NuScale, compact nuclear plant developer, plans to go public

Jan 12, 2022
The company has created a modular design it says makes financial sense. Though carbon-free, nuclear remains controversial.
An artist’s rendering of a NuScale Power nuclear facility. Though the energy source is carbon-free, accidents like the disaster at Fukushima, Japan, have diminished its popularity.
Courtesy NuScale Power

Oil jobs abound in West Texas, but obstacles hamper hiring

Jan 12, 2022
Is it the Great Resignation? A clean-energy future? Higher wages? Or all of the above?
Unemployment in Midland, Texas, has dropped since the summer, but the city's labor market remains tight.
Montinique Monroe/Getty Images

Could nuclear fusion solve the climate crisis?

Jan 10, 2022
A small British company says it is on track to decarbonize the economy with an abundant, safe and cheap source of energy — eventually.
Tokamak's latest nuclear fusion reactor, the ST40, which emulates the way stars generate energy, CEO Chris Kelsall says.
Photo courtesy Tokamak Energy

Firms race to liquefy more natural gas as global demand soars

Jan 3, 2022
LNG is proving popular as a "bridge fuel" while countries transition from coal and oil to renewables.
LNG could play a crucial role in the transition to net-zero carbon emissions. Above, a ship containing liquefied natural gas at Adriatic LNG Terminal, off the coast of Italy.
Marco Sabadin/AFP via Getty Images

Virtual conferences significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions

Dec 27, 2021
A new study in the journal Nature Communications says going virtual can reduce an event's carbon footprint by 94%.
By hosting a conference online instead of in person, organizers can curb emissions by more than 90%.
Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

Apparent death of Build Back Better has climate scientists searching for a solution

Dec 20, 2021
"We don't really have a plan without the Build Back Better Act to stop the warming," a UC Santa Barbara professor says.
The Build Back Better bill includes more than $550 billion in environmental initiatives, like tax credits for companies and consumers that install solar panels.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

FEMA plans to double down on climate preparedness

Dec 10, 2021
The Federal Emergency Management Agency's new strategic plan focuses on helping communities adapt to the changing climate.
A FEMA task force searches a flooded North Carolina neighborhood in 2018. The emergency response agency is boosting its investment in helping communities withstand destructive weather.
Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Oil execs ponder a future without oil as they gather in Houston

Dec 7, 2021
We won't stop using fossil fuels right away, but the transition to renewable energy could be tricky.
A poster of an offshore drilling station at the World Petroleum Congress, where the oil industry is discussing its role in the future of energy.
Brandon Bell via Getty Images

Christmas tree supplies are tight, and climate change is to blame

Nov 23, 2021
Expect trees to cost 5% to 10% more than they did last year.
A Christmas tree is loaded into a truck on Nov. 21. Christmas trees quantities are lower this year as a result of extreme heat and cutbacks in planting during the Great Recession.
Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

So what exactly is in the infrastructure bill?

Nov 8, 2021
And how exactly does it address the biggest challenges facing this economy?
President Joe Biden speaks Saturday, after the House passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill. It invests in climate-friendly transportation and addresses equity for marginalized communities, among other issues.
Samuel Corum via Getty Images