In Houston, a growing debate about flooding and sand mining

Dec 31, 2018
In business-friendly Texas, lawmakers could crack down on sand mines amid flooding concerns.
Excavators dig massive pits at the River Aggregates sand mine near Houston, Texas.
Travis Bubenik for Marketplace

United Kingdom council hires its own "garbage queen"

Dec 19, 2018
Brighton is getting creative with its waste disposal methods.
Cat Fletcher, Brighton's "Garbage Queen," stands outside of the Waste House, clad with carpet tiles.
Courtesy of Mimisse Beard

American wind power draws big investments

Dec 17, 2018
The wind power industry is still catching its breath after a remarkable auction. Last Thursday, and into Friday, wind energy companies outbid each other for the right to build wind farms off the coast of Massachusetts. In the end, the winning bids before the Interior Department were higher than the latest auction price to drill […]

Sails made global shipping possible. Can they make it greener?

Dec 12, 2018
Solar panel-covered sails may be the answer.
If the shipping industry were a country, its emissions would rank sixth in the world.
Photo credit should read Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

With California requiring solar panels on new homes, higher building costs and lower energy bills

Dec 10, 2018
California has become the first state in the nation to require solar panels on most new homes starting in 2020.
California has become the first state to require solar panels on most new homes.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Keeping the family recycling business afloat

Nov 29, 2018
There have been rough years before, but this year may be the toughest.
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

Study links air pollution to early death

Nov 19, 2018
A new report ranks air pollution as the greatest threat to human life, above war and disease.
A Chinese man wears a mask as he waits to cross the road near the CCTV building during heavy smog on November 29, 2014 in Beijing, China. 
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Oil prices might finally be perking up after a long tumble

Nov 12, 2018
Analysts didn’t anticipate the convergence of factors driving oil prices down. A record production of U.S. crude combined with increased pumping globally have created an unexpected surplus. Combine that with slowing global demand and President Donald Trump easing sanctions on Iran, and oil prices are in a slump. What will it take for OPEC to […]

Carbon capture could help curb climate change. But will anyone foot the bill?

Nov 5, 2018
Scientists say we have to do something about all the carbon we’re spewing into the air, and fast. A recent United Nations climate study says capturing carbon dioxide — even sucking it from the air — is going to be crucial in the fight against climate change. But once you’ve caught it, where do you […]
The smoke stacks at American Electric Power's Mountaineer coal power plant in New Haven, West Virginia, Oct. 30, 2009. In cooperation with AEP, the French company Alstom unveiled the world's largest carbon capture facility at a coal plant, so called 'clean coal,' which will store around 100,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide a year 7,200 feet underground.
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

Courts play growing role in fight over climate change

Oct 25, 2018
New York has sued Exxon, alleging it defrauded investors by misrepresenting the costs of climate change regulations.
An Exxon gas station in Burbank, California. 
David McNew/Getty Images