanford commencement. Some graduates walked out
As Google CEO Sundar Pichai took the stage Sunday at Stanford’s commencement, scores of graduates stood, booed and walked out, turning a celebration for nearly 6,000 degree recipients into a protest over the tech giant’s work with Israel.
Pichai, a Stanford alumnus leading one of the world’s most powerful companies, appeared unfazed. His ...Read more
How window-mounted heat pumps can give tenants efficient heating and cooling
People who rent their homes, or don’t have enough money to make major upgrades to their homes, have for many years been left out of a major shift in heating and cooling technology that can improve efficiency, save money and be better for the global climate: heat pumps.
Heating and cooling buildings consumes 35% of all the energy ...Read more
Paving paradise: Dismantling the US Roadless Rule threatens to disrupt wildlife, water and peace in the last quiet places in America
Pause for a moment and listen. What do you hear? Chances are, somewhere in the background, is the ever-present hum of a road.
More than 4.2 million miles of public roads crisscross the lower 48 states – enough to reach the Moon and back almost nine times. This vast network of roads spiderwebs its way across the contiguous U.S., ...Read more
This successful Arctic fishing treaty has kept Russia, China, the US and others working together for 5 years – it could be a model for future diplomacy
Lately, much of the news about the Arctic has been bleak. The far north is warming three to four times faster than the rest of the planet. Arctic climate change – manifesting in sea ice loss, permafrost thaw and coastal erosion, among other phenomena – is already causing serious problems for Arctic residents, ecosystems and the rest of ...Read more
Legislature sweeps Florida Forever funding to rural conservation program
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Legislature has gone from budgeting $229 million to the Florida Forever program two years ago to putting no new money into it next year, something that has rarely happened in the 25-year history of the state’s premier land conservation initiative.
Instead of buying land for the public to enjoy, the ...Read more
Cape Canaveral could get new launch site only 2 miles from the port
ORLANDO, Fla. — A new launch pad could be constructed at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station — if the military has its way.
The Department of the Air Force, which oversees the facility, is gathering information for an Environmental Assessment for a proposed Space Launch Complex 51 that would be about 2 miles from Port Canaveral.
The goal of...Read more
Low-resistance tires could cut drivers' costs while supporting environment
LOS ANGELES — More than 20 years after legislators first told the California Energy Commission that replacement tires need to be as energy-efficient as original tires, the agency is taking action.
Tires on new cars have low “rolling resistance,” meaning there is less friction and drag on the engine as it propels the car forward. That ...Read more
US's screwworm fix is still a year away, risking more spread
The U.S.’s best weapon against a deadly cattle parasite threatening the beef industry is more than a year away from showing meaningful results, raising concerns over how far the outbreak could spread before then.
When the New World screwworm reached the U.S. earlier this month after advancing across Mexico for more than a year, federal ...Read more
'It's an injustice': Shrinking state funds could slow fixes for Californians with toxic water
In a neighborhood flanked by grapevines and orange groves on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley, people cannot drink the water from their faucets because it’s contaminated.
Residents in the area north of Porterville, many of them farmworkers, have been discussing a solution, which they expect will require running pipes to connect to the ...Read more
Efforts to combat climate change often exclude Indigenous people – and they may not have any recourse
Imagine living in the same forest as your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and all your ancestors as far back in time as stories can tell, and depending on the forest for food, shelter, recreation and education. Imagine, then, that the forest depends on you, too, because you and your people have protected it for generations.
...Read more
El Niño is back, and ocean temperatures are already near record highs – that can spell disaster for fish and corals
It’s official: El Niño is back. By late fall 2026, forecast models give a 2-in-3 chance of a strong-to-very strong El Niño affecting the weather, climate and ocean temperatures across the planet.
El Niño is the climate system’s biggest player and one side of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, or ENSO. It’s the heads to La Ni�...Read more
OpenAI probed by coalition of state attorneys general
OpenAI is under investigation by a coalition of state attorneys general who requested information from the artificial intelligence company on a wide range of topics.
A spokesperson for the company said it was cooperating with the probe.
“AI is a new and powerful technology, and we work every day to safely bring its benefits to people in a ...Read more
Popular Stories
- The world agreed to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030 – but marine protection can’t be judged by area alone
- Sharks along Cape Cod spotted stealing striped bass from fishermen: 'Sharks are throughout Massachusetts waters now'
- How window-mounted heat pumps can give tenants efficient heating and cooling
- How Wall Street is shifting electric utilities toward consolidation and profit
- USDA steps up screwworm monitoring as cases expand in Texas
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